Gaining Weight for No Reason

hs1744

This summer, I decided I was going to get serious about losing weight. I’d been kind of toying with it for a while. I started losing extremely slowly (not even sure why it was so slow - I was eating ~1100-1500 calories) and eventually reached a low weight of 101.8 (my highest was 112). That was about a month ago. Ever since then, I haven’t reached that weight again, and this past week, I’ve been steadily gaining .4 lbs per day. May not seem that huge, but that’s like 3 lbs per week. I just don’t understand how this could be. If there’s 3500 calories in a pound, you’d have to eat an excess of 1750 calories to gain .4 lbs. I’m not even eating 1750 calories. I’ve barely changed my eating or exercise habits at all. That makes me think it’s just my weight fluctuating, but that wouldn’t make sense either because there’s no reason I’d be bloated, and it’s such a constant increase. To add to my frustration, I wanted to try to start maintaining, but it’s looking like that can’t happen now as I’ve gained so much without even changing anything - who knows what would happen if I did change something. I know a lot of times people will say you’re probably just underestimating your calories, but I’m not one to do that. Maybe a little in the past, but recently, I can’t think of anything I could’ve underestimated. I try to overestimate if anything, and I never track exercise calories. If anyone has any advice, personal experience, or anything you want to share, I’d appreciate it so much. I’m beyond frustrated right now.

deannalfisher

where are you at in your cycle?

ElizabethKalmbach

If this is happening for a number of weeks straight, and you've been studiously recording everything (calories/exercise/weight), and you're sure about your good habits/weighing all your food/not over estimating exercise calories, take your records to the doctor.

The last 2 times I've had incongruous scale activity for an extended period of time, (23 lbs LOST/20 lbs gained) it was a medical issue (vitamin deficiency) that needed attention before I could get back to business as usual.

This isn't the case for most, but if you're SURE about your numbers and it's been a month or two, get to the doctor.

collectingblues

How tall are you?

ladyzherra

Age, height, build, and physical elements such as deficiencies, hydration, menstrual cycle, and much more, can all play some role in weight fluctuation any given day, if not directly than I directly. Also, the body is built for survival and will try to correct weight that is too low or too high for it's best interests.

For example, when I weighed my lowest, 118 at 5'3, I got terrible headaches and other signs that my body was not optimally functioning. My body tried to gain weight back to be optimal again.

apullum

collectingblues wrote: »

How tall are you?

This. There are several things that are concerning in your post. You’re targeting a very low weight. If you’re around 5 feet tall, then it’s near the bottom of your healthy BMI range. If you’re 5’3” or taller, it’s underweight.

Your post also indicates that you sometimes eat less than 1200 calories per day, which could indicate that you don’t weigh and log all your food—in which case you’re almost certainly eating more than you think you are. Considering that you also say you don’t eat any exercise calories, however, I’m concerned that it could also indicate a long term pattern of undereating.

tinkerbellang83

Previous post in 2017 suggests you were underweight previously and also that you may be under 18?

quiksylver296

Whether underweight or underage, this is still good knowledge.

Read this, OP.

http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations

ElizabethKalmbach

In the event that @tinkerbellang83 and @apullum are correct, I re-endorse visiting a doctor, who would be able to screen for disordered eating habits, advise on access to nutritionist or therapists as needed, and check for delayed development patterns common to both female athletes and those with disordered eating habits.

If OP is unwilling to truthfully discuss their habits/situation with a medical professional, that should be their first sign that there is a problem, and they should stop and reassess what they are doing.

This site and it's calculations and advice are geared towards ADULTS who are finished growing and developing. Even those adults who are finished growing and not in the expected height/weight parameters of the site will have trouble and may require tweaks. For someone who is *not* finished growing many of the base assumptions used for making calculations will be incorrect and at best unhelpful and at worst unhealthy.

kshama2001

@haileyshumar I noticed you have 6 posts, and have started 6 threads, and never answered anyone's questions on any of them. So until you decide to participate more in the threads you start, I'm just going to say I see some red flags in your posts and suggest you see a doctor.

LyndaBSS

You don’t gain weight for no reason. It’s either due to eating above calories, perhaps a medical issue, water weight from new exercise, logging incorrectly, not logging everything, not using a food scale, etc. The list goes on.

Buckle down and figure out what’s going on.

If, in fact, you’re underage, talk to your parents.

Good luck with your journey! 🍀

LyndaBSS

@kshama2001 Good spot! 🧐

amy19355

haileyshumar wrote: »

This summer, I decided I was going to get serious about losing weight. I’d been kind of toying with it for a while. I started losing extremely slowly (not even sure why it was so slow - I was eating ~1100-1500 calories) and eventually reached a low weight of 101.8 (my highest was 112). That was about a month ago. Ever since then, I haven’t reached that weight again, and this past week, I’ve been steadily gaining .4 lbs per day. May not seem that huge, but that’s like 3 lbs per week. I just don’t understand how this could be. If there’s 3500 calories in a pound, you’d have to eat an excess of 1750 calories to gain .4 lbs. I’m not even eating 1750 calories. I’ve barely changed my eating or exercise habits at all. That makes me think it’s just my weight fluctuating, but that wouldn’t make sense either because there’s no reason I’d be bloated, and it’s such a constant increase. To add to my frustration, I wanted to try to start maintaining, but it’s looking like that can’t happen now as I’ve gained so much without even changing anything - who knows what would happen if I did change something. I know a lot of times people will say you’re probably just underestimating your calories, but I’m not one to do that. Maybe a little in the past, but recently, I can’t think of anything I could’ve underestimated. I try to overestimate if anything, and I never track exercise calories. If anyone has any advice, personal experience, or anything you want to share, I’d appreciate it so much. I’m beyond frustrated right now.

there is nothing in your post that explains HOW you are figuring out the number of calories that you estimate you are eating.

if you are measuring with your eyes, replace it with a food scale and start logging your food intake.