Being aware of changes in and with our bodies!

Growing older sometimes brings with it all sorts of phobias! Imaginations I guess you'd describe them, more to the point.

Speaking with a health professional recently, she pointed out the worrisome tendency of "growing older" people who don't take any notice when they start losing weight unexpectedly. She explained "there's always a reason and yet so many people put it in the too hard file and forget about it. That is, until someone notices and remarks about it".

Many things including thyroid problems, diabetes and other disorders as well as infections and drug reactions can cause unplanned weight loss. There are, of course, other reasons too.

So it's easy to understand when a weight loss that is noticeable to others as well as your own scales happens, one can easily become entangled in all sorts of imaginings (especially thinking it's cancer). Sadly a lot of people put off having to ask their Dr for checkups, in the fear that they'll find "something awful".

But in our "obesity-obsessed" society, most people who lose weight are congratulated. Sometimes it happens that the powerful desire for weight loss coincides with the unintended weight loss of a disease process and the two become confused. Sometimes it also happens that while people recognise they are losing weight, they don't recognise new symptoms and regard the whole process as a mystery."(Fifty-Plus News July 2010).

It is always preferable that for unexplained weight loss, it is best to consult the family doctor. The doctor will take your history, which if given in an atmosphere of trust and honesty, can reveal much more than the patient anticipates.

As Jill Margo of Bodyworks (Fifty-Plus News) said in her recent column, "As doctors say - 'if you listen long enough, patients will tell you what is wrong with them'".

Your doctor has your file to refer to; he can listen carefully to what you are saying and because he knows you, he can revise what he already knows to meet your needs by asking pertinent questions (pertinent to him - maybe not to you!) ; he'll also be aware of any stress or emotional situations you may be going through (if you're honest enough to tell him/her). All these can relate to a change in eating habits.

But losing weight unintentionally may NOT be a bad thing. If you are emerging from a stressful situation, then you might begin to shed weight, as you become more confident and more like your old self.

(© excerpts from Fifty-Plus, Victoria, July 2010