Gaining weight on 1200?
Replies
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CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »KetoZandra wrote: »I used to be very slim and all of a sudden I was gaining weight (30lbs a year on 1200 calories) and my diet hadn't changed. Many doctors later and it was confirmed that I had PCOS. I went to 3 medical dieticians and each one put me on a traditional diet of 1200 calories which is what I was eating already and I continued to gain weight.
The first time I took carbs and fruit out of my diet the weight stopped going up.
Talk to your doctor and ask them to check if you have pcos. If you do the switch your diet to keto or low carb.
I do have low estrogen and progesterone levels, but I had a pelvic ultrasound and my ovaries were healthy. I also had my TSH tested and it was normal, but I'm still suspecting hypothyroidism as I experience most of its symptoms. Should I test my T3 and T4 as well?
have them refer you to an endocrinologist. my daugher has hypothyroidism and it took them almost 2 years of testing to find out she had it only because she had fluctuating levels. one test came out high while all others came out normal. she was referred to an endo and like I said and after the end of almost 2 years of normal levels her last test came out high again and every subsequent test was high. so she is now on meds to treat it. they should have tested your T3, T3RU, T4, and TSH levels and an thyroid antibody test too would be good too. They also tested my daugter for PCOS(as it can go hand in hand with thyroid issues). and her vitamin D levels which her D levels were low so she takes a supplement weekly for that.
I will also say that many people will call BS on the CICO issue. but my daughter had no appetite and she was eating less than 1200 calories most days it was less than 500. (we kept track and we weighed and logged everything here on mfp-she had an acct) I knew what she ate as shes a homebody and only time she left the house was when she was with me or her dad/brother. she gained weight over the years .
she is obese and has tried to lose the weight. even eating 1200 calories now she hasnt lost anything,in fact she has gained weight. her levels for thyroid say they are now in the normal range. its been 6 months and still no loss and shes working and on her feet 5-8 hrs a day and still no loss. There are still days she eats under 1200 and nothing.
her weight gain started when she was 9 years old(she was tested back then and tests were normal) and shes 23 now. its went up every year since then. it was stable for the last year and now shes gaining again. she should be losing being more active and not eating a lot but she isnt. and it shouldnt be water retention because in the last 2 months shes gained 20 lbs. she doesnt eat enough to gain 20 lbs in 2 months time.
Just a question to understand this: you say your daughter is gaining weight on very few calories. Is she in a coma? Has her body completely stopped functioning?
This is an interesting study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2980962/
"The specific resting metabolic rates (Ki; in kcal · kg−1 · d−1) of major organs and tissues in adults were suggested by Elia (in Energy metabolism: tissue determinants and cellular corollaries. New York, NY: Raven Press, 1992) to be as follows: 200 for liver, 240 for brain, 440 for heart and kidneys, 13 for skeletal muscle, 4.5 for adipose tissue, and 12 for residual organs and tissues."
That means: taking the average weight of various organs into account,
Liver (1.2-1.5kg): 240-300kcal/day
brain (1.35kg): 324kcal/day
heart (0.25kg): 110kcal/day
muscles( 30-40% of person. lets say 70kg and 30% ->21kg ): 252kcal/day
adipose tissue (30%? ->21kg): 95kcal/day
other organs (yikes! at least 6kg, plus at least 10 for skin and other stuff): at least 192kcal/day
thus just for your daughter to stay alive, have a brain and organs that work her body needs at least 1213kcal per day. This is non-negotiable. The body does not reduce the energy need of those things as it would otherwise not survive. If she had a medical condition that made her store all food as fat then she could not survive as her organs would stop functioning. Think of it this way: you can't fill up a jerrycan full of petrol and put it in the boot of your car for later, and at the same time use this petrol to power your car now.
I get what BMR is and no shes not in a coma. I know how it all works, I know how much she eats she knows how much she eats. we had to weigh ALL her food and keep track of her calories for a few months when she first went to her endo. and yes she was undereating by a LOT. she doesnt binge eat, whens she is at work she has something from the deli if she works long enough to get a lunch break, she doesnt eat before she leaves the house either. and when she gets home she may have a small meal and most times shes right around 1200 calories.
shes a very picky eater too she eats very little fruits and when she does it far and few between, only veggie she eats is potatoes,she eats no rice,no spaghetti,hardly eats bread,no condiments,no dressings,she drinks one soda a day,she drinks a lot of water. Her endo cannot understand why she isnt losing either, and she goes back next month. her levels are good for her thyroid. maybe you want to come and observe her? cause I can guarantee you would be baffled too. she had the day off today and she hasnt eaten anything yet today and its almost 7pm. shes making 2 hashbrowns and she will be making a ramen bowl which is 490 calories(possibly more if weighed). but thats around 800 calories. she may have a snack later but I can say without a doubt that she wont eat another 400 calories the rest of the night. maybe 200.
she has eaten like this for at least the last 5 years. when she went to school she would pack a very small lunch and come back with most of it. she rarely ate school lunch. I had teachers contact me with concern about how little she ate. the counselor was convinced she had an eating disorder. she eats way less than the rest of us. even my 5 year old nephew eats more than she does. she was even told to work out 30 min a day while she was weighing and counting her calories and she did that for 2 months. still no loss(she did not eat back exercise calories as she didnt log them).
she has lost no weight while being on her meds either(which I know isnt a guarantee). as for her she is 5'3 and 23 years old. Im 5'6 1/2 44 yrs of age and my BMR is 1217(5 years of data tells me this) and Im more active than she is. My BMR should be higher than it is but its not. for my activity level my maintenance should be 2200+ and its less than 1900 calories.
yet it took me more than 3 years to lose 45 lbs and the first year I lost 17 without counting/weighing. The next 2 years I weighed EVERYTHING and counted calories. even exercised twice a day every other day, I have no thyroid issues and my weight loss is super super slow. I even did 1500 calories a day without eating back exercise calories for a month. I lost nothing. I know how to weigh everything in grams, I know how to stick to calories. we both now how it works yet for some reason where CICO is supposed to work something is off.
when I started I was even helping to tear down the neighbors house and working all day and only eating lunch and dinner and weighing everything then. I was netting low calories and lost very little. even when I sweat I dont seem to lose water weight either . when I did keto (for another reason) I only lost 5 lbs the whole 2 months I was on it. and that was at the beginning, I was eating 1500 calories (the same as when not doing keto). so while CICO is an energy equation and you have to burn more than you take in to lose I still say that in some people something may be off to where their bodies dont burn what it should. you can nay say all you want.adaptive thermogenesis may be at play here Im sure. but something is off somewhere and its not how much she eats.2 -
Teabythesea_ wrote: »CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »KetoZandra wrote: »I used to be very slim and all of a sudden I was gaining weight (30lbs a year on 1200 calories) and my diet hadn't changed. Many doctors later and it was confirmed that I had PCOS. I went to 3 medical dieticians and each one put me on a traditional diet of 1200 calories which is what I was eating already and I continued to gain weight.
The first time I took carbs and fruit out of my diet the weight stopped going up.
Talk to your doctor and ask them to check if you have pcos. If you do the switch your diet to keto or low carb.
I do have low estrogen and progesterone levels, but I had a pelvic ultrasound and my ovaries were healthy. I also had my TSH tested and it was normal, but I'm still suspecting hypothyroidism as I experience most of its symptoms. Should I test my T3 and T4 as well?
have them refer you to an endocrinologist. my daugher has hypothyroidism and it took them almost 2 years of testing to find out she had it only because she had fluctuating levels. one test came out high while all others came out normal. she was referred to an endo and like I said and after the end of almost 2 years of normal levels her last test came out high again and every subsequent test was high. so she is now on meds to treat it. they should have tested your T3, T3RU, T4, and TSH levels and an thyroid antibody test too would be good too. They also tested my daugter for PCOS(as it can go hand in hand with thyroid issues). and her vitamin D levels which her D levels were low so she takes a supplement weekly for that.
I will also say that many people will call BS on the CICO issue. but my daughter had no appetite and she was eating less than 1200 calories most days it was less than 500. (we kept track and we weighed and logged everything here on mfp-she had an acct) I knew what she ate as shes a homebody and only time she left the house was when she was with me or her dad/brother. she gained weight over the years .
she is obese and has tried to lose the weight. even eating 1200 calories now she hasnt lost anything,in fact she has gained weight. her levels for thyroid say they are now in the normal range. its been 6 months and still no loss and shes working and on her feet 5-8 hrs a day and still no loss. There are still days she eats under 1200 and nothing.
her weight gain started when she was 9 years old(she was tested back then and tests were normal) and shes 23 now. its went up every year since then. it was stable for the last year and now shes gaining again. she should be losing being more active and not eating a lot but she isnt. and it shouldnt be water retention because in the last 2 months shes gained 20 lbs. she doesnt eat enough to gain 20 lbs in 2 months time.
I would hope that shes gained weight between the ages of 9 and 23...
Jokes aside, I doubt you're tracking every gram of a 23 year old's intake 24/7. If she's on medication for her thyroid there is no reason to believe that it is continuing to impact her weight loss, or lack thereof.
My guess is that shes eating more than you think or one or both of you are not logging accurately, or maybe it's a combination.
no you would think thats the issue. she keeps track of what she eats because she wants to lose the weight. we thought with her working and being more active that would help. it hasnt and shes been working since sept. I know how to weigh everything Ive been doing it more than 3 years now.I know which entries to choose as well. I didnt say her meds are impacting her weight loss. dr said that when her levels were stabilized that she may seem some weight loss. she hasnt. shes home when shes not at work. all her friends either work or have kids so she has not been out with any of them since she graduated high school(4+ years ago) shes a homebody.
I worry about her health and want her to lose the weight too and by all means she should be. lots of info in my other reply as well0 -
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CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
The first study states that elevated or low levels of TSH only impact your REE (which differs less than 10% from your BMR) by about 7-8%. So, yes, an over or under active thyroid can impact your BMR. Nobody here is arguing that that is untrue. However, it does not have nearly the impact you're claiming. Your daughter would not gain 20 lbs in 2 months eating less than 1200 calories a day and being lightly active. A 7-8 percent change would come out to a less than 200 calorie deviation from the a person's normal BMR that is anywhere from 1200-2200 calories. Furthermore, the study states that heightened TSH levels aren't necessarily the cause for obesity, but could be triggered by obesity itself. Resesrch doesnt seem to be conclusive on the matter. Most of the subjects who lost weight by means of diet and lifestyle changes or gastric band surgery had regulated TSH levels following weight loss. So yes, your daughters TSH levels could very well be high, nobody is arguing they aren't. However, with her being on medication that 7-8% change I mentioned earlier should be practically nonexistent and there is no reason to believe that her BMR is any different than what is considered normal for her age, height and weight.
I saw in your other response that you mentioned she wont eat fruits vegetables or most grains but will eat hashbrowns, soda, deli sandwiches, and ramen noodles. You say you weigh everything but prepackaged foods can vary by about 20% in their calorie counts. By having a diet that consists of mostly prepackaged and premade meals, she is very likely eating more than you think.
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I'm going to suggest a different angle and assume you are already tracking everything correctly (indeed you may purchase and use the scale and confirm that after a couple weeks you're still eating 1200 Cal's and gaining weight).
Have you been at this regime for a long time now (5 months or more)? Do you do a lot of light/moderate cardio? Do you feel lethergic/weak often?
The two main common ways to decrease your metabolism is to stay in a deficit for a prolonged period, and doing a lot of cardio. Both will force your body to adapt to be more efficient with it's energy usage... Which is great for survival during a famine, but terrible for weight loss.
Basically if this is the case you have bottomed out your capacity and there's no where left to cut calories.
Your best bet to go from here is what some refer to as a reverse diet. This is designed to rebuild your metabolism with minimal weight gain. It's like an long terms investment and it takes time - but if done correctly you could be maintaining your weight at a much higher calorie intake (like 2000+).
I feel I may have done this to myself. How do I get back a normal metabolism?0 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »Teabythesea_ wrote: »CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »KetoZandra wrote: »I used to be very slim and all of a sudden I was gaining weight (30lbs a year on 1200 calories) and my diet hadn't changed. Many doctors later and it was confirmed that I had PCOS. I went to 3 medical dieticians and each one put me on a traditional diet of 1200 calories which is what I was eating already and I continued to gain weight.
The first time I took carbs and fruit out of my diet the weight stopped going up.
Talk to your doctor and ask them to check if you have pcos. If you do the switch your diet to keto or low carb.
I do have low estrogen and progesterone levels, but I had a pelvic ultrasound and my ovaries were healthy. I also had my TSH tested and it was normal, but I'm still suspecting hypothyroidism as I experience most of its symptoms. Should I test my T3 and T4 as well?
have them refer you to an endocrinologist. my daugher has hypothyroidism and it took them almost 2 years of testing to find out she had it only because she had fluctuating levels. one test came out high while all others came out normal. she was referred to an endo and like I said and after the end of almost 2 years of normal levels her last test came out high again and every subsequent test was high. so she is now on meds to treat it. they should have tested your T3, T3RU, T4, and TSH levels and an thyroid antibody test too would be good too. They also tested my daugter for PCOS(as it can go hand in hand with thyroid issues). and her vitamin D levels which her D levels were low so she takes a supplement weekly for that.
I will also say that many people will call BS on the CICO issue. but my daughter had no appetite and she was eating less than 1200 calories most days it was less than 500. (we kept track and we weighed and logged everything here on mfp-she had an acct) I knew what she ate as shes a homebody and only time she left the house was when she was with me or her dad/brother. she gained weight over the years .
she is obese and has tried to lose the weight. even eating 1200 calories now she hasnt lost anything,in fact she has gained weight. her levels for thyroid say they are now in the normal range. its been 6 months and still no loss and shes working and on her feet 5-8 hrs a day and still no loss. There are still days she eats under 1200 and nothing.
her weight gain started when she was 9 years old(she was tested back then and tests were normal) and shes 23 now. its went up every year since then. it was stable for the last year and now shes gaining again. she should be losing being more active and not eating a lot but she isnt. and it shouldnt be water retention because in the last 2 months shes gained 20 lbs. she doesnt eat enough to gain 20 lbs in 2 months time.
I would hope that shes gained weight between the ages of 9 and 23...
Jokes aside, I doubt you're tracking every gram of a 23 year old's intake 24/7. If she's on medication for her thyroid there is no reason to believe that it is continuing to impact her weight loss, or lack thereof.
My guess is that shes eating more than you think or one or both of you are not logging accurately, or maybe it's a combination.
no you would think thats the issue. she keeps track of what she eats because she wants to lose the weight. we thought with her working and being more active that would help. it hasnt and shes been working since sept. I know how to weigh everything Ive been doing it more than 3 years now.I know which entries to choose as well. I didnt say her meds are impacting her weight loss. dr said that when her levels were stabilized that she may seem some weight loss. she hasnt. shes home when shes not at work. all her friends either work or have kids so she has not been out with any of them since she graduated high school(4+ years ago) shes a homebody.
I worry about her health and want her to lose the weight too and by all means she should be. lots of info in my other reply as well
Honestly, if all that you're saying is true, your daughter should probably be looking at getting a second opinion and/or pressing her doctor in terms of discussing her case with colleagues (with her consent)/doing more research. There could also be something totally unrelated to her thyroid going on.
For your daughter's sake I would like to think that she's not being accurate with her tracking, however there are zebras in fields of horses.0
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