At What Point Does Gradual Weight Loss Become a Concern?

[CRLLS]

If it concerns you, as I think it does, get it checked out. Myself, I wouldn't be concerned just yet. I might be more attentive as to what I was doing/eating. If the upper end of the weight swings also drops over time then something has changed. Something to consider, a single bottle of water will add 1lb immediately. A can of pop or a cup of coffee add 3/4 lbs. It doesn't take much to see a 1 or 2 lb variation depending on when you weigh yourself during the day. Myself, I usually have a range of about 3lbs from day to day. I usually temporarily gain an additional 2 or 3 lbs when on vacation, which comes off within a week after. I also loose a few lbs when I am working hard in the yard and sweating. It also returns to normal within a day. A 1-2lb variation during the day are normal for me. I always weigh myself when I get up in the morning before I have anything to eat. Consistent time of weighing is key for monitoring one's weight.

 

[Aerides]

My weight is usually pretty stable. Only varies by about 4-5 lbs.

I noticed that over the past few months I've gradually lost weight. I'm now about 7 lbs lower than my usual high.

Actually, I wouldn't mind losing about 15 lbs from my usual high. But would feel better if that was due to to good exercise and diet.

More context is needed. Over several months is hard to say, and 7lbs is not a lot if you are a large frame dude with a few pounds to drop anyway. On someone smaller, say, me, 7 lbs and my clothes would not fit. I usually only vary about 2-3 lbs, and could not drop 7 without concerted effort over a couple of months (in a healthy way, not talking "just eat 900 calories for two weeks easy!" stupid ways).

So, sure, bring it up with your doctor, good idea. Probably nothing too serious, if it were 17 vs 7,or if you were only 130 lbs, or on the lower end of your comfortable weight to begin with, it would be a bigger concern.

 

[Alan]

Since you have a physical coming up in the next few weeks and you are currently feeling fine then bring it up at your physical. Since you have not yet booked your physical why not book it immediately since you had to skip the physical last year.

 

[ncbill]

If you are sure about no change in diet or exercise, no recent GI or respiratory illness, I would follow up with your PCP as planned.
I would worry more about rapid, unexplained weight loss 20 pounds or more,, but that's me.

do follow up with your planned annual exam/lab work etc. if nothing else, for reassurance

Sounds like a close relative on DW's side of the family.

He lost 40 lbs over several months but IIRC didn't head to the doctor until the pain started...pancreatic cancer, lasted less than a year despite pursuing every treatment possible.

 

[Letj]

I didn’t exercise for a some months after I had shoulder surgery and lost 10 pounds due to loss of muscle mass.

 

[Midpack]

My weight is usually pretty stable. Only varies by about 4-5 lbs.

I noticed that over the past few months I've gradually lost weight. I'm now about 7 lbs lower than my usual high.

Actually, I wouldn't mind losing about 15 lbs from my usual high. But would feel better if that was due to to good exercise and diet. I've actually exercised less than usual. As for diet, I'm pretty good about not snacking and laying off the sweets.

I do plan on making an appointment for my annual physical (the one I missed last year, sheltered at home) sometime in the next few weeks but was just tossing the question out there.

If you’re going in a few weeks and it’s only 7 pounds, should be fine.

A buddy of mine unexpectedly lost 20 pounds over 2-3 months, he wanted to believe it was because his wife had him on a diet with her - and that was indeed the case. However we all told him to go see a doctor, turned out he’s diabetic, as another of our mutual buddies predicted. Good thing he checked as he’s now having to manage with diabetes.

 

[Bamaman]

I would be at the doctor if there was a 10% weight loss if I wasn't on a weight loss program.

I'm a type II diabetic on an insulin pump, and my weight is normally 10 lbs. more than I would like. Presently, I'm down about 8 lbs. due to being on a new supplement medication. The good news is that my glucose levels are very steady and sometimes lower than I like. We're balancing out the amount of insulin my pump gives me.

My wife is on a heart healthy diet which means we both eat salads only every day for lunch. And our dinner meals are very healthy too.

Now if we could just avoid ice cream, we'd be proud. My wife thinks eating sherbet is her little reward, but it's very sweet stuff too.

We're big believers in yearly physicals, even if we have to pay out of pocket for it. We lost the only two smokers we knew last year to lung cancer, and they hadn't been getting physicals with chest x-rays. Lung cancer is the #1 cancer killer, and so many people are stage IV before they even know they have cancer.

 

[lesjrp]

Are you by chance eating a lot of berries? Every summer when I eat berries I seem to lose 4 or 5 pounds.

 

[firewhen]

Pound a week

If you aren’t eating out nearly as much that could explain it.

At the start of the pandemic, everything changed, no more eating out, bagels or donuts or celebratory cakes at work, etc. Just home-cooked meals 7 days a week. Took a few weeks before I noticed the weight dropping and it did not stop till fall 2020 and 30 pounds later. Went for my regular physical and my cholestorol dropped 80 points to the 120s and glucose and fats all down. Keep in mind gyms were closed and I had stopped exercising--so maybe a loss of muscle but not burning calories as much either. My doctor said he saw much more weight gain during the pandemic but he was ok after my explanation as long as I did not lose any more weight, as I was now at the bottom of the normal range. One year later, eating habits are about the same as postpandemic, we still are cautious about going out much, and I have put back on about 5 of those 30 pounds. So dietary changes can make a difference, maybe you dont realize what shifts you have made?

 

[BoldPelikan]

Weight loss

Do you usually lose weight in summer? I do.

Same for me --- I usually lose 7-10 pounds by Labor Day and put it back on over the winter.

If you are concerned, book a physical. I actually booked mine this morning and the earliest appointment was Jan 3, 2022. Lots of us skipped these things due to covid...

 

[imnontrad]

Your doctor may be available for a virtual telehealth call. Also evaluate the past few months - have you been exercising more or changed your eating/snacking habits? Have you increased water and decreased soda consumption?

 

[Elliotgb183]

Having Covid for 3 weeks wreaked havoc on my entire body. Not being able to eat much other than soup and ginger ale, I lost more than 10 pounds. The nausea was debilitating.

For several months after recovery, my weight stayed down 8-10 pounds. I decided to start eating ice cream. Then I went up close to my normal weight.

Downside was my cholesterol ended up being high so I was put on a statin drug. That lead to increased hair loss (rare) so I stopped it and I’m back on my Omega 3-6-9.

Best of luck

 

[gooddog]

You say that you are exercising less than normal; perhaps you are losing muscle while not eating enough to add fat?

Winner winner chicken dinner. And chicken is good for you.

 

[Old Microbiologist]

It can mean many different things. A lot depends on your age, stress, food intake, and exercise. There are metabolic changes that occur several times in our lifetimes. Some gain weight and others lose. The main fear of sudden rapid weight loss is cancer. So, with that in mind, you need to get examined carefully by someone who is knowledgeable in the area. This likely will require a referral to an oncologist or internal medicine specialist. Many doctors no longer know how to do an exam any longer. Very few require disrobing and are 100% reliant on laboratory tests for their diagnosis. They were trained in it in their internships but modern medicine doesn't stress this any longer. I remember the last time I was at an American clinic in the US they did my blood pressure without having me roll up my sleeves so total theater. I was chuckling as this is how American medicine has evolved into elaborate theater instead of medicine. They gave me a BS number for my BP and I knew right then and there what was what.

One of my early mentors who was very cynical pushed that 99% of illnesses cure themselves so it isn't very important to actually perform medicine but rather to convince patients you are doing a wonderful job for them. So, in his view, it is more important to not do harm and to just let the patients feel good, prescribe harmless medications, and let them go on their way. If it is serious they will come back later. I do not adhere to that concept but it is better than treating unnecessarily which also happens a lot especially when the practice of medicine is a business and not an entitlement or social program. This is the benefit of single-payer (national health plans) that take the profit out of the equation.

It is actually interesting as I am old school and was trained that way in the 70's. The old look, feel, touch, and smell still works but I haven't seen any doctors in the US do that for a very long time. But, moving here to Hungary I was delighted to see them require full disrobing, a full-on physical exam with palpations, and they require a urine sample that they look at and smell. They perform a quick blood pressure and while doing that watch you carefully, examine eye pupils, breathing, etc. They do all of this themselves and are not reliant on semi-professionals to do it for them. It is how I do exams myself and how it should always be done but rarely in the US as they simply are not allowed any time for it. Here there are no limitations to a patient's exam time. Really, it is wonderful to see medicine practiced as it should be.

The bottom line is to go get examined. Early detection is the key to beating cancer. Don't let them BS you out of doing it.

 

[Lstansbury]

Muscle Mass loss

Hi Easy Surfer, it may be sarcopenia or muscle loss, not fat mass loss, that occurs as humans age. Unless we reverse that with weight bearing exercise.

If you are wondering how to measure that -- it can be tricky, a Tanita scale or a Fitbit scale are pretty good.

I only know this because I did a clinical research trial that was comparing all the research center's high-end body composition measuring devices, including bodpods, to a new device called a HALO wearable (Amazon). The HALO did as well as the high end devices. Although the information I got back from the HALO is extremely depressing - fat mass is super high. I've heard from others on Amazon reviews that the fat mass measure seems to trend high. But who knows? The HALO also relies on taking several photos of your scantily clothed body at different angles.

The Tanita and Fitbit scales were used in the study too. Their results, which I got in the research trial report for my body, were the closest to the HALO device.

 

[Aerides]

^ Fitbit stopped making their body analysis scale, the Aria, I've been looking for a good one lately. They just have a regular one now that syncs but doesn't do more than BMI...

Yes, after 50, humans lose 5-10lbs of lean muscle mass per decade, that's if they just do the same thing as always (and most don't). Still, 7 lbs in a couple of months would only indicate muscle loss if someone who has a lot of muscle let it atrophy. The average build probably not that fast The good news is muscle comes back quite quickly if you had it before. It's building it from scratch later in life that is oh so much harder.

 

[Lstansbury]

^ Fitbit stopped making their body analysis scale, the Aria, I've been looking for a good one lately. They just have a regular one now that syncs but doesn't do more than BMI...

Yes, after 50, humans lose 5-10lbs of lean muscle mass per decade, that's if they just do the same thing as always (and most don't). Still, 7 lbs in a couple of months would only indicate muscle loss if someone who has a lot of muscle let it atrophy. The average build probably not that fast The good news is muscle comes back quite quickly if you had it before. It's building it from scratch later in life that is oh so much harder.

Dang -- sorry to hear about the FitBit scale! I was leaning toward the Tanita anyway, but still. To your point on building muscle mass, it's been tough!
I'm now taking VitalProteins collagen supps every morning and that seems to help a bit. Had no idea how important Protein was in the every day diet until I hurt myself while jogging (faceplant into cement with knees first). PTs tried to help me rebuild knee strength and didn't get any traction until I upped my daily protein.