I just keep gaining weight! Help!
healthiskey123
Posts: 4 Member
Hello 
I'm 21 years old and am 5 ft 4. I weigh 116 lbs as of today but this has gone up 10 lbs in 3 months! I have recently (2 months ago) moved back to university and have managed to develop a rice cake bing eating addiction so that can probably be accounted for it. But I've stopped them now and I'm still gaining weight! I run between 12 to 15km 5 times a week but my stomach is just looking bigger than ever.
Help!
I'm 21 years old and am 5 ft 4. I weigh 116 lbs as of today but this has gone up 10 lbs in 3 months! I have recently (2 months ago) moved back to university and have managed to develop a rice cake bing eating addiction so that can probably be accounted for it. But I've stopped them now and I'm still gaining weight! I run between 12 to 15km 5 times a week but my stomach is just looking bigger than ever.
Help!
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Replies
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what do you eat?0
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First, you're at a healthy weight now, whereas you were teetering on being underweight before.
Second, you need to track what you're eating, including exact weights of your food, to know how many calories you're eating. I know that can be hard living on campus, but it's the only way to know how much you really eat.
Third, the low weight and binging sound like disordered behavior. You might want to schedule an appointment with your campus health center to discuss this.0 -
Did you just join? What's your diary look like? If you are still gaining weight then you are eating more calories than your body is burning. Get a food scale, weigh your solids and measure liquids. You are more than likely eating more than you think.0
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Stomach looking bigger is not the same as just keep gaining weight.
Looking bigger can be all kinds of reasons that have no weight gain, or minimal, with it.
Just keep gaining weight could have no visible effects for a good amount of time.
How much weight gained in what time period?
And you realize that with all that running, you are just asking your body to store more glycogen in the muscles, and that stores with water. Needed body improvements for the exercise you are doing.
Blood volume will also increase if you are sweating more from these runs, so more water weight.
But none of that in the stomach.0 -
Thanks for the replies!
I have now made my food diary public0 -
..
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Looking at your diary I noticed a few points:
- Almost every day 50% or more of your calories are coming from sugars, you need to cut that out seriously and add some complex carbs.
- Your fat intake is way too low, you need to bump that up, you could also eat more protein.
- Your daily calory intakes fluctuate a lot and your 700 calorie deficits are in my opinion too high.0 -
Simply put, you're eating too much. To lose weight, your calorie intake should be closer to 1200. I don't expect the 1600 calories is going to make you gain weight, since you are exercising, but you can't expect to see weight loss when you are eating at maintenance.0
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If you're running that sort of distance every week, I'd stop worrying about your weight and concentrate on fuelling/nutrition...0
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Since you're already at a healthy weight it's probably time to worry less about the number on the scale and more about how you want to look and feel. The scale doesn't tell the whole story. Unless you're training for a serious race, and maybe even if you are, ditch a couple of days of running and trade for a couple of days in the campus weight room. Adding muscle will help to decrease your body fat percentage and give you a nice "toned" look rather than just being thin.0
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Pregnant.0
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Do you use a scale? Some of your entries are very generic. When you have so little to lose your calorie counting needs to be more precise.0
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Liftng4Lis wrote: »
Possible!0 -
TimothyFish wrote: »Simply put, you're eating too much. To lose weight, your calorie intake should be closer to 1200. I don't expect the 1600 calories is going to make you gain weight, since you are exercising, but you can't expect to see weight loss when you are eating at maintenance.
Already underweight.
Advice on creating a big deficit probably not useful.
But seriously, 1200 at her height with that much exercise? Ouch.
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If you are at this weight, and trying to lose more, there is an underlying issue. There isn't any weight training in your exercise regiment so any weight gain would not be healthy. Work on getting your proteins into your body to try and maintain your muscles. The "stomach bulging" issue is probably not as bad as you imagine it to be (i.e. body dysmorphia).
You are currently at a healthy weight and do not need to lose anymore. You might think about maintenance calories and weight training at this point to prevent further stomach bulge issues. The scale should not be your only measure of weight loss. Take a look at your body composition, this will tell you a more accurate story. Not even BMI is a good number to go by (again, it only factors in your weight and height).0 -
Thanks everyone.
About 2 years ago I was being treated for an eating disorder but now that I'm back at a healthy weight I'm beginning to hate myself again.
And I don't think I'm pregnant - I haven't had my period properly for about 3 years now.. (didn't stop due to weight loss, I think it was due to stress).0 -
Not having a proper period does not mean you can't get pregnant. Ovulation occurs before menstruation, so you can get pregnant before your periods resume. Might be worth taking a test to rule it out.0
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Sweetie, you need to go speak with your school's health center and find out if they have therapy resources that you can use. Obsession with weight + a diary that is all over the place + a history of an ED + not getting your period + running 5x a week = you may need some outside help.0
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Sweetie, you need to go speak with your school's health center and find out if they have therapy resources that you can use. Obsession with weight + a diary that is all over the place + a history of an ED + not getting your period + running 5x a week = you may need some outside help.
No "may" about it when you list it out like that.0 -
healthiskey123 wrote: »And I don't think I'm pregnant - I haven't had my period properly for about 3 years now.. (didn't stop due to weight loss, I think it was due to stress).
Honey, even if you are not regular that does not mean you cannot get pregnant.
In addition to seeing if your school offers help for eating disorders, you may want to see a gynaecologist soon to fix your period problem. Maybe he can prescribe you the pill or some other treatment to help you get more regular. Put simply, if you are not getting your period regularly your hormones are going haywire and shooting everywhere. Since hormones regulate everything, that may have something to do with your bloated stomach, eventually even with your eating issues.
If you are worried that taking the pill will make you gain weight, I will just repeat what my gynaecologist said to me – the pill does not make you gain weight, it just multiplies any weight fluctuation by three.
Besides, there are different types of pill with different dosages and not all of them have the same effects. One of them gave me a permanent increase in the boobs area.
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Can I also recommend that the OP reads Chrissie Wellington's autobiography please? You really might find it interesting.0
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TimothyFish wrote: »Simply put, you're eating too much. To lose weight, your calorie intake should be closer to 1200. I don't expect the 1600 calories is going to make you gain weight, since you are exercising, but you can't expect to see weight loss when you are eating at maintenance.
Please do not give advice unless you actually bother checking the numbers based on statistics she's already given. According to online calculators, OP's maintenance level would actually be somewhere around 2100-2200 (given the exercising 5x per week). Even 3x a week puts her at 2000. Deficit (though she does NOT need one as it has been pointed out that she is already at a healthy weight for her height) should be a small one, maybe 1700.0 -
Hi and thanks for opening up your food log for us all to see! I am a personal trainer and a certified sports nutritionist. Without doing too many calculations and doing just a quick glance through this thread and your diaries I have to first say that the advice of you being on a 1200 kcal diet is absurd. At no point should you or anyone for that matter who is trying to maintain a healthy metabolism need to be on such low calories. In extreme cases sometimes people who are dieting down for a fitness show or someone who might have a surgery and be under the care of a doctor have to diet down on those low calories - that's pretty much it. In your situation - your calories aren't really the issue but I would personally advise that you look at your macro nutrient breakdown to fine tune everything (carbohydrates, proteins, fats). Right now - it looks as if your carbohydrate count is a bit high and is making up on average from what I calculated over the past week 65-75% of your diet. It's ok to have 40-60% of your diet be carbs. What I am also noticing is that you have an extremely low protein diet. Protein helps with a few things - keeps you full longer, helps with tissue repair, and it also takes more energy to turn protein into energy which means that if you put a little more in your diet you can increase your thermic effect on food. The underlying good news here is that your fiber intake is good - minimum amount should be 20 grams a day. Sugar is also pretty high - good news is that its coming from raw foods and not processed added sugar. I would still recommend cutting back on HOW much sugar is in your diet and replace some of that with protein content and healthy fats (avocados, nuts, olive oil, pumpkin oil, almond butter). I hope this helps!!!0
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According to BMI, you're at 19.9 now, which is toward the low end of a healthy weight range (108-145).healthiskey123 wrote:I'm 21 years old and am 5 ft 4.
I weigh 116 lbs as of today but this has gone up 10 lbs in 3 months!
At 106 your BMI was 18.2, which was underweight & unhealthy.
So congrat's on getting into the healthy range! 
If you want to stop gaining weight, you need to bring your calories down to maintenance level.
According to Harvard Medical School, if you're exercising 30 minutes per day (cardio) you should be eating about 15 cal/lb to maintain weight.
To maintain 120 lb, putting your BMI at 20.6, that would be 1800 cal/day.
Maybe you need to start some core exercises (planks all around, situps, back extensions, twists) to tone the area.my stomach is just looking bigger than ever.
You're already at a healthy weight.
Adding weightlifting & continuing the cardio, along with eating reasonable portions of healthy foods, would allow you to burn fat & build muscle.0 -
The first part of this is great, the second part, not so much. You can't spot reduce or "tone" a particular area of the body. If a body is genetically pre-disposed to hold weight in the stomach area no amount of crunches or core exercises are going to shift that fat. Building muscle in the core area will just build the muscles hiding underneath the fat. Only a decrease in overall body fat percentage will reduce fat in trouble areas and the best way to decrease overall body fat percentage without cutting calories is to strength train the whole body and build muscle all over.
According to BMI, you're at 19.9 now, which is toward the low end of a healthy weight range (108-145).healthiskey123 wrote:I'm 21 years old and am 5 ft 4.
I weigh 116 lbs as of today but this has gone up 10 lbs in 3 months!
At 106 your BMI was 18.2, which was underweight & unhealthy.
So congrat's on getting into the healthy range!
If you want to stop gaining weight, you need to bring your calories down to maintenance level.
According to Harvard Medical School, if you're exercising 30 minutes per day (cardio) you should be eating about 15 cal/lb to maintain weight.
To maintain 120 lb, putting your BMI at 20.6, that would be 1800 cal/day.
Maybe you need to start some core exercises (planks all around, situps, back extensions, twists) to tone the area.my stomach is just looking bigger than ever.
You're already at a healthy weight.
Adding weightlifting & continuing the cardio, along with eating reasonable portions of healthy foods, would allow you to burn fat & build muscle.
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I have people on my friends list who are at or below 5' tall, and for them 800-1000 cal/day is perfectly healthy & reasonable.hstammen85 wrote:I am a personal trainer and a certified sports nutritionist.
... the advice of you being on a 1200 kcal diet is absurd. At no point should you or anyone for that matter who is trying to maintain a healthy metabolism need to be on such low calories.
I'm close to 5'10" and my weight loss doc suggested I go down to 1300 cal/day. My current goal is 1400, and I try not to eat back any exercise calories. (Doesn't always work out that way, but I'm still losing weight.) She's quite happy with my health & metabolism.
Here's a table which explains the healthy ranges for macros.look at your macro nutrient breakdown to fine tune everything (carbohydrates, proteins, fats)... It's ok to have 40-60% of your diet be carbs. What I am also noticing is that you have an extremely low protein diet. Protein helps with a few things - keeps you full longer, helps with tissue repair, and it also takes more energy to turn protein into energy which means that if you put a little more in your diet you can increase your thermic effect on food.
page 1, carbs, 45 - 65% of calories (4 cal per gram)
page 2, fat, 20 - 35% of calories (9 cal per gram)
page 4, protein, 10 - 35% of calories (4 cal per gram)
So for someone with a calorie goal of 1800 per day, that would be
50% carbs, 900 cal, 225 g
25% fat, 450 cal, 50g
25% protein, 450 cal, 113 g
(just to take the simplest example as a starting point; adjust for your own needs, to see where you feel best)
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I have people on my friends list who are at or below 5' tall, and for them 800-1000 cal/day is perfectly healthy & reasonable.
For maintenance?
That's crazy.
You have caught several of the comments pointing out the stats, because others didn't do the math either, right?
Already at healthy weight, no need for deficit, should be eating at maintenance.
Your prior post already recognized that fact, why would you suggest eating well below potential maintenance for? You a research scientist doing some experiments on gullible people willing to listen to anything?
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TimothyFish wrote: »Simply put, you're eating too much. To lose weight, your calorie intake should be closer to 1200. I don't expect the 1600 calories is going to make you gain weight, since you are exercising, but you can't expect to see weight loss when you are eating at maintenance.
Already underweight.
Advice on creating a big deficit probably not useful.
But seriously, 1200 at her height with that much exercise? Ouch.
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