Fighting for a Healthy Weight

It seems like I have spent most of my life attempting to manage my weight. As a teenager, I was underweight despite often eating like a football player.

Not too long ago, I was 100 pounds at 5’8” and in my thirties. My doctor and my mother were both extremely worried about my weight.

At this point, I believe there were many issues that contributed to me being so underweight. I struggled with a major lack of appetite, nausea, pain, and some side effects of isolation.

Lack of appetite and pain

I have struggled with having a consistent appetite since my teenage years. There were periods where I would eat quite a bit, but then there were long periods where I simply never seemed to be hungry.

My pain also has an impact on my appetite. The higher my pain level, the lower my appetite will be. A bad flare-up can interfere with my desire and ability to eat.

I tend to just want to sleep through the pain. This definitely lowers my food intake.

My doctor decided it would be best to try the medications used by cancer patients to stimulate my appetite. We tried several of these prescriptions.

Unfortunately, these medications were not effective for me. These medications were also very expensive.

Feeling nauseated most days

One of the biggest challenges that I face almost daily is nausea. There have been instances where I was hungry, but I was so nauseous I was unable to eat.

My doctor provides me with a prescription each month for nausea. I normally use my entire prescription of anti-nausea medication each month.

There are many times that the only way I can eat or drink is after the medication begins to work.

Natural anti-nausea options

Options I have tried some nonmedicinal anti-nausea options. Peppermint is something that is highly suggested.

I keep peppermint herbal teas, but it only helps to an extent. Sometimes lemon water can be a little helpful.

Some people find ginger helpful when it comes to nausea, but it is not helpful for me.

Effects of Isolation

For several years, my only housemate and company have been my dog. Obviously, my dog has always had a full bowl. But by not having other people around, I only ate when I felt hungry.

Since I did not have anybody else there to say they were hungry, I did not notice how little I consumed. I did not feel hungry often enough.

If would get slightly hungry prior to bed, I would simply go to bed without eating. I would worry about that problem another day.

My battle actions for eating more

I have learned that combating the effects of isolation can increase my food intake. Sometimes my dog and I join my sister for dinner.

Other times having somebody on the phone or zoom while we both eat can make things feel more normal. Sometimes the smallest things can have the biggest effect on our lives.

After a lot of hard work, I am at a decent weight. To achieve the desired weight, I ended up eating sometimes because of the time of day and not because I was hungry.

While this seems crazy, it was for a reason. My doctor, and my mother, want me to maintain a goal weight. This is to make sure that I do not become too underweight during bad health times.

Do you struggle with any of these issues or other issues that affect your weight?