Why am I gaining 1-2 pounds a week?

KentWhiteRabbit

I have been on meds for hypothyroidism for 7+ years and have also had several periods on SSRIs since having PND after my second child 14 years ago. Both the meds and the thyroid issues can 'help' to put on weight or make it harder to get off (mainly since they increase your appetite and you therefore eat more) but I doubt either would cause the weight gain you're describing on their own!

A question that doesn't seem to have been mentioned although I really hope your Dr has asked is ...could you be pregnant?

IMHO - The large number of people dependent on SSRIs is depressing, they are a crutch and unless you are getting over a particular trauma they are not necessesary. A balanced diet, exercise and CBT have done me far more good than any drugs. Maybe try that?

PrimalGirl

For months now, I've been gaining 1-2 pounds a week no matter how much I diet or exercise. I am having the worst time trying to lose any weight. I eat under 2000 calories a day always, but it's usually 1200-1500 (Never below 1200 including exercise). I fast one day a week, which I started due to the weight gain hoping it would help deter it.

I eat low carb/paleo/gluten-free, so lots of veggies, eggs, protein (chicken, fish), and fruits, and very rarely nuts. I do not eat/drink any dairy products. Only drink black coffee, water, or tea.

Exercise is only 30min 4-5 times a week. How am I gaining weight every single week? Even if I wasn't dieting, 2000 calories or less a day shouldn't cause this much weight gain. I keep a real journal, so my MFP journal is empty for the most part.

I'm 27, female, 5'3".

Are there any physical/medical reasons my body is gaining weight? My Dr. is testing for hypothyroid but is very doubtful that's what it is. I've been complaining to her for about 2 months now. She thinks it is also unlikely my paxil (SSRI) as it does cause weight gain, but usually not this fast and usually because it causes one to eat a lot, which I don't do.

I'm so lost and helpless! I started this diet 6 months ago and I've gained 50 pounds instead!! I weight more now than I ever did and its making me so depressed.

Hi, firstly - don't despair! Life's a rollercoaster.

Secondly, as a paleo eater and looking at what you've listed above, my conclusions are: you are eating low-carb, meaning you don't have carbs as fuel. But you're also taking the skin off chicken and don't cook using oils or fats. So, you also don't have fat as a fuel.
Basically, your body is running on empty. You NEED a fuel source; you need to become a fat burner. Eating dietary fat is a great way to remind your body to burn fat, not carbs, for fuel.

My advice, as counter-intuitive as it seems, is to up your calorie intake to around 1800 but make sure that additional intake is all healthy fats - avocado, nuts, coconut oil in cooking, olive oil on your salads. Give your body fuel to burn and you'll want to exercise more. Exercise is great for shaping your body and stimulating your brain.

Body shape and strength and health is more important than body appearance. I dislike several things about how my body looks, but I love the fact it can lift iron and sling it around.

amgreenwell

OP, I suggest getting your thyroid checked. I would also not fast, ever. Going any period of time without some fuel is going to make your body burn things it shouldn't to keep your motor running.
Good luck!!
Stay positive.

schaapj2

I would recommend adding more whole grain carbs in. Your carbs may be too low,which are increasing cortisol levels in your body leading to weight gain.

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/low-carb-diets

Very interesting article I found from a reputable source. I have since added healthy carbs back into my diet as I realized that this extreme low carb diet was causing my thyroid to under function. I am on thyroid meds now and will almost certainly end up truly hypothyroid, but this article is some interesting food for thought.

GBrady43068

There are really only three possibilities.

When your metabolic/bodily processes are functioning normally, if you take in less calories than you use up, you lose weight.

1) You are eating more than you think. As others have suggested, log on MFP and get a food scale. Weigh religiously.
2) Are you counting your exercise calories based on what MFP says is the burn? Many mention that the amounts listed are MUCH higher than they actually see when they measure with a heart rate monitor. If you have the $, you might get one and use numbers from that as your burn. If you don’t want to do that, you can do what I do…assume that the calorie burn listed is about 33% too high. I count 66% of the calories that either MFP or the gym machine says and enter that into MFP. That way, I’m eating back SLIGHTLY less than the calories I burn. Although you don’t exercise much, it’s technically not needed just to lose weight IF you guarantee you are putting less calories in than you are sending out.
3) Something medical or medicinal…vitamin deficiencies, hormone problems or some condition so far undiagnosed. If you’ve done #1 and #2 already with no result, I would seek a second doctor’s opinion.

christa279

Do you have any other symptoms besides the weight gain? How are your stress levels? How long have you been taking the Paxil?

I think you need to wait for the thyroid tests to come back first, then go from there.

Your post is a little confusing because you say you eat under 2000 calories always, but usually 1200-1500 calories. Have you looked at your calories as a big picture (for the entire week) instead of daily?

Regardless of the reason and what anyone else says, don't get discouraged! There is a cause and you can figure it out.

Mecho21

Depending on what type of exercise you are doing, some of it may be muscle weight which is not a bad thing. How about your body composition? Is your body fat % higher or lower? How about your clothes, do they fit better?

Also I agree 100% with the person above me who said to eat more fat and potentially more calories. I've been eating 70-80% calories from fat and very low carbs for about 2 months, never cared about counting calories, and have lost body fat rather effortlessly. Also I feel way better than when I was eating lots of carbs, which always gave me bad heartburn or made me reallly sleepy about 1 hour after eating. Your brain will also work better as fat is a great fuel for it (why do you think walnuts, fish oil, etc are always recommended for brain health )

Edit: Oops, it took me too long to write that and the person above me is no longer the person who was above me previously. I was referring to primalgirl.

stumblinthrulife

There are one of two things going on -

1. You are underestimating your intake.
2. You are overestimating your daily calorie burn.

That's it. Period. Fin. Finito. Ende. Sfarsit. Your body doesn't magically create weight from nowhere. Gained weight is stored surplus energy.

Don't believe this honey!

ITS THE MEDS MEDS MEDS!!!

First, even at 27, it could be your thyroid. This is the case for many people I know. But, its most likely the med. Docs don't like to really switch you around on meds. Chances are, they push the med that their office has chosen to be "the one" for the condition you have. If you want to switch, it needs to be a different CLASS of medication.

Also, it sounds like you are eating all the right stuff. Whether you "measure" or not. Whether you log it into MFP or in a journal. If what you posted is what your eating, all of that is good healthy stuff even if you are eating 2000 cals of it. And yes, 30mins of exercise 4-5 week is plenty. People are so crazy to think that you just need to eat less less less and burn more more more and that'll solve it all.

Geesh.

Talk with the doc. From reading I can hear your frustration and desperation. It will get better.

Even if it is the meds, thyroid, or some other factor, that simply falls into category 2 above.

Seriously, medication and medical conditions do not magically materialize fat on your body out of nowhere. They may increase your appetite causing you to eat more, or they may reduce the energy your body burns in a day. Either of these factors can cause an energy imbalance that is stored in the body as fat if not addressed.

I know you are trying to be positive and helpful, and that is laudable, but positivity doesn't negate reality.

lexbubbles

*snipped*

It sounds like the hormones were making you retain major water. I've been there. But once again, medications don't change your metabolism. They make you more hungry or retain water, or a combination of both, which leads to an increase on the scale.

Were you put into a medically induced menopause? Hormones (especially estrogen) can and do affect basal metabolic rate, and fat production/storage. I did not gain 50lb of water.

Reduced progesterone also results in a drop in metabolic rate, but I'm just going to post sources etc on the effect of estrogen otherwise this post will turn into an actual essay.

Long story short, I was made menopausal. You gain weight during the menopause in no small part thanks to the sharp reduction in estrogen and progesterone levels.

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/menopause-and-weight-gain-how-the-two-are-related.html

Aside from the follicle in the ovary, fat or adipose tissues can also produce estrogen. This is because the precursor molecule of estrogen is cholesterol, which is abundant in fat tissues. Because estrogen is such an essential hormone for life processes, the body tries to make up for the reduction in ovarian production of estrogen by depositing more adipose tissues. Since the natural location of adiposity is in the abdomen, breasts and buttocks, fat deposits occur mainly in these areas. The increased fat leads to increased girth and weight.

Other mechanisms of weight gain during menopause that are still linked to decreased estrogen include reduced levels of thyroid hormones and a decreased basal metabolic rate

http://www.ion.ac.uk/information/onarchives/changeoflife

oestrogen levels decrease very rapidly. The decline in ovarian oestrogen and progesterone and the rising FSH and LH prompt the onset of menopause. The adrenal glands and fat cells then become the primary source of oestrogen production. Androstenedione, produced by the adrenal glands, is converted to oestrone in the adipose tissue. This is one of the reasons why women naturally increase body fat during this time

It is normal for women to gain weight during the menopause, as the body’s metabolic rate falls and adipose tissue becomes the key producer of the hormone oestrogen

http://www.livestrong.com/article/277341-estrogen-fat-metabolism/

Because your body still requires estrogen for other metabolic functions, estrogen must be found elsewhere. Since the fat cells in your body are able to produce estrogen, the brain sends a message to preserve fat stores at all costs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrogen#Function

there are several other structural changes induced by estrogen in addition to other functions: Accelerate metabolism

http://www.webmd.boots.com/women/guide/testosterone-oestrogen-levels?page=2


(Ok. I'm out. Sorry for hijacking your thread, OP)

No wait one last thing: antidepressants CAN cause a change in metabolic rate
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2699195

Preliminary results suggest that increased energy efficiency (of about 16-24%) during treatment with tricyclic antidepressants could promote weight gain even in the absence of a change in caloric intake

http://www.livestrong.com/article/522501-effexor-weight-gain-metabolism/

Researchers speculate that anti-depressants, including Effexor, might interfere with central nervous functions that regulate energy balance. The research also speculates that some anti-depressants decrease the resting metabolic rate.

http://www.health24.com/Diet-and-nutrition/Weight-loss/Weight-gain-and-antidepressants-20130210

Why do antidepressants cause weight gain?

Antidepressants may have the following effects that contribute to increased body weight:

changes in the Resting Metabolic Rate (TCAs, SSRIs, MAOIs)

http://www.today.com/id/14112546/ns/today-today_health/t/getting-fat-should-you-blame-your-meds/#.UxSnuV4_4y4

Why do some drugs cause weight gain?
Drugs that cause weight gain either increase your appetite, causing you to eat more, or slow down your metabolism.

Can medication change your metabolic rate? Yes.

stumblinthrulife

There are one of two things going on -

1. You are underestimating your intake.
2. You are overestimating your daily calorie burn.

That's it. Period. Fin. Finito. Ende. Sfarsit. Your body doesn't magically create weight from nowhere. Gained weight is stored surplus energy.

At this point you can either choose to find and fix the under and/or over estimates, or you can continue to insist you are doing everything right, and continue to gain weight.

I beg to differ. I KNOW in my case calories in / calories out does NOT work.
There is an underlying cause here and she and her doctor need to figure it out.

In that case, please leave your remains to science. It will be interesting to study someone for whom the laws of thermodynamics do not apply.

lexbubbles

Which is to say that medication lowering your metabolic rate does just mean you're overestimating calorie burn. Yeah, it's still calories in vs calories out you just have to work out where the second part's at these days.

Maybe ask the Dr. if you can try different meds?

QuietBloom

This thread is hilarious.

I have been on Lexapro, Zoloft, and Celexa. I was OP's age when I started on Zoloft. Moved to Lexapro, then Celexa, until I went off of it last summer. I was still overweight even off meds; nothing magically happened when I stopped taking it.

Turns out, I was eating more than I thought.

Me too.

QuietBloom

*snipped*

It sounds like the hormones were making you retain major water. I've been there. But once again, medications don't change your metabolism. They make you more hungry or retain water, or a combination of both, which leads to an increase on the scale.

Were you put into a medically induced menopause? Hormones (especially estrogen) can and do affect basal metabolic rate, and fat production/storage. I did not gain 50lb of water.

Reduced progesterone also results in a drop in metabolic rate, but I'm just going to post sources etc on the effect of estrogen otherwise this post will turn into an actual essay.

Long story short, I was made menopausal. You gain weight during the menopause in no small part thanks to the sharp reduction in estrogen and progesterone levels.

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/menopause-and-weight-gain-how-the-two-are-related.html

Aside from the follicle in the ovary, fat or adipose tissues can also produce estrogen. This is because the precursor molecule of estrogen is cholesterol, which is abundant in fat tissues. Because estrogen is such an essential hormone for life processes, the body tries to make up for the reduction in ovarian production of estrogen by depositing more adipose tissues. Since the natural location of adiposity is in the abdomen, breasts and buttocks, fat deposits occur mainly in these areas. The increased fat leads to increased girth and weight.

Other mechanisms of weight gain during menopause that are still linked to decreased estrogen include reduced levels of thyroid hormones and a decreased basal metabolic rate

http://www.ion.ac.uk/information/onarchives/changeoflife

oestrogen levels decrease very rapidly. The decline in ovarian oestrogen and progesterone and the rising FSH and LH prompt the onset of menopause. The adrenal glands and fat cells then become the primary source of oestrogen production. Androstenedione, produced by the adrenal glands, is converted to oestrone in the adipose tissue. This is one of the reasons why women naturally increase body fat during this time

It is normal for women to gain weight during the menopause, as the body’s metabolic rate falls and adipose tissue becomes the key producer of the hormone oestrogen

http://www.livestrong.com/article/277341-estrogen-fat-metabolism/

Because your body still requires estrogen for other metabolic functions, estrogen must be found elsewhere. Since the fat cells in your body are able to produce estrogen, the brain sends a message to preserve fat stores at all costs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrogen#Function

there are several other structural changes induced by estrogen in addition to other functions: Accelerate metabolism

http://www.webmd.boots.com/women/guide/testosterone-oestrogen-levels?page=2


(Ok. I'm out. Sorry for hijacking your thread, OP)

No wait one last thing: antidepressants CAN cause a change in metabolic rate
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2699195

Preliminary results suggest that increased energy efficiency (of about 16-24%) during treatment with tricyclic antidepressants could promote weight gain even in the absence of a change in caloric intake

http://www.livestrong.com/article/522501-effexor-weight-gain-metabolism/

Researchers speculate that anti-depressants, including Effexor, might interfere with central nervous functions that regulate energy balance. The research also speculates that some anti-depressants decrease the resting metabolic rate.

http://www.health24.com/Diet-and-nutrition/Weight-loss/Weight-gain-and-antidepressants-20130210

Why do antidepressants cause weight gain?

Antidepressants may have the following effects that contribute to increased body weight:

changes in the Resting Metabolic Rate (TCAs, SSRIs, MAOIs)

http://www.today.com/id/14112546/ns/today-today_health/t/getting-fat-should-you-blame-your-meds/#.UxSnuV4_4y4

Why do some drugs cause weight gain?
Drugs that cause weight gain either increase your appetite, causing you to eat more, or slow down your metabolism.

Can medication change your metabolic rate? Yes.

Medications (as has already been stated) can reduce the amount of calories you burn in a day because they may decrease your TDEE (the amount you move around). This is different than an actual decrease in your BMR (the rate at which your body uses energy just to keep you alive).

Since we were speaking about medications (specifically antidepressants) and not endogenous hormones, your points about hormone levels and what they do in the body, while interesting, are not relevant to the discussion at hand.

The report that made the statement about some antidepressants reducing BMR were careful to say MIGHT. It has not been proven, and the one report on Tricyclics is a preliminary one. It will be interesting to see what further research shows.

ebayaddict0127

Clearly we have some scientists and doctors on this thread...........:yawn:

krennie8

i only read the first page, but if you are hypothyroid, while it's not ideal, it is easily fixable when on the correct dose. (I know b/c I am currently 27 as well and hypothyroid )

QuietBloom

Clearly we have some scientists and doctors on this thread...........:yawn:

You have a problem with scientists or doctors weighing in?

kitty2470

For months now, I've been gaining 1-2 pounds a week no matter how much I diet or exercise. I am having the worst time trying to lose any weight. I eat under 2000 calories a day always, but it's usually 1200-1500 (Never below 1200 including exercise). I fast one day a week, which I started due to the weight gain hoping it would help deter it.

Exercise is only 30min 4-5 times a week. How am I gaining weight every single week?
[/quote

If your fasting one day a,week it may be possible that your body goes into starvation mode and holds onto fat as it thinks it needs to store it, although if your not eating under 1200 most days you should be okay. Also if your exercising 3-4 Times a week muscle weighs more than fat which might explain some of your weight increase. Are you including drinks in your daily calorie counting'?You could try kick starting your metabolism by eating a lot of calories for just one day & then going back to your regular 1200 -1500 calories a day afterwards. Don't know what else to suggest however probably doing the right thing by going to your doctor to the k there are no medical reasons.

ebayaddict0127

Clearly we have some scientists and doctors on this thread...........:yawn:

You have a problem with scientists or doctors weighing in?

Nope! Thanks. Have a wonderful and POSITIVE day.