Increased calories too quickly? And why did I lose weight?

notmuchreally

This has really been a struggle for me, it's taken time but I've finally consistently been consuming more calories.
I'm a female, 5'2/5'3" and lost weight in the past couple months to about 87 pounds until I really started making an effort to consistently increase calories.
I was only eating 1,200-1,300 calories a day since the end of fall last year.

I have started by increasing the past few weeks by 500 calories a week. Today I feel really weird, like a BLOATED feeling, but I do not look bloated at all. I just feel it and it's been extremely uncomfortable to eat. I get anxious every time I get hungry because that feeling returns. It's like beyond hunger. And it's ONLY been today that it's happened! I've felt hungry in the past when I've attempted to increase my calories, but only today I've felt this weird bloated scary hungry not quite hunger feeling.

So may be just my stomach is off or something.

But I'm really confused about the weight loss. I'm now 85 pounds since this increase. Why wouldn't I gain or retain anything? Also that was FAST.

Do I need to eat more, or should I stay where I'm at and will my body adjust? Does it just need more time? Too fast an increase, or no? Because I'm still going up, I am only at about 1,400-1,500 at the most, other days more like 1,350 or so. 1,600 a day and I should gain half a pound a week MFP says.

kconlon27

Hey there,
This might be far off, but consider having your thyroid checked. Hyperthyroidism will make you loose weight and not for healthy reasons.

Best of luck!

misspage0399

Stick where you are. If your body has been fasting then eating more calories can suddenly boost your metabolism into working again (the curves diet explains this). Also weight loss is usually due to what you ate the week before so it may be due to your calorie restriction previously. Are you logging all your activity? If not you may have a calorie deficit. If you continue to lose weight see you GP as your may have an underlying condition.

notmuchreally

Thanks all, yes have been logging everything, definitely was surprised by the loss. The stomach feeling I'd suspected was going to stick around, and it did. I know some people have increased hunger with increased calories.
Yesterday was awful in that I felt like I had a headache, couldn't feel satisfied. Today bloaty, not as much of an appetite- until after dinner, now I'm ravenous! It doesn't seem to be regular hunger though, it's like nagging and annoying and an irritable feeling and headache, definitely don't want to go back which is what I kept doing.

I don't know how long this should last?? In the interim of posting I've been reading about it but not sure what the general length of time would be. It's disruptive and annoying to me. I tried to increase slowly but I felt I was getting nowhere.

Also for the thyroid, I've not gotten that checked specifically but it was listed in my recent blood test and my results were in normal range. Not sure if that qualifies, I just assume it is more involved? Thank you for this suggestion!

BramageOMG

Hey there,
This might be far off, but consider having your thyroid checked. Hyperthyroidism will make you loose weight and not for healthy reasons.

Best of luck!

+1 ^
Unless you are very small, 85lbs is probably on the lighter side of Healthy. A quick DR visit would not hurt a thing. I hear they know some stuff.

notmuchreally

Yes, been to the doctor a few months ago, albeit 5 pounds ago. They weren't concerned, though they don't really know my natural weight. I'm not even 100% sure, but I do know I purposely restricted calories. When I wasn't, I was at least 100-105.
Also want to mention aside from whatever my stomach is doing and these bloating/hunger feelings at odd times, I feel a LOT better.

BramageOMG

On the other side of the spectrum, my reduced calories threw me for a loop. My stomach does not seem to know what to do. It may just be a byproduct of change. I am hoping I get "regular" soon if you know what I mean It may simply be your body adjusting to a higher caloric diet. I can't offer advice, but if I did, I would say: Eat through it. And Good Luck!!!

MSLUC

Go see your Doctor....NOW!!!

mszsun

Your body is probably adjusting to eating more calories than you're used to, so you may be getting indigestion. Carry on with what your doing and be consistent with when you eat and how much you eat, it's all you can do for now.

Also, you're most likely maintaining your weight rather than gaining. It might be hard with your physical symptoms but try eating 1600+ calories for a few weeks and see if there's any difference in weight. Good luck!

krennie8

Go see your Doctor....NOW!!!

+1

And start eating more. If you're only up to 1600 calories on a good day it's no wonder you're not gaining.

kdiamond

I agree, eat more than 1600.

jrodri0105

It may be a fear of gaining weight & those are the symptoms of it. Are you accurately tracking your calories? Make sure you are measuring foods because it sounds like u're skipping meals. Make sure you eat at least 1800 calories. Try to eat foods that are calorie dense such as peanut butter, almond butter. You are very underweight. whoever said its a healthy weight is wrong.

BombshellPhoenix

Go see your Doctor....NOW!!!

+1

And start eating more. If you're only up to 1600 calories on a good day it's no wonder you're not gaining.

I'd go see a new doctor though, if the one she's currently going to thinks she's totally okay being 87 lbs.

You're dangerously underweight OP. You need to seek help and you need to gain weight for your health and longevity.

tegalicious

Go see your Doctor....NOW!!!

+1

And start eating more. If you're only up to 1600 calories on a good day it's no wonder you're not gaining.

I'd go see a new doctor though, if the one she's currently going to thinks she's totally okay being 87 lbs.

You're dangerously underweight OP. You need to seek help and you need to gain weight for your health and longevity.

Go see a new doctor. You are severely underweight. If a new doctor doesn't seem concerned about your weight, continue to see new ones until you find one that is. You need professional help to gain weight healthily. Going up in calories too quickly can be just as dangerous as restricting calories too much. Please seek professional help.

dawnmcneil10

The stomach "bloated" feeling sometimes can be happening from a food that you ate. You said you're logging your foods so start using the bottom "note" area and put in that box how you felt that day if something felt off. You might find there's a particular food or combination of foods that's causing an upset stomach.

Also since you're trying to gain weight I have to wonder if you are listening to the standard "eat more fats" line and perhaps filling your body with more fat than you might need. I'm not an expert, just someone who tries to keep a healthy balance. If you've been to a doctor and they don't see your weight as an issue but you are concerned then I would suggest a visit to another doctor or ask your doctor for a referral to see a nutritionist. There's nothing wrong with reaching out to those that have been trained to help you.

sak20011

As my SIL recovered from anorexia, she got very bloated. In part it was her digestive system ramping up to deal with more food (she had been eating tiny, tiny amounts for several years) and in part her stomach looked disproportionate to the rest of her body, which was still stick thin. Also, although she was increasing food, she was increasing mostly volume of low calorie food--so lots of salads, fruits, etc, not enough calorically dense food and I think it was very hard for her body to break it down, especially since she ate no added fats and avoided many foods that had more than a smidgen of fat in them.

In terms of increasing calories too quickly: When SIL was in treatment, the immediate goal for her was 2500 cal/day. She could not mentally do this, but for a while she was hospitalized and fed a fair amount (she was between 70 and 75 lbs when she was put in hospital so it was an urgent matter). I would increase more than you are now--as much as you feel comfortable doing, but perhaps by adding in some things like almond butter and avocados and rice.

shapefitter

Go see your Doctor....NOW!!!

^^^

stealthq

Go see your Doctor....NOW!!!

+1

And start eating more. If you're only up to 1600 calories on a good day it's no wonder you're not gaining.

I'd go see a new doctor though, if the one she's currently going to thinks she's totally okay being 87 lbs.

You're dangerously underweight OP. You need to seek help and you need to gain weight for your health and longevity.

Go see a new doctor. You are severely underweight. If a new doctor doesn't seem concerned about your weight, continue to see new ones until you find one that is. You need professional help to gain weight healthily. Going up in calories too quickly can be just as dangerous as restricting calories too much. Please seek professional help.

Another +1

OP, you have got to talk to a doctor familiar with treating patients that are severely underweight.

You might not want to, but you would be well served to look for one that specializes in EDs. In addition to knowing what tests should be run to check for malnourishment, etc, they should be able to direct you to a nutritionist to guide you diet and, if warranted, a therapist.