I've gained 20 pounds and I'm not sure why

debi_f
debi_f Posts: 330 Member
I posted in another thread and was directed to this group to look for help. Here are my answers to your questions as best as I can figure:

Provide your stats (height/weight/age/bodyfat% if you know it/etc)
49 years old
5' 7"
current weight 137 pounds
body fat: good question! I bought calipers and taken measurements and using the exact same numbers, I've gotten results everywhere from 12.8% to 22%. Most likely somewhere in between.

What's your current gross intake of calories, on average? On average <1000

What's your current average intake of protein, carbs, and fats, in grams? (GRAMS, not percent!) I shoot for <35 grams of carbs per day. The other macros are up for grabs. I try to eat some kind of meat with every meal (and sometimes for snacks!), but actual intake is all over the place. The only real constant is the low carb count.

Do you use a food scale and measure everything? I have a digital scale and measure 95% of what goes into my mouth.

Do you track all of your intake, daily? (Everything?) Again, I log 99% of what I eat

Do you take cheat days or days off? Not initially, but since this weird weight gain, I've experimented with a refeed and with the occasional high-carb reload. I don't think they really did anything.

How much weight have you lost so far and over what time period? I lost a total of 78 pounds between Feb and Dec of 2012.

Describe your activity (exercise and non exercise) and did you change that activity withing the last couple of months? I exercise 7 days a week: Mon, Wed, Fri I ride a stationary bike for 25-35 minutes and take an hour long Pilates class. Tue, Thu, Sat and Sun I run 2-4 miles depending on my energy level and the weather (I tend to take the shorter runs in the heat/rain). In the past couple of weeks, I've been getting up early to take a 1.5-2 mile walk with my daughter (for her sake, not mine) on school days.

How long have you been stalled and if it is not a complete stall please be very specific as to how much you have lost over the stalled period. In Jan, 2014, I'd surpassed my original goal of 125 (I'd managed to get down to 117) and decided to start upping my calories for maintenance. I started gaining weight, so I lowered my calories again. I kept gaining weight. I upped my exercise, and gained more weight. This morning I hit the +20 pound mark, and I'm totally disgusted with myself.

Are you breastfeeding? Not anymore thank God! (I am 49 afterall...)

Do you have thyroid issues/risks or PCOS? None at all.

Also, please ensure that you have your diary open. NOTE: It needs to be set as public even if you are on our friends list. Do not set it to friends only, set it to public
It's open!

Thank you for any help you can provide. I'm at my wits end as to what to do. I'm working my butt off, but gaining 20 pounds is definitely not the goal, and I'm afraid that it will just keep going unless I change something radically. I do NOT want to weigh anywhere near my highest weight again!

Replies

  • debi_f
    debi_f Posts: 330 Member
    48 hour bump :-)
  • BarbBBQ
    BarbBBQ Posts: 49 Member
    bump----im curious too. Maybe you're not eating enough???
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Curious about the advice that will be given.
  • TipTopMMR
    TipTopMMR Posts: 89 Member
    Maybe 137 is a healthy weight for you! I am 5' 8" and weigh about 138 and feel great at this weight. It's easy to maintain, I am strong and healthy and I look good, too!

    Also, 1000 calories a day is so low; my experience with so little calories is that's hard to sustain and maintain happiness (again, speaking from personal experience, not any facts or science).
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Tagging - sorry, I missed this earlier.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    How quickly did you up your calories? When did you do this?
  • Bump
  • debi_f
    debi_f Posts: 330 Member
    How quickly did you up your calories? When did you do this?

    I upped my cals by about 150-200 back in late Jan-early Feb. The weight started going up almost immediately, so I dropped them back down. Unfortunately, the weight gain never really stopped. Sure, I may drop part of a pound one day, but then I gain it plus more the next. The general trend keeps going up.
  • darkestdayz
    darkestdayz Posts: 117 Member
    bump-curious
  • jayliospecky
    jayliospecky Posts: 25,022 Member
    bump-curious

    Ditto.
  • norcal_yogi
    norcal_yogi Posts: 675 Member
    bump
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Getting back to the top.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Hi!

    While you may have some AT going on with the weight you have lost, you absolutely should be losing weight at the intake you have logged. While we would recommend a resistance training program for bone density and other health benefits, the lack of one would not be the reason for your weight gain. As such, we would recommend that you print your diary off and take it to your doctor to try to get him to do bloodwork and other tests that may explain why you have gained.

    As your calories, assuming accurately logged, are low, and your carbs very low, there really is not 'room' for us to cut, and so the only alternative would be walking your calories up very very slowly in order to increase your metabolism. We hesitate to do this without you seeing your doctor due to the fact that the gain does not have a diet related reason that we can see, assuming accurate logging, as well as us hesitating to up your calories when you have had a recent and quite large gain in weight.
  • debi_f
    debi_f Posts: 330 Member
    Thanks! I'm stumped, too. Guess it's a trip to the doctor... *sigh*
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Locking so we can track active threads better. Please PM either myself or SideSteel to unlock, including a link to this thread, when you are ready to update us or if you have further questions.
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