<p>I am not a healthcare professional, so need some of your advise.</p>
<p>In the past 4 years or so, my weight drops from 165 lbs to 150 lbs, some in the mid section, and its a steady loss. I feel good and excercise well, although have not done too much recentally. Once a week I hike, but ever since I bought the excercise equipment, I became LAZY. I do skiing and can follow those 30-40 year olds with this 60 year old body, mostly on the expert slopes.</p>
<p>I did not change much diet, some meat, but mostly egg and vegitables. I pass physicals in flying color and since I am a Hepatites B carrier, I am on permanent Hepsera. In the last 10 years, I have been taking blood tests ever 3-4 mo., no flare ups. </p>
<p>Question, does the weight loss by itself a red flag? If I bring this up with my doctor, what should I ask?</p>
<p>When I went to the doctor recently, one of the questions asked was, “have you lost 10 or more pounds in the last year?” 15 lbs over a period of 4 years isn’t as significant, but it NEVER hurts to call the doc/nurse and just ask your question.</p>
<p>You might consider the simple math calculation: find your daily calorie intake and subtract what you normally burn in a day. If there’s a deficit, then you will lose weight. I’ve lost over 40 pounds this year but that was intentional.</p>
<p>The weight change moves you from Overweight to Normal Weight on the BMI scale (which is a pretty coarse measurement). If someone said that they went from 150 to 165 over four years, that would not be considered news as it’s pretty easy to pack on a lot more than four pounds a year. I don’t think that losing that kind of weight is a problem if your daily intake/burn is in sync with that. You could go to the doctor and have a bunch of tests to see if there’s a problem.</p>
<p>I have no knowledge about your other condition as to whether or not it affects how much you want to eat.</p>
<p>150 lb for your height is within the normal range. Do you have regular checkups in addition to the bloodwork? Is weight loss a known side effect of any medications you are taking? If you are concerned about something, it is always wise to bring it up during your next doctor’s appointment.</p>
<p>It really doesn’t take drastic changes to gain/lose 5# even in a month. Just cutting out snacking after 8pm or the 2nd (and 3rd) glass of wine every night can do it. If you are fit with muscle, you may burn more calories than a person of the same weight that has a high % fat. I’ve been trying for 3 months to lose weight and finally took 8# off in the last month. My jumpstart was 4 days without electricity, as I wasn’t hovering in front of an open fridge every night.</p>
<p>Hello to all! As most of the guys mentioned that loss of weight isn’t smth to worry about, especially if you feel the way you do- pretty good But it is a smart thing if you consult a specialist, because it is for sure the doctor knows more than us here.!</p>
<p>If you are concerned about unexpected and unintended weight loss, you may want to ask your doctor. However, the slow rate of weight loss is generally less of a concern than rapid unexpected and unintended weight loss.</p>
<p>But, since you are 60, you may want to be concerned about whether the weight loss is muscle loss (sometimes called sarcopenia; the result is sometimes colloquially called “skinny fat” to describe a situation where one is normal weight or underweight, but with high body fat and low muscle), as this is a common problem as one gets older (resulting in older people often having difficulty getting out of chairs, etc.). Weight training can help maintain muscle strength over the years; also, if you remember how much weight you were able to lift before, you will know if there is any sign of weakness (being able to lift less weight).</p>
<p>If the 15 pounds of weight loss were mainly body fat, that would correspond to about 2 inches of circumference wherever your body wants to hold body fat (often abdomen area about navel level).</p>
<p>My mother had that kind of weight loss over a couple years (in her late 70s.) After a ton of testing, it was determined that she had celiac disease, which had not manifested itself earlier. She’s gained it back since switching to a gluten-free diet. So that could be a possibility.</p>
<p>Because men tend to store body fat abdominally (which is the most unhealthy place to be fat), 15 pounds of fat loss should correspond to about 2 inches less waistline (measured at the navel level). If your waistline loss has been less than that, you may want to be concerned about loss of muscle.</p>
I do skiing and can follow those 30-40 year olds with this 60 year old body, mostly on the expert slopes.</p>
But it is a smart thing if you consult a specialist, because it is for sure the doctor knows more than us here.!</p>