Reached my goal weight... for all the wrong reasons :(

I was put on a medication a month ago that caused me to completely lose my appetite. I've been forcing myself to eat around... 600-1000 calories a day. I've been to see my doctor and he's changed it now so I hope this will settle down.

So in the past month I've lost the 5lb I've been unable to lose for the last year. For all the wrong reasons. I even feel guilty about it.

I feel terrible and scared, though I actually look the best I've ever looked in my life. I'm not underweight, 5'3" and 125lb. The 5lb seems to have made a significant difference to my appearance. I'm down a dress size. Everyone says I've lost weight (though most in a concerned way because they know I've been ill).

I hope I will be eating again normally soon. I am trying. Little and often. All the sorts of treats I don't normally have. Extra butter on my toast. I just have no appetite at all, I feel sick and full after one mouthful. I guess I can expect to pile weight back on now, huh? I didn't mean to undereat, it's not fair :(

If a medication has such a profound effect on your ability to live/eat normally you should always go back to whoever prescribed it and ask for an alternative.  That would be a good place to start.  Go back to your doctor, tell them what effect this is having on you.... you can't eat..... and get some help.  Whatever the medication is meant to do, 'malnutrition' is not an acceptable outcome.

I did, it's been changed now. It's been a pretty miserable month.

Then if you still have no appetite and you are genuinely nauseous if you eat just 'one mouthful', go back to the doctor for help with that.....  You may have some kind of gastric problem that needs treatment.

In the meantime, keep adding the high-cal foods back into your diet at every opportunity.  Butter is a good start... ice-cream can often be easy to eat when your appetite's jaded.   Soups and broths are a good way to get nutrition in an easily digested form... add some olive oil to bump up the cals.  Take multivitamins as a safety-net until you're back up to a more normal 1900-2100 cals a day.

Hope you start feeling much soon - its awful to feel icky for that long!  Will you need to be on the medication for an extended period of time or have an expected end date?

I've always enjoyed and respected your posts for their sensibility, and the way you focus on health and feeling good /strong over appearances alone.  You've managed to fully embrace the fun part of enjoying a new body but not obsess around numbers or have silly goals. (I also get a little frustrated with the people of similar height who are desperate to lose more weight and become lollypop heads - -when they are already at my goal weight... and I  do want to keep my curves as well!!)

You'll be back to the healthy habits that got you this far soon enough - don't let yourself feel guilty.  Its fine to enjoy the visual side of things for now and debate your ultimate goal, but you know that you are a grounded sensible person (who loves the entire process of cooking and enjoying good stuff with an occasional bevvie!) who will reevaluate what the right end point is for you once you are back to normal. 

As always, gijane's advice is right on point! Do you have a food processor? If so, the idea of soups is a great idea - blend up something like black beans with lots of veggies - you'll max  out the nutrients with lots of protein as well, get in decent calories if you add extra olive oil, and its a little easier to get down than stuff you need to chew.  And I'm really jealous if you supplement with ice cream:)!  Good luck and hope you're back to your old self soon!

Makphl - thank you so much, your post really cheered me up.

My meds were changed on friday and I already feel hungrier than I was. My boyfriend cooked a roast chicken yesterday and I ate a little of that, and my mum is trying to ply me with cheesecake - I did manage to get to around 1600 calories yesterday, which was encouraging. Thanks for your tips as well, ice cream sounds like a plan.

It's very strange after years of being careful and conscientuous about what you eat, to suddenly be pushing yourself to eat as much as possible! I'd be jealous too, if I didn't feel so stuffed full all the time!

Not sure where to go from here - I'm just going to try and eat clean healthy food for a  bit and my weight can do whatever. When I feel a bit better I'll get back to exercising and that - I'm still walking a bit, hikes are probably out for now. thanks guys, I've been feeling a bit pathetic and avoiding this place I guess.

UPDATE

I have my appetite back!

Since then I have eaten

• roast chicken
• pasta with sundried tomatoes and olives
• broccoli and stilton soup
• glamorgan sausages
• thai fresh mussels with steamed rice
• and I have just made a chocolate cake!

I will attempt to maintain at 125lb (ranging between 1500-1900 calories a day at the moment) but I'm not going to cry if I put a bit back on, I am just so happy to feel normal again...

thanks!