Why have I gained 25 lbs in a month?

brutiskilledcaesar

I'm so depressed. I weighed in today at 200 lbs. (I'm 5'2 and female)
At Thanksgiving, I weighed 175.
During Thanksgiving weekend (3 days), I gained 10 of those lbs.
I eat out often, but do not keep snacks in the house.
It's hard to tell, but 2000-2500 calories is typical for the days I go out, which are 2 or 3 times a week. The others, my calorie intake is probably more like 1500-2000. My intake is a lot, but not enough to account for the weight gain (or is it?).

extra info, not necessary to read:
I am in my 2nd year of college. I have maintained 170s since the summer after I graduated, when I gained 10 lbs on a cruise (160s to 170s).
The beginning of senior year, I was 145 lbs. The summer between junior and senior year, I had gone from 125 to 145 lbs eating between 1200 to 1500 calories a day.
Prior to that summer, I struggled with an eating disorder for 5 years to maintain 125 lbs. During that time period, my weight went anywhere from 125 to 165, although 135 was typical. I would guess my average calorie intake was about 600 calories.

Please help! I am devastated

prattiger65

You didn't, you probably took in a lot of sodium and are retaining fluid. 25 lbs. is 87500 EXTRA calories, you didn't eat that much. Get on track and it will go back down I"ll bet.

higgins8283801

Some of that isn't true fat. However you really need to be sure of what you're eating, calorie wise, to lose weight.

Weight loss is all about a calorie deficit. If you don't have one, you're not going to lose.

TheVirgoddess

There's really no way for us to tell you what you've gained if you're not logging your food. It's just guessing at this point.

sheldonklein

You aren't retaining 25 pounds of water-you've gained a lot of weight. You are badly underestimating your calorie intake. Log accurately and you'll will be shocked by your actual intake. In light of your past ED, consult with an expert about what to do about it.

sofaking6

Yeah chances are slim that you ate *that* much...however, it does sound like you might have a pattern of going really all-out when you do indulge?

I would also suggest that you were getting more than 12-1500/day when you put on 20 pounds in a summer. Are you logging? Log. Log all your food for a while, you'll get a good reality check on how much you're really eating as well as the quality of your food, plus over time you'll develop a better sense of how many calories are in different foods. This will be an invaluable tool when you're out at restaurants.

madrose0715

If that is you in the profile pic, you do not weigh 200 lbs. This feels a little trollish...

ETA: this feels alot trollish.

Francl27

Are you logging? You could be eating more than you think. I would guess that at least some of that is water weight though.

roxilegend

I'm supposing you just joined MFP? If so - the first step really is to start logging everything you eat. Do it for a week - you'd be surprised how many more calories you could be eating than you think. Like the others said, though, I doubt you truly ate enough to gain 25lbs. Weight fluctuates for many reasons including sodium intake, time of the month, even time of the day.

goingforahundred

All of the advice above is excellent! Logging my food intake was an enormous eye opener for me! Can you believe that one plain biscuit from Hardee's has 260 calories!!! I would also suggest that you see your physician. I gained over 20 pounds in one month when my thyroid quit functioning properly. Please keep your chin up and know that no matter what the cause there is a solution.

2snakeswoman

Consistent accurate logging is the only way to be sure. I've often been amazed how quickly the calories add up when I'm truly logging every pat of butter and pinch of trail mix (etc).

Universities have done studies where they strictly enforce a certain calorie count on volunteers, and virtually every single person eating less than 1400 calories per day loses weight. Exceptions to these kinds of studies are extremely rare. Yet every other day on MFP and other sites, people claim that they can't lose weight on reasonable calorie restriction. They want to believe that they are exceptions, but very likely they are not.

dawn0293

If you are 5'2 and you think you are eating an average of around 2000 calories but not weighing or logging things, you are likely eating a ton more calories than you think you are. Plus, if you aren't very active and eating around 2000 calories a day (even if you have been religiously counting calories) it could be too much for someone of your short stature. When I used this calorie calculator: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm added your gender, height, set the age to 20, the weight to 200lbs, and included the sedentary/little exercise setting, it shows that a person would need less than 2000 daily calories to maintain a weight of 200lbs.

Mr_Knight

prattiger65 wrote: »

25 lbs. is 87500 EXTRA calories, you didn't eat that much.

Over six weeks, that's about 2000 calories/day above maintenance.

Not really out of the question, TBH.

obscuremusicreference

madrose0715 wrote: »

If that is you in the profile pic, you do not weigh 200 lbs. This feels a little trollish...

ETA: this feels alot trollish.

I'm with you. 5'2 and 195--or 170--does not look like that.

LAWoman72

obscuremusicreference wrote: »

madrose0715 wrote: »

If that is you in the profile pic, you do not weigh 200 lbs. This feels a little trollish...

ETA: this feels alot trollish.

I'm with you. 5'2 and 195--or 170--does not look like that.

Maybe it's an old picture and where she wants to be again?

brutiskilledcaesar

I haven't used myfitnesspal in years, I used it in high school (hence the dumb username) when I had an eating disorder to track calories and that's when that profile picture is from. I was 60 lbs thinner in that picture. I only logged on today because I needed advice from a weight loss community. I'm not really sure how someone struggling with weight gain seems "trollish", and it's quite rude that you would say that when this is something that is a huge issue for me.
Anywho, I write down my calories 75% of the time in a journal, and the calories are accurate (except when I have to guess because some menus don't write calories). I even have a food scale to weigh portions so my calories are accurate. I would guess the reason I gained all that weight the summer after high school is because my metabolism was screwed up (look at Demi Lovato's weight gain after rehab).
I think you're right, it's probably a lot of sodium. My body looks similar to how it did pre-weight gain, but my stomach which is usually small for my weight has been HUGE the past week or two. I even got a few stretch marks, something that never happens. Also, I've done some research and it probably has to do with me eating WAY too many carbs. Plus, I've been very sedentary lately. I talked to my mom about it, and nearly every woman on my dad's side has thyroid problems so we might go get some blood tests done. I really ought to start working out again. Thanks for all the advice! It was so helpful

allyphoe

Pregnant?

SergeantSausage

brutiskilledcaesar wrote: »

Please help! I am devastated

The ONLY help you need is learning how to be honest with yourself on your skill level of estimating calories.

Don't estimate.

Weigh, measure, and record.

EVERYTHING.

EVERYTIME.

75% doesn't cut the mustard.

It's not your thyroid. It's not your lack of working out. It's not sodium induced water retention. It's not an eating disorder. It's not your metabolism. It ain't the carbs.

It's simple dishonesty with yourself (and now us) about how many calories you are consuming.

The FatLogic . It burns. Put it out now.

Liftng4Lis

I doubt you gained 25 pounds in a month, so when is the time previous that you had weighed in. Regardless, to lose, you need to eat at a caloric deficit. Weigh and measure, but most important, be honest with yourself.

Francl27

SergeantSausage wrote: »

brutiskilledcaesar wrote: »

Please help! I am devastated

The ONLY help you need is learning how to be honest with yourself on your skill level of estimating calories.

Don't estimate.

Weigh, measure, and record.

EVERYTHING.

EVERYTIME.

75% doesn't cut the mustard.

It's not your thyroid. It's not your lack of working out. It's not sodium induced water retention. It's not an eating disorder. It's not your metabolism. It ain't the carbs.

It's simple dishonesty with yourself (and now us) about how many calories you are consuming.

The FatLogic . It burns. Put it out now.

I agree with this, although it doesn't hurt to have your thyroid checked, obviously.

skinnyinnotime

TheVirgoddess wrote: »

There's really no way for us to tell you what you've gained if you're not logging your food. It's just guessing at this point.[/quote

This