Be sure you're eating enough protein to help your body carry out important bodily functions, like curbing hunger, stabilizing blood sugar, and building muscle mass—which people lose as they get older. “Also, some of the brain signals that control appetite and fullness become attenuated,” Dr. Hildreth adds. Losing weight is only half the battle – keeping it off is the real hard part. “They’re not able to use their blood sugar for fuel; it just all gets filtered by the kidneys and excreted. By Mayo Clinic Staff. “The reason for that is their sugars are so high it actually overwhelms their kidneys and their system,” Srinath says. Progestins keep the lining of the uterus from growing out of control — but it can do too good a job, so the lining is a bit unstable and sheds. Most people experience fluctuations in their weight, and it is common to gain weight over time. This article outlines 10 reasons why a person may not lose weight … Here, nine whammies that you and your doctor will want to rule out as reasons for your unintended weight loss. That loss in appetite is tied to the "flight or flight hormones" that your body releases when you’re stressed. But, when it comes to all things health, it's always best to play it safe, right? Black women, says Erica Martin Richards, M.D., Ph.D., Chair and Medical Director, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC, are half as likely to seek help for mental health issues as white women. Unexplained weight loss is a noticeable drop in body weight that occurs even if the person is not trying to lose weight. “Your body is literally peeing out glucose because you can’t absorb it, and that drives thirst,” she explains. The gynecologist says: “Hormonal IUDs, like Mirena, Jaydess, or the newest product in Canada called Kyleena (a low-dose hormonal IUD that can be used for five years) control bleeding in part by thinning the lining of the uterus. In fact, unexplained weight loss could be an early sign of a serious health condition, says Kerry Hildreth, M.D., an assistant professor of geriatric medicine at the University of Colorado. Celiac disease—an autoimmune disorder common in white people in which ingesting gluten causes damage to the small intestine—can lead to a drop in weight, and tends to be accompanied by other GI symptoms like bloating and diarrhea, says Jamile Wakim-Fleming, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Cleveland Clinic. Plus, a quick appointment with your doctor will determine if you're all good, or if there's need for further testing to pinpoint any underlying causes that warrant medical intervention. That’s a huge missed opportunity, because there are much better reasons to lose weight. That's because, in rheumatoid arthritis, pro-inflammatory cytokines not only spur inflammation, but also increase energy expenditure. “If someone reports abrupt weight loss but denies any change in their food intake, their exercise routine, their stress level, and they say their medications have been stable, I would get concerned it was something serious like cancer,” Srinath says. This is because, as a general rule, the earlier a serious problem is diagnosed, the better the chance that treatment may improve the outlook (prognosis). Pay close attention to your intake and see a doctor soon. Those causes as we are going to see are mostly serious and severe in the one’s health. Muscles are an efficient calorie burner, so a loss of muscle mass can mean you burn fewer calories. “I’ll als0 look for tumors in the esophagus”—the tube that connects your throat and stomach—“which can make it hard to swallow.”, Hereâs What Sugar Really Does to Your Brain, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. “I have a lot of people who come to me after going through stuff at work or drama with their family or social stressors, and they’ve just stopped eating as much,” Srinath says. Weight loss due to allergies is a good indicator that your dog’s diet needs to be revamped. Instead, what they’re losing is just a combination of water and glycogen. In the end, the most popular incentives — scary disease statistics and fitness industry vanity trips — aren’t very effective, useful, or scientifically valid ways to promote weight loss. 5 GOOD reasons for losing weight. Your slower metabolism will slow your weight loss, even if you eat the same number of calories that helped you lose weight. Yep, that’s the same cortisol involved in your stress response. Easy peasy. This may be welcomed by some but for others can be the sign of a serious underlying medical condition. That means more calories and fat burned every day, Feller explains. People begin to lose some muscle as they get older, largely because they become less active. If you're eating and drinking the same amount as you always have and … That means if you’re 150 pounds, a weight fluctuation of about seven or eight pounds in a short amount of time should be a red flag. Gut disease can be easily treated in most cases—like with a gluten-free diet in the case of celiac disease—but you’ll need to go to a gastroenterologist who can confirm the diagnosis. One note: Black people are 60% more likely to have Type 2 diabetes, and so should ask a doctor about this possibility. Hyperthyroidism. Yes, cancer can lead to rapid weight loss. Well, for starters, this is why people lose a bunch of weight fairly quickly when starting a low carb diet. In older adults (over the age of 65) the most common cause is cancer, followed by gastrointestinal and psychiatric conditions. If you keep losing weight for no reason, see a doctor. Sleeping problems or feeling hot all the time are also common symptoms of an over-active thyroid, she says. This means your thyroid—the butterfly-shaped gland in your neck that helps regulate your metabolism and growth—is pumping out too many hormones, resulting in a slew of body changes. Learn more about the potential causes of unintentional weight loss in seniors and how you can help keep your senior loved one living and eating well. There are many reasons for unexplained weight loss, some serious, and some more of a nuisance. But if you’re unintentionally losing weight, don’t start celebrating. Adrenal insufficiency, otherwise known as Addison’s disease, occurs when your body doesn’t produce enough cortisol. Super-stressed lately? You may also feel crazy thirsty and notice you’re peeing all the time. More than 40% of people reported unintended weight loss when diagnosed with cancer according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Malabsorption is when something prevents your gut from absorbing important nutrients. Women's Health may earn commission from the links on this page, but we only feature products we believe in. Why trust us? So rather than that sugar going where it needs to go—the muscles, the bones—it’s just lost.” Typically, people developing diabetes will also experience symptoms like excessive thirst, feeling like they have to pee more often, blurriness in vision, and numbness or tingling in their hands and feet. And while a high metabolism is a plus for weight loss, too high of a metabolism can be unhealthy. Ashley Mateo is a writer, editor, and UESCA-certified running coach who has contributed to Runner’s World, Bicycling, Women's Health, Health, Shape, Self, and more. The thyroid controls your metabolism, so it makes sense that thyroid issues could cause weight problems. Weight loss is a common symptom of hyperthyroidism—or an over-active thyroid, Dr. Cappola says. Cancer takes a bite out of physic for many reasons. If you’ve set out to lose some weight and you’re watching the pounds melt off, congrats! The losing weight for no reason is a serious issue and everyone who develops it should be aware of it and pay attention to it. The loss of weight and lack of nutrition associated … Loss of appetite is a common side effect of clinical depression, and one that can promote unexplained weight loss if you’re unaware that your mood swings are something a bit more serious. It’s your IUD. An overview of some causes include: Everything’s working the way it’s supposed to. These could all be clues to help determine what's really going on. Why Your Dog Is Losing Weight. Reduced appetite and weight loss are common symptoms of depression. "A structure in the brain called the hypothalamus produces corticotropin-releasing hormone, which suppresses appetite,” explains Feller. “If you lose 5 to 10 percent of your body weight over the course of three to six months, you need to get checked out,” says Reshmi Srinath, M.D., assistant professor of diabetes, endocrinology, and bone disease at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. So as you lose weight, your metabolism declines, causing you to burn fewer calories than you did at your heavier weight. “The brain also sends messages to the adrenal glands that sit atop the kidneys to pump out the hormone epinephrine [also known as adrenaline], which helps trigger the body's fight-or-flight response, a revved-up physiological state that temporarily puts eating on hold." However, if a person gains weight in a very short time for no clear reason… Let’s just go ahead and get the “C” word out of the way. We're not trying to freak you out. “If you’re losing weight and nothing’s changed with your diet or activity, you need to worry about that a little bit.”. While your exercise and diet efforts are still important for you to achieve your weight loss goals, there are a number of factors that can cause you to gain weight that often go unnoticed. Although we might not like to face the signs that our dogs are getting older, weight loss for no apparent reason is a common sign of aging. Some medications can also cause you to gain weight, or keep you from losing it, says Ken Fujioka, MD, medical director of the Scripps Clinic Nutrition and Metabolism Research Center in San Diego. So, for example, if you start out at 150 and inexplicably drop to 135 in a matter of months, that's a sign that something's not quite right with your health. Rheumatoid arthritis most often begins to develop between the ages of 30 and 50. The Four Reasons You Keep Losing Weight then Gaining it Back. Muscle helps keep the rate at which you burn calories (metabolism) up. If your thyroid gland makes too much thyroid hormone, it revs up your metabolism so you burn more calories and lose weight. People with chronic pancreatitis—a disease in which the pancreas becomes inflamed—tend to lose weight quickly (even if they are eating normally) because the body simply doesn’t produce enough enzymes for proper digestion of food to occur, according to The National Pancreas Foundation. Unexplained weight loss is the term used to describe a decrease in body weight that occurs unintentionally and can be a warning sign of diabetes. A large number of people who have trouble losing weight are simply eating too many calories. Many cancers are associated with a wasting syndrome called cancer cachexia, adds Maya Feller, R.D. 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