Causes for Unexplained Weight Gain

staystrong_314159

Do you look fatter in the mirror? You may be gaining muscle. Also, before you started gaining, did you starve/purge/become deficient in something? If so, it may have either screwed up your metabolism or made your body think that it should hold onto every calorie it gets. This passes from around a month to half a year. Good luck.

p4ulmiller

Have you measured you body fat percentage? I know people are getting quite clinical, but it could be that you are simply gaining muscle?

p4ulmiller

@staystrong

Great minds and all that...

ZenInTexas

I wish people would stop victim-blaming. Doctors do this all the time when they either don't want to bother with tests or don't know what to test for. "It must be your fault, you're doing something wrong, stop eating so much" etc.

You *do* seem to be doing everything right. Maybe count your fruit, but nobody gets fat from eating too many veggies (you couldn't eat enough of them, your stomach can only hold so much).

You might be insulin resistant and/or have a vitamin deficiency. Any meds, such as birth control or anti-depressants, are common culprits as well (though sometimes going ON birth control can help with weight loss if you're irregular or have wonky hormones that need some regulation). Make sure you get ALL the tests involved when having your thyroid checked, because there are several. Gluten intolerance is also a possibility. Eating too many "fake" foods, processed foods, diet foods, chemicals, etc. can wreak havoc on your metabolism. All kinds of things can cause issues.

Assuming that a person with this problem must be overeating, or not weighing food correctly, or *must* be snacking, etc. is insulting to those of us who are meticulous and perfectly adept at the weight loss/maintenance game. We try our hardest, and the weight won't come off or keeps creeping on. Calories in/out is not the only factor involved with weight loss.

When I got off birth control and started taking a multivitamin, the 20 lbs that wouldn't budge with all my hard work & precision came off within 4 months. No, we're not always at fault.

I have started birth control, last week in fact. I haven't had a period since 2011, and I've been to gynos on and off. I went to an infertility specialist recently and she prescribed BC to help regulate my cycle. Hopefully, that might help. I also have an upcoming MRI to see if I have something going on with my pituitary gland that could be screwing my hormones up.

The fertility doc also prescribed calcium and vitamin D supplements. I'll have to investigate other types of deficiencies. Thanks for being so helpful and understanding. I feel like even if I was off slightly with my measurements, it wouldn't account for a 15lb gain

Whoa! Wait, you haven't had a period in 2 years?? Huge red flag there. Something is very off with your hormones. Have you ruled out pcos?

MommaSherryB

Try lowering your sugar and carb intake for two weeks and see what happens

james6998

Your numbers seem like they should be working.

At this point it's possible that there is something happening with your food. I don't see weights listed, just measures. It's highly possible that you are over estimating. When you don't have a lot of weight to lose your deficit is invariably quite small. It is totally possible to blow it all from just estimating vs weighing food. Check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

UGH i think i just upset my wife with that video, lol, *dusting off food weight scale*

GKoz004

Have you measured you body fat percentage? I know people are getting quite clinical, but it could be that you are simply gaining muscle?

I can guarantee it's not muscle haha.

GKoz004

I wish people would stop victim-blaming. Doctors do this all the time when they either don't want to bother with tests or don't know what to test for. "It must be your fault, you're doing something wrong, stop eating so much" etc.

You *do* seem to be doing everything right. Maybe count your fruit, but nobody gets fat from eating too many veggies (you couldn't eat enough of them, your stomach can only hold so much).

You might be insulin resistant and/or have a vitamin deficiency. Any meds, such as birth control or anti-depressants, are common culprits as well (though sometimes going ON birth control can help with weight loss if you're irregular or have wonky hormones that need some regulation). Make sure you get ALL the tests involved when having your thyroid checked, because there are several. Gluten intolerance is also a possibility. Eating too many "fake" foods, processed foods, diet foods, chemicals, etc. can wreak havoc on your metabolism. All kinds of things can cause issues.

Assuming that a person with this problem must be overeating, or not weighing food correctly, or *must* be snacking, etc. is insulting to those of us who are meticulous and perfectly adept at the weight loss/maintenance game. We try our hardest, and the weight won't come off or keeps creeping on. Calories in/out is not the only factor involved with weight loss.

When I got off birth control and started taking a multivitamin, the 20 lbs that wouldn't budge with all my hard work & precision came off within 4 months. No, we're not always at fault.

I have started birth control, last week in fact. I haven't had a period since 2011, and I've been to gynos on and off. I went to an infertility specialist recently and she prescribed BC to help regulate my cycle. Hopefully, that might help. I also have an upcoming MRI to see if I have something going on with my pituitary gland that could be screwing my hormones up.

The fertility doc also prescribed calcium and vitamin D supplements. I'll have to investigate other types of deficiencies. Thanks for being so helpful and understanding. I feel like even if I was off slightly with my measurements, it wouldn't account for a 15lb gain

Whoa! Wait, you haven't had a period in 2 years?? Huge red flag there. Something is very off with your hormones. Have you ruled out pcos?

haha yes, my body is pretty screwed up, to say the least! I had about a million tests that ruled out PCOS or fibroids, things like that. I had regular gyno stuff and a pelvic/transvaginal ultrasound. All normal. I'm kinda of a ~medical mystery~ at the moment, unfortunately

p4ulmiller

I can guarantee it's not muscle haha.

How do you know if you're not measuring BF%?

GKoz004

I can guarantee it's not muscle haha.

How do you know if you're not measuring BF%?

Because I gained around 5 imches on my waist and can clearly see that it's not muscle. I'm very squishy and soft. I had my BF measured back in May with a bio impedance test and it was 22%. The scale I have at my house says it's up to 28, but Idk how accurate that is. I'm going to be reassessed on the 30th. but I'm fairly positive that it's not muscle. I can dream, though!

camila_scl

I guess beside measuring EVERYTHING and getting tested for possible diseases I don't know what else to say.

I do know however, how it feels not knowing what the heck is wrong with you and feeling like a house MD case. Good luck!