Panic attacks with weight gain?

shakybabe

I got up 4.30am did a workout, sweated loads with sweat belt on got on scale and found I had gained and gone up to 9st 12 I was tears and couldn't breathe.

I can't work out how I still fit in the same clothes as I had to get down to around 9st 5 before I could get in 14's!

Only way I could get out of panic attacks was go on ebay and order some fat burners and T3 to add to my T4 which also highering to 400mcg daily instead of 300 and keep telling myself the weight will be off soon. I cancelled food order and got slim fast to live on instead for a few weeks.

I don't understand how I gained I only eat salads, veg fruit, meat or veg, cut all carbs and exercise after every meal so burning off what I've eaten no meal is more than 500 cals, breakfast usually under 200, lunch around 300.

I have under active thyroid and am in peri-menopause could hormones be the problem? I looked up hormones and Puriance for women is meant to address those issues so bought some of that too so can hopefully get hormones under control and burn extra fat off.

Does anyone else get feelings of total panic when weight goes back up? Last month I was only 1 lb off my goal just before my last TOTM I don't understand where it's all come from when exercising 2-3 times a day and living on only healthy food, no alcohol, no chocolate, only salad and fish (unbattered) for most meals carrots sticks and apple for lunch or tuna salad and fruit for breakfast after an hours workout first thing.

I have occasional carbs with monthly cravings but been taking water tablets to try and get water back off from eating them and usually all the excess water drops off when period ends but it doesn't seem to have done that this month and just gained.

I was meant to be having breakfast right now but can't eat a thing cos all I can see in my head is the number on the scale and the thought that I'm getting fat again. so decided to try intermittant fasting until my slim fast arrives.

If exercise if causing water gain from muscles how do I burn the food off again without exercising so I don't gain water from working out?

How can I make sure it doesn't go over 10st again before can get the weight back off?

Pebble321

Oh dear, it sounds like a tough day!

The reality is that the number on the scale is only one measure of your health and frankly, it's not very reliable.
Your scale number can change for all kinds of reason - hormones definitely, water retention, bathroom habits, time of the day, time of the month, what you ate for dinner last night etc.

Don't pin your happiness or feelings of success on the number that you see - chances are that its not going to be the same tomorrow.

Maybe it would be beneficial to set yourself some goals around exercise (minutes or times per week) or eating habits (healthy breakfast every day), measurements etc. These things give you a way of monitoring what you are doing without relying only on the scale.

If what you are seeing on the scale is water weight from working out - that's great! It means the your muscles are working to build themselves back up after the "stress" of exercise and are holding onto some fluid to do that. This isn't something you need to prevent, it means you had a good workout.

I know it's not easy to see the scales go up - but try to take a step back and remember how many positive changes you have made for your health. Eat your breakfast, you don't have a very high calorie intake anyway and you can't afford to miss out on nutrition that your body needs, especially when you are working out.

And some extra (and unsolicited) advice - don't add in extra chemicals or cut your calories. Chances are that these things won't help in the long term.
Just feed your body well, move it as much as you can (I know this isn't always easy for you) and give it time.

Hang in there!

justjenn1977

the scale is JUST a number...

it doesn't define me... it doesn't say how fit I am... it doesn't say how nice I am... it doesn't say how hard working I am...

I go by the way my clothes fit
the way I can move
the way I feel more comfortable in my skin
the way that I can run
the way that I have more energy
the amount I can lift

the scale is my tool... it does not define me... that number is nothing...

repeat after me

shakybabe

I got tape measure too and checked my waist and stomach was still same measurements as I had lost an inch recently off both. They are still the same. I was 9st 4 before last monthlies expected to go up by about 4lbs then lose it the week after so was shocked to find I'm 9st 12.

What I can't understand is how I can be showing as 7lb heavier but still be same measurements and fit in clothes that I didn't fit in when I was 9st 12 before? (was still in 16's then) I've just had to give away outfits I only got last xmas in a 16 as the trousers were miles too big even with a belt on so I'm baffled! :noway: :ohwell:

I know Estrogen and Cortisol can be major players in weight gain through the menopause, would a progesterone treatment help if its cos I'm going through peri-menopause and hormones are all over the place?

My stress levels are high I get panic attacks quickly and had a stressful week with Neuro appointment as they got my info wrong for assistance dog application which has delayed it further and stressed me out.

justjenn1977

I don't know much about hormone replacement therapy.... if you have questions the best person to talk to would be your dr...

as for the scale doing funky things... all I can say is the best thing I have EVER done is only "count" my weight every week... my actual weigh in is sunday... that is the only day I pay attention... the scale WILL do funky things...

pkw58

There is a great book out - "The Menopause Makeover"… it literally changed my life and attitude towards how I ate and exercised and bought clothes.

If you have a battery powered scale, check the batteries. Sometimes the scale goes a little hay wire as the batteries lose their charge in addition to just we do fluctuate with all the different things we do (eat, retain water, etc).

Sometimes I get a panic attack - I just do what one of my business professors taught me to do - I take a kitchen timer to my bedroom, set it for twenty minutes, lay down with the covers over my head and don't move till the alarm goes off. It just calms me down and I get up ready to tackle any problem.

JosieRawr

If your clothing still fits you well and your measurements are the same, try weighing yourself again after you(not trying to be crude) go to the bathroom. Cutting too many calories is a sure fire way to lower your metabolism which is counter productive. I can't stand scales.. especially if you're weight training, muscle gain-fat loss can still equal about the same weight but the measurements are a much better PROOF. Good luck and great job.

shakybabe

These are the mechanical scales and I thought we're meant to be lighter fist thing in morning than any other time.

Yesterday I went to bathroom after eating main meal so can't be much food in stomach and I'd weighed before I had eaten anything this morning.

I had been mainly gluten free but last week I'd gone to Asda instead of doing Ocado and when got there they didn't have good choice of GF breads so I'd got regular teacakes. I have had more wheat this month as had two birthdays and there were no gluten free sandwiches/cakes etc available I thought as long as I exercised I'd burn off the calories. I haven't had that large amount of wheat I thought, but maybe as I been gluten free a year its just resulted in me piling water back on?

I can't think what else it could be? I've been burning 500-1,000cals a day in exercise and eating healthy. I'd replaced meat with Quorn as lower cals per portion but was still allowing unbattered fish fillets as only 90cals and a small plate of salad with it is hardly any cals (no dressing/sauce) just a little salad cream on side of plate.

I'm not weight training as such I can't lift weights due to my disability but I do wear ankle and wrist weights when I do pilates exercises on floor. I do find that harder physically just getting back up into wheelchair after I find it harder than passive trainer bike which pedals legs for me but is meant to burn more cals in the hour (about 660 on average) than the pilates session.

I'll try no exercise and let water come off see if it was storing water to heal muscles from all exercise and stricter diet, at least I can work out how much was just water, if anything left must be fat I gained?

sarahrbraun

you need to RELAX. there are going to be fluctuations and you can't cut calories or add another pill every time you see one.


NEVER step on the scale after a workout and take the number seriously. Your muscles hold onto water to repair themselves, and any water you drink during your workout will contribute ( I can drink a liter easily).

follow the MFP suggested calories, etc for a month, then you can decide if you need to change anything.

I spent 3 months (2/6-5/6) working my booty off and only lost 7#. I mean cardio 65 minutes and strength 20 minutes 3-4x a week for about 500 calories per workout. On 5/7 I decided to bite the bullet and cut my carbs down from 200-250g per day to 100g NET per day. The first week I lost 4.8lbs, and every week since, I have lost about 1.3lbs. Gains are HARD--I didn't work out for 3 days ( although I did walk around the zoo one of the days) then I stepped on the scale and I had gained 1.6lbs But when I look at my chart of my weight loss, I see that I tend to have a gain like that right before I loose a chunk of weight--my last one was about 3 weeks ago.

shakybabe

Think I relaxed too much and ate too much, stuff that hadn't been part of my diet for a year (started last June).. annoying when I was 1 lb off goal and so sure that after next monthlies I was gonna hit goal when water came off, only to find I had gone up 7! :sad:

I thought I'd be lighter after a workout as I had sweated loads for an hour and I only drank one cup of water, well tea actually before I started.

I only weigh once a month now as I've only been losing a couple of pounds the week after my monthlies had ended, for the last few months with me being so close to goal. .. thought 1 lb loss was a fairly safe bet I'd have reached it this month!... really did come as total shock to me to discover I'd gone up 7 pounds instead of down 1! :noway:

justjenn1977

weight does fluctuate over the course of the day... it is individual as to WHEN your personal heaviness will be...

you will weigh more after a workout than before... your body retains water EVEN if you don't drink.... which is partly why it is important to drink... when you sweat you loose some electrolytes and water... but not in proportion... and that can cause you to retain water... so if you sweat a lot you need to drink during your workout... if you workout LONG and sweat a lot then you need electrolyte replacement (such as gatorade)

honestly I would recommend talking to a dr who is well versed in your disability AND exercise (or to a nutritionist) and explain your dilemma to them and get recommendations... someone who knows your body personally would be best because they can offer suggestions that we can not...

just remember... you did not get unfit overnight (or even in the course of a few months) and you will not get FIT overnight (or even in the course of a few months)

personally... ditch the scale and go by how your clothes fit and how you feel!! those are the most important measurements

shakybabe

Thanks I discovered a few days after posting this my monthlies started again.. I wasn't expecting them as it was only 2 weeks since the last ones ended.

I'm 43 so not sure if its beginning of menopause to why periods are playing up or due to the dieting. They have finished again now but I still only back to 9st 7 and can't seem to get below it.

I tried stopping exercise to get rid of all water, taking water tablets to help more come off after monthlies ended but that doesn't seem to have worked as I'm still hitting the 9st 7 mark first thing in morning before any food.

I'd tried reducing food alot but wasn't going to bathroom daily so hard to tell unless i increased food but was still getting no less than 9st 7 so seem to have stalled.

I'm battling mentally now with getting back to exercise and trying not to weigh and ignore any water weight in hope that building muscle will eventually lead to speeding metabolism up and dropping more weight. .. I'm finding the anxiety about going past a certain number hard to get past though. I feel I need to check it's not going up too much as I heard people who weigh themselves daily don't regain as much.

justjenn1977

Thanks I discovered a few days after posting this my monthlies started again.. I wasn't expecting them as it was only 2 weeks since the last ones ended.

I'm 43 so not sure if its beginning of menopause to why periods are playing up or due to the dieting. They have finished again now but I still only back to 9st 7 and can't seem to get below it.

I tried stopping exercise to get rid of all water, taking water tablets to help more come off after monthlies ended but that doesn't seem to have worked as I'm still hitting the 9st 7 mark first thing in morning before any food.

I'd tried reducing food alot but wasn't going to bathroom daily so hard to tell unless i increased food but was still getting no less than 9st 7 so seem to have stalled.

I'm battling mentally now with getting back to exercise and trying not to weigh and ignore any water weight in hope that building muscle will eventually lead to speeding metabolism up and dropping more weight. .. I'm finding the anxiety about going past a certain number hard to get past though. I feel I need to check it's not going up too much as I heard people who weigh themselves daily don't regain as much.

I would go to your dr...

the biggest advice I can give you is to measure and log EVERYTHING.... I find that when I stall in my weight loss that I have started being more lax on logging and I am actually eating way more cals than I think I am...

then I usually cut a couple hundred cals at a time... if I log everything and find I am averaging 2800 a day... the next week I shoot for 2700 or 2600 cals a day... I don't feel hungry that way...

weight loss for me is a mind game... I have to take BABY sized baby steps... and I have to make changes SLOWLY...

good luck