Over the last few months my son Taylor has lost a lot of weight, around 25-30 lbs, going from 155-160, down to 130, a pretty low weight for someone that is 5’11.”     Once I noticed (sadly, I didn’t notice until he’d lost about 20 lbs, because I’m a terrible mother unobservant like that), I scheduled a doctor appointment for him and he’s had a battery of tests.  He’s not suffering from Krohn’s, irritable bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance or any of the common causes of weight loss.  

It’s odd  because he hasn’t been ill or  even had any symptoms outside of the weight loss. 

He’s been to the pediatrician 3-4 times, the hospital for blood work and the pediatric gastroenterologist, who “threatened” him with more invasive tests (e.g.  a tube down the throat or up the bum) if he didn’t keep a food diary for the nutritionist.  Which is our next stop  in the unexplained weight loss tour.  

Last night he showed me his food diary; surprisingly, for someone that protested that “this is stupid,” he did a really good job of writing down the foods that he ate. 

Unfortunately, in the “amount” column for each item he wrote “ALL.” 

Yes, somehow he thought the nutritionist could figure out the calorie count of fried shrimp, spaghetti, or an omelet, based up on the amount of “ALL.”

Which begs the question, is my 16 year old exceptionally dumb, along with frighteningly thin?  

No, really, he’s a smart kid, but the common sense, well, it’s lacking.

I honestly don’t think there’s anything wrong with him.  Well, at least not physically.   Part way through this process he did say that he had “wanted to lose the weight.”   But, when your son HATES going to the doctor, well, it’s a little hard to discern the motivation to a sudden confession that he likely feels would get him out of some blood work.  (He’s a needle hater, that one.) 

Plus, it’s odd in that he wasn’t overweight to begin with, and he’s not a vain child.  He wears blue jeans and t-shirts every day.   Cares about good hygiene, but not overly much about his appearance.  He’s the kind of child that plays chess, carries a rubik’s cube and wears shirts with science puns on them.

Nevertheless, he’s also the sort of child that likes a challange.  That worked really hard to solve that rubik’s cube in less than a minute; who becomes mildly obsessive about something (right now it’s Dr. Who) until a new obsession comes along.   

I fear the weight loss falls into that catagory.  For awhile, for whatever reason, he decided that he wanted to NOT eat very much, to see if he could do it.

Or… maybe it’s a rebellious thing.  He has a squeaky wheel for a sister.   She’s wonderful, but she DEMANDS the attention, and would tell me, from the time she was three or four, that we shouldn’t have any more babies because she “wouldn’t get enough attention.”  Reagan is a loud, vivacious child that makes friends (and enemies) easily.  Taylor is quiet; he has friends, the same friends for years, but is rarely the center of attention.  (He definitely seems to prefer it that way.) 

He’s always been an obedient child, my “easy kid.”

And maybe we’ve taken that for granted.  Maybe this weight loss was a “pay attention to me” ploy, especially since food is a big deal in our house. 

My husband has been getting up and making the kids breakfast every morning.  I’ve been cooking dinner most nights (and per doctor’s orders, I’ve been serving “all the bad stuff,” lots of protein, lots of fats-plus a side of veggies and a fruit, thank you very much. )   And he hasn’t lost any more weight.  But, he hasn’t really gained any either. 

(Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for myself. LOL.)

It’s a mystery, and while I love to read a good one, I hate dealing with one in my personal life.  I just want this to be over (even if I never have a “real” answer) and for everything to be okay.   A mere “okay” has never sounded so great.