To be worried about my weight loss?

I suddenly lost a lot of weight while breastfeeding when my son was 11 months. My dad was ill and in hospital and I was caring for my mother who had Alzheimer's. I'm a single parent and didn't have any support. All of a sudden I lost about a stone. It did come back eventually.

My absolute best is hyperemesis, although you don't lose weight from conception to full term unless you are really, really unwell and quite large to start with, but I was definitely lighter 24 hours after giving birth to each of mine compared to before I got pregnant. Hyperemesis is absolutely and totally horrible, though, I'm not recommending it (or divorce).

I think you could easily lose a few pounds or more from that alone. Try not to stress

After divorce I dropped from 95 kilograms to 55 kg. Apparently it's the best diet

The only time I have ever lost significant weight is both times I breast fed. I would assume it’s that rather than anything else

The only time I've ever lost weight without trying really hard was when breastfeeding. In the early days I wasn't losing weight fast when BF a newborn, but I was eating everything in sight. I did lose a fair bit gradually when each of my sons was 12-18 months ish, without really trying to. If you are BF, and chasing two small people around, and anxious/stressed and picking at food, you really can shed pounds without intending to.
Of course it's a very good idea to have the checks and tests, but the circumstances you've described sound quite enough on their own to explain it, so there's absolutely no need to panic.

After both babies, my weight went down a few kilos around this point.

I breastfed, and didn't change my diet or exercise routine.

For me, it was my body getting back to its pre partum weight / set point.

if you’ve been eating less you will go to the bathroom less. So that might be an explanation of sorts. But it sounds as if noticing these physical symptoms has triggered psychological and emotional impacts for you, and you’re stuck in a feedback loop that’s reinforcing the anxiety-weight loss-panic cycle.

Firstly, rule out anything medical, as you are doing, then consider seeking counselling to help break this unhelpful cycle of anxiety.

What are reasons for unexpected weight loss that is not as a result of something sinister?

Are you on calcium tablets? I had to do that with my second. Also have you tried any of the milk ladder with your little one yet? Every step she passes you can reintroduce to your diet.

It’s really hard having extra things to worry about when you’ve got little ones. I hope you’ve got people that will give you a break.

So you've been weighed on different scales? At your child's appointment and on a family members scale that could easily account gor a big difference but 7 pounds in 2 weeks is not a large wright loss at all. I had post partummovrractuce thyroid and lost over 4 stone in about 4 months it rectified itself and weight went back to pre-pregnancy levels.

op - you have clearly read @Farmlife90210 post, you responded to it directly.

what part of "I would weigh myself 3 or 4 times day and my weight could fluctuate by 2 to 3 kilos a day and more so when on my period." did you not understand?

What other scary symptoms are you having?

Just to add to my earlier post OP, if you want to PM me then feel free.

If this is the “worst thing that’s ever happened to you” then I think perhaps you need to focus on your anxiety not your weight loss. 7lb to a stone when you were overweight to start with is not dramatic weight loss. Can I ask what prompted the referral for colonoscopy and gastroscopy? Because it’s extremely unusual that these would be done for slight weight loss, or that you would have had them so quickly on the nhs if the weight loss is in the last few months. Is there a back story in terms of your heath that you’ve left out here?

I went from 11 stone to 8stone 7 through sheer business - 2 under 2 running around after them / constant cleaning the house and not eating very well. Usually a bowl of cereal here and there , biscuits and snacks. Also breastfeeding made me lose a lot of it too!

I also lost a lot of weight in the pandemic due to stress and anxiety

Have you had your thyroid function checked? (it's a blood test)
Thyroid issues can cause weight loss, often associated with other symptoms.

To weigh yourself accurately you should do it first thing in the morning, before you've eaten and after a poo, with no clothes on. All these things can make your weight fluctuate by a few pounds.

I don't mean to be rude, but unless you're very tall, you're probably slightly overweight even at 12.5 stone. I would be more worried about this if you were already a low weight before this weight loss.

I'd also echo other people's comments about breastfeeding. I lost weight steadily in my first year postpartum but once I got into the second year of breastfeeding I lost the last half stone quite rapidly despite eating everything in sight.

I think it’s quite likely that you’re not eating enough calories to maintain a weight of 13 stone ish.

If you’re average height and reasonably active, you would probably need to eat around 2000 calories a day to maintain a weight of 13 stone. You could easily lose up to a couple of pound a week eating toast, a chicken sandwich and then dinner or only something light if you’re stressed… and then there’s the stress and the procedure you had done on top which will add to the weight loss.

I went through a period of stress when my kids were young and had various symptoms including weight loss. I convinced myself there was something very wrong. Anxiety is a bastard! I was eating but not really properly and never felt properly relaxed, I wasn’t sleeping properly as all I could think of was what was going to be wrong and my body felt all sorts of wrong. I was fine but the anxiety was spiralling and making all my symptoms worse.

IF there is something else going on, it’s really unlikely to be anything terrible at your age and you’ve had a clear colonoscopy and gastroscopy which is really reassuring. Hopefully in a week, you’ll be reassured. 💐

The only time I have lost weight without trying was when I was extremely anxious. I thought I was eating properly, I’m sure I wasn’t. Plus I imagine I was burning a lot more calories from the stress and worry.