I'm 21 years old, six foot four inches tall weighing in at 156 pounds now. i have steadily lost weight after stopping taking zyprexa for a year and a half. i went from 185 to 160 in 5 months, and in the past couple of weeks i have started dropping more weight. my doctor told me to eat more and exercise, so i started going to the gym. thats when i dropped from 160 to 156 in two weeks and its still dropping. he now says he thinks i have an eating disorder. when i wake up i cannot eat breakfast no matter how hard i try. i eat a normal lunch, and sometimes a large dinner. if i have a party (im 21 in college) and i wake up at noon, i will eat dinner and thats it. i cant force myself to eat more calories or i would. i look sick. its not that i dont want to eat because i do. i would like nothing more than to be 225 pounds. i am very fit, very defined but my ribs and collar bone are disgusting. it makes the mental anguish even worse when attractive women tell you that you need to gain some weight. any ideas or suggestions are more than appreciated.
*Cough* Well that was helpful.
Before anything else is said, would you mind giving us what you'd typically eat in a day for dinner/supper?
An easy way to get more calories in is to drink them. Protein shakes! Milk! Juice!
What happens when you try to eat breakfast?
i just cant force myself to take more than a bite of food after i wake up. for lunch i'll eat two ham sandwiches on wheat and a peanut butter sandwich on wheat. i drink 24-36 ounces of grape juice a day. for dinner i usually eat two 8oz steaks with 2 servings of rice. somedays i drink up to 10 beers a night, depending on the situation. i do not drink every night. a regular schedule of thursday friday saturday. occaisionally i can drink 8oz of whole milk in a morning - rarely though.
Hmmm. Seems like you are eating enough. Maybe it's a medical problem?
I mean, 2 ham sandwiches, a pb&J and 2 steaks? Wow. That seems like enough calories to me. Is this what you eat on a daily basis, or do you go for several days barely eating and then gorge yourself every couple of days?
thats on a regular basis. i have a desk job where i dont do jack but maybe carry a paper box upstairs. i workout 3 days a week for an hour. i get tired working out much faster than even my younger brother who is 6'1 at 195lbs. he eats much more than myself. i have been twice in the past 9 months for blood work and each time they say nothing is wrong. i sleep 7-8 hours per night. Rarely after i workout i can drink 8oz of whole milk with whey protein, rarely. On saturday and sunday i wake up around noon, cant eat then, eat two servings of rice maybe at 4, and then a smaller dinner around 7.
Well I'm stumped.
If most days you are eating enough calories and you are STILL losing weight, then that just doesn't make sense.
I'm guessing they checked your thyroid? If all they've checked is some bloodwork, then maybe they are still missing something. Sorry I'm not much help.
http://psychcentral.com/quizzes/eat26_old.htm
This is a link to the EAT-26 test for eating disorders.
Have you been tested for parasites? I know it sounds odd, but it could potentially be a problem.
21, 6'4', male, lightly active. I get your maintenance at roughly ~2500 per day. ~3000 calories per day should have you slowly gaining weight.
My estimation of your calories:
Ham sandwich on wheat : (2 slices of bread - 150, 3 oz ham - 150) ~300 x2 + pb&j ~350 + 24oz grape juice ~510 + 2 steaks ~850 + 2 servings of rice 400 = ~2700. I'd estimate that you might make up to 3000 with the other items that you sometimes eat, but you could pretty easily be overestimating your portions or using a weight of steak that includes bone.
Have you tried adding mayonaise, avocado, cheese, ground nuts or other calorie dense items to your meals? The mayonaise or some avocado should add another 100 calories or so to your sandwich without creating more bulk for you. You could dust your steaks with some ground almond meal or something similar which creates more calories without adding bulk. Also blue cheese or wrapping the steaks with bacon.
You obviously don't have to answer this, but something to think about- how is the rest of your life going? Since stopping the Zyprexia, have you switched to a new medication or treatment? Do you see any type of psychologist or counselor? Though you give a good list of foods you eat, in your initial question it doesn't sound like you actually eat that volume of food on a daily basis.
Personally I treat my body like a container for a lot of emotional baggage and I put a lot of food in the container to deal. I have also had really close friends, both male and female, who though they didn't have a traditional eating disorder by any means, would go through periods of stress, anxiety, depression-and it was just difficult for them to bring themselves to eat. They would still eat, but not in a consistent way. Your eating habits sound very similar to theirs.
Eating well is a kind of ritual of self care and in a way a reflection of self worth. Taking time to prepare healthy food for yourself on a regular basis is sort of subconsiously valuing yourself. When we are babies and children part of the caretaking from our mothers is feeding us. As adults we are supposed to transition to providing that caretaking to ourselves.
Some of us aren't so good at it. I cant say it is a psychological issue for everyone. However personally, everyone I have known who has struggled with being over or underweight, has also had a self worth issue that came long before the weight issue.
Anyway- I am no psychologist, it was just a thought.
Do you have bipolar? the intake of zyprexia probably kept your weight up, why was it discontinued ?
i have had my thyroid checked and they say im fine. i have no been tested for parasites. that 8oz steak im sure includes bone and fat which i would cut out. i stopped taking the zyprexa because it jacked up my libido. i do not take any medication anymore, very weary of everything. saying that i feel good. very good. smile most all day every day. much better than before i started taking it. everything is back to the old me except for my weight. obviously i am a kid with a full time adult job so yes i get stressed out like everyone else. yes the zyprexa was definitely the reason i kept gaining weight. i was so upset when it happened and i told myself i would stop taking the zyprexa. i looked good. i would eat large meals 3 times a day, snack all day, i could workout with the guys and bust my butt just like them. its not like that now, i feel WEAK. they didnt say bipolar, they say its just a very severe anger issue. im gonna lean towards tortoisewins on this one.
When I was 21 I started getting really depressed, I knew some of my issues, but I really just couldn't name what it was that was really tearing me up. I went to the Dr. He proscribed me Prozac and sent me to this rediculous group provided by the HMO where we sat around and talked about ways to convince ourselves not to be upset and look on the sunny side.
Complete and total crap. I went once and never went back.
A few months later through a friend I met an amazing therapist and ditched the Prozac. She was incredibly honest, perceptive, nurturing, attentive, and confrontational. An oddly tall order for a therapist, but really all things I needed.
And during the three years I saw her I began to take really good care of my body.
A therapist may not be the answer for you, and not all therapists are good at what they do. What I got out of it though, was being able to name where both my anger and sadness came from. And it wasn't about blame, but about honesty and accountability.
Whatever you do, you deserve to care for yourself.
this is interesting information, did they release your blood test results to you, perhaps you have an endocrinological issue, I dont know if they routinely check hormonal levels but perhaps this issue could lie there,
Zyprexa does make you gain weight and a lot of people to to lose weight when they come off of it because of appetite suppression. I am a 22 year old college student as well and I can barely find time to eat a full breakfast lunch or dinner but what I discovered is that its good to carry around a lot of snacks with you. say fruits, veggies, protein bars, a bottle of boost plus or ensure plus. I set my alarm on my cell phone for 2 hours and I eat every 2 hours between meals. I will eat an orange, or I will eat an apple with peanut butter on it for the added fat and calories. I drink 3 bottles of boost plus or ensure a day. I find that since I am alway eating every 2 hours, my servings for lunch and dinner is smaller but I have gained more weight this way. I have gained 14 lbs in 2 weeks. I just like to add stuff t my food to increase the calories. Like yogurt with my fruits and veggies or cottage cheese with my fruits. I tend to not be hungry a lot but this averages about 3,300 cals this way and I dont feel over stuffed. Plus with this method its easy to eat anywhere you are because you can pull out a banana, apple, ensure, or protein bar in class or at the gym or in the mall. If every 2 hours is to much try 3 first. But this has definitely worked for me. Also, I increase my protein intake by making protein shakes. I actually invented my own recipe. You take a blender, add 1 bottle of ensure plus, 1 banana, a few strawberries, and a scoop of the powder protein shake mix. since i substituted the ensure for water or milk and added the banana and strawberries I increased the nutritional value. This is pretty filling and I tend to have this for breakfast and its a really fast meal. its about 550 cals depending on what protein formula you use. you have 2 of these twice a day and bam, 1/3 of your daily intake.
I am unsure you have answered the "bipolar" question. If you only sleep 3 hours a night, for instance, you would burn more doing nothing than the person who is sleeping more. Do you have any psychomotor agitation (e.g., pacing, fidgeting)?
Does Wrong Diagnsis give any hints at what has not been reviewed in your case?
when i am able to eat, i eat enough. sometimes i just cant eat. i do not pace or fidget. they didnt really tell me all about the blood work. i dont think its depression because i feel good. i smile alot. i interact socially. of course i have days where i get down, but everyone does. i'll likely try a therapist.
