Weight gain

saraheid

After years of being overweight I finally.reached my goal weight very slowly and steadily and honestly.without much effort but now I have gained 6 kilos in 6 weeks of overeating everyday. It's depressing me and giving me anxiety! If I gained 6 kilos in 6 weeks, would it be possible to loose those 6 kilos in 6 weeks if I stop overeating & go back to my normal eating? How long would it take to loose

Lietchi

Cross-posted here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10838791/weight-gain-after-a-month-of-overeating#latest

88olds

Try to get the time factor out of your head. Time driven weight loss is a way to turn success, lost lbs, into failure, not fast enough. Even if you could lose the weight that fast, it might not be the best in terms of keeping it gone.

Have you thought about what’s going on with you. Gaining 2 lbs in a week requires about 7000 extra calories. That’s 1000 extra every day. What changed for you that you did that?

Do you count calories and keep a food diary? A food diary is a great way to get control of the process.

MightyKitez

I'd honestly say you're better off doing it slowly again. You've done it before, so you know you can do it again. You don't want to end up yo-yo-ing. Be kind to yourself, it's been a really tough year for mental health and I've gained a lot of weight over lockdown. Slowly take off the weight, but focus on doing some fun stuff for you to help with your anxiety. For me, I play Stardew Valley to chill out. Focus on your mental health first, the weight loss second.

azuki

just curious, what specific foods do you crave causing the overeating?

saraheid

I'm addicted to anything with sugar!!

AnnPT77

saraheid wrote: »

I'm addicted to anything with sugar!!

A thing you could try - which works for some people but not all - is to intentionally increase the amount of whole fruit you eat, making it a point to get several servings daily.

I heard the suggestion from a registered dietitian that making it a point to eat 3 fruit servings daily could help reduce cravings for more calorie-dense, less nutritious sweets such as cookies, cakes, donuts, candies, etc. I found that to be true, for me. Some other people here on MFP have had similar experiences, but it's not universal.

At first, it took willpower to cut down on the non-fruit sweet treats alongside eating more fruit. In a short number of weeks, though, the cravings dropped way off, and it didn't really take willpower anymore (though it was still a good idea to reduce the amounts of other sweets I had in the house, just to help break the habit; or at least put them out of sight where I'd have to think of them and go get them from a cupboard or freezer for example).

After a while, I was able to be less strict about getting the full 3 fruit servings every day, and just eat fruit to taste. (I still eat some daily: It's good, nutritious, worth the calories.) At first, I think it's good to stick with whole fruit, vs. dried fruit, because the former is a bit more filling, not as quick to eat.

In the longer run, a lot of simple sweets (like grocery store cookies, cakes, etc.) started to be unappealing, just too simple, *just* sweet, and kind of boring, definitely not worth the calories. I still enjoy the occasional rich dessert, or a reasonable serving of good chocolate, or some other special thing, but there's no extra willpower or effort needed to keep those things in reasonable bounds.

May not work for you, but might be worth the experiment, to see.

BendableButMendable

I second @AnnPT77 on the recommendation for fresh fruit. I'm definitely one of the people that had that work for them and now if I go more than a few days without it I get really strong cravings for a fresh orange or a banana.

Not only does fresh fruit stand a good chance of satisfying your mental craving for something sweet, but the fiber content will help with your blood sugar and you will avoid the cravings associated with the crash you experience after eating too many sweets.

Another aspect of this that is often overlooked is that cravings can be a way of your body telling you it needs something, that does not always mean a simple blood sugar boost. People often crave sweet things when they are low on vitamin C since we are conditioned to expect that from sources like oranges or other citrus fruits. You may want to evaluate your diet to make sure you're getting all the necessary things and then consider adding the appropriate foods to your diet or taking vitamin supplements. As a vegetarian I find it difficult to get enough protein especially when I'm working out a lot. Consequentially my biggest cravings are for eggs, I could happily eat a dozen eggs a day. That wouldn't fit within my nutrition plan though so I make sure to get protein from other sources and an occasional protein shake to help with my cravings. I still eat 2-3 eggs in a day pretty routinely though.

BendableButMendable

Regarding losing the weight again, don't feel compelled to do anything drastic or rush the process. You might be surprised how much of that new weight is due to water retention from the increase of sugar in your diet. Any of that water weight will come off very rapidly when you get back to a healthier nutrition plan, especially if you do any mild to moderate exercising.

When you get back down to where you want to be for maintenance that should be a slow process as well. A lot of people make the mistake when they get to their goal weight of thinking they can go back to eating like "normal". The problem is that after a long term deficit your body is not conditioned for "normal", it will want to consume far more calories than you have been used to and far more than you need. You need to train your body for maintenance by slowly adding calories back to your plan and watching how your body responds. I know that's frustrating because it can take a while but it is worth it. I have been adjusting to maintenance for the last two months and I expect it will take a few to several more to make sure I get it right.

I know these will probably sound like empty words, but try not to get depressed about it. This is a pretty common thing that people deal with when they try to start maintaining their new weight. Thinks of it as a good lesson that you caught before it got too bad and will help prepare you for successful maintenance in the future.

AnnPT77

FWIW, another thing that contribute to sugar cravings is fatigue. If we're tired, the body wants quick energy sources, I think.

The implication is that if sleep quality or quantity is sub-optimal, improving that may reduce cravings . . . particularly evening cravings. (Fatigue accumulates over the hours of the day.)

Similarly, stress increases fatigue. If there are any sources of stress in your life that you can manage better, that may also help with evening cravings in particular. Possibilities for stress management include light exercise, stretching/yoga, meditation or prayer, journaling, comforting things such as a warm, fragrant bubble-bath, calming music, etc.