35 Pounds!

35 pounds is how much N has lost since January!  You can imagine that my panic mom-mode is way up.  If  there was one thing that I drilled into him before he left it was that he CAN'T LOSE WEIGHT!  I knew that this was an age group with a high relapse rate.  I also knew that serving a mission would remove him from his regular patterns of eating and exercising.  I knew he had to be so careful.  So did he. 

He left on his mission a year ago, probably with 30 or 40 extra pounds on him.  But, of course, we didn't know if he could lose ANY weight at all without triggering the mental symptoms of anorexia.  We had a very terse conversation via email on Monday.  I *think* that there is not a resurgence of restricting, ocd, or anxiety symptoms, but it is so hard to be sure without living and interacting with him.  My sense is the combination of being on a bike all day long, relying on church members for meals, and all the exercise programs that have been thrown into his routine have resulted in a slow (and not necessarily deliberate) loss of weight. 

He promised me that he would make sure that he doesn't lose any more weight.  And I told him that I would hold him to that promise.  I shipped a huge box of groceries to his apartment last week.  He was also recently shifted to a new area and given a car - so he isn't on a bike as much as he was.  Will it be enough?  I'm not sure, now that he has probably erased his weight buffer. 

As I mentioned previously, this is an area where the missionaries typically gain weight.  He didn't lose any weight during the initial 6 months of his mission, but he was primarily using a car.  So, I really hope shifting him to a car will help stop the weight loss.

I'm having to trust him right now - that there isn't any mental involvement.  But can I trust him?  I know that his own perception of reality was so altered when he was previously sick.  I don't know.  I'm going to give him a month or two.  If he is able to keep his word and stop losing weight, I'll feel much better.  But if the weight loss continues, I'll be contacting his Mission President.