(no subject)

[sorcyress]

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday --it's now been a year since I started with my awesome PCP who prescribes me my necessary ADHD meds without making me jump through TEN THOUSAND HOOPS to get them.

(Seriously, last time I was on the meds, the psych required me to come see him every two weeks or more often, which at 40$+ a copay, while I was barely making minimum wage, and wanted to spend the appointment doing talk therapy, which I didn't want or need at the time. My current PCP asks me to come in every 4 months (and it's just dropped to every 6, as of this appointment) checks in that the meds are still working, and refills my prescriptions once a month. She is _best_.)

But she's concerned --and she expressed this concern last time too-- about the fact that I've weighed a little less every time I've come in to see her. I think I've dropped maybe four pounds in the last year, so it's not a big jump or anything, but it has been consistent that I've lost weight every time. And ADHD meds are an appetite suppressant, so it's possibly really relevant.

I just don't know what to do with this concern though. I have weighed, since ninth grade, between 115 and 130 pounds. Currently I am at the lower end, which is great and all, but currently I am incredibly stressed, not eating right, and not exercising much¹. So, I'm not really surprised that I've been losing weight, and I totally wasn't worried until the doctor told me she'd like to send me for some blood tests, to make sure my thyroid was okay and the like.

It's kindof just...how does one gain weight? I mean that as an entirely serious question, I tend to think I eat a fair amount, and it's usually pretty junky. I exercise a lot, but I can't help that --most of it's bicycling to get places, the rest is dancing for social and joy, "exercise less" is not an option. I don't think I could realistically spend more time on the computer without switching career paths (running after seven year olds is not exactly mild exercise).

I don't really want it for me, I think as long as I remain in that aforementioned range, I'm pretty much fine (although yes, when I see the scale saying 118, I start getting nervous again.) But I would like to go to my next appointment, in August, and not have her be all "hmmmm." at the fact that I've dropped another half pound or two.

Whee?

~Sor
MOOP!

1: I'm not sure, but now that I'm not going home from college every summer and doing the freshman anti-fifteen², I think I am much more likely to gain weight from muscle than from fat right now.

2: Boston is, in pretty much all ways, more walkable than Columbia. Boston has routine dancing. Boston does not have an abundance of snacky food that I don't have to pay for. I never had to worry about gaining weight in college, since it was so much harder to do so.

Comments

[werewulf.livejournal.com]

Not your doctor, so obviously I bow to medical expertise, but you don't *look* to my concerned mother's eye like you are in any way dangerously thin. I know that you get a lot of exercise due to the aforementioned bike and dancing, so the fact that you run on the skinnier (more muscular) side is all to the good in my opinion.

Now that said, the easiest way to gain way is to eat a bit more, but only if you're actually wanting that food and not feeling uncomfortably full after eating all the time. If you're not eating because you don't *feel* hungry (because the medication is suppressing your appetite) then you need to schedule and force your food. If your'e not eating "enough" because you're simply full and had plenty of fuel, then personally I'd not worry about it.

I assure you that due to genetics, you'll be fighting to lose weight soon enough in your life. I had EXACTLY the same problem (minus the ADD drugs) up through my early 20's and now I'm fighting to make 60 pounds go away so that I'm at the high end of the "healthy" weight range, so take everything *I* say about food with a grain of full fat salt and buttered popcorn!!

I love you
your
Mom

[squirrelitude]

If you had the same weight pattern, that's a *really* good sign that it's completely "within spec", and can be chalked up to natural variation within the human population. It's pretty easy for doctors to get caught up in population statistics and say "this is average, so it must be normal and desirable", so I suspect that's what's happening here. (Especially with such a minor total drop.)

+1

[(Anonymous)]

Yes on both counts. You look fine to me (not with a mother's eye, but certainly someone who is used to evaluating climbers and other athletic people). And I was medically underweight through my early 20's, even though I ate whatever I wanted, and then around 28 my metabolism went "well, guess we're done here now!" and I started gaining weight if I didn't eat sensible amounts.

That said, if it's worrying you, anything that combines carbs and fats with minimal fiber will tend to make you gain weight. Baguette with butter! (Or honey. Or honey and butter.) Toast with butter! Grilled cheese! Buttered pasta! Buttered scones! Ice cream! "These are a few of my favorite things..." *trails off in a reverie*

If you want to go for high fat but with actual nutrients, nuts and avocados are delicious. (And nuts are non-squashable and don't need refrigeration if you're going to eat them that day, so they make good snacks to carry around. I like almonds and hazelnuts.) Try to add some carbs-- put the avocado on toast, or have a bar of chocolate with nuts in it, or just have one to eat at the same time as the nuts.

- lb