Unexplained Weight Gain

Food and lower metabolic rate are usually the answers. People forget that aging reduces your metabolism. Poof, 5 years goes just like that.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

increasing sugar, salt and/or carbs, even if calories are the same, will tend to cause water gain.

Spiderkeys wrote: »

But this month, i've been a kg or two over-average, and last week, it became apparent, this is weight gain, so I cut back this week, and also kept myself very active, like working overtime, fact-pace walking everywhere instead of driving, drinking plenty of water, and eating a lot less than average, i'm literally felt back on a crash diet.

I know I got some repairing to do, but I would of thought with 3 years experience I would know where to start.

but yeah angry I nearly starved myself for a few days, today I had a nearly 1000+ cheat day, as I felt hungry, week, and moody

It sounds like you have more stress in your life than normal and you are experiencing a lot of stress around your weight gain too. My suggestion is to take a moment and step outside of your emotional reactions to access what you already know about how to handle this, and then implement a plan based on what works for you rather than based on emotions. You CAN do this because you HAVE done this.

You know how to lose weight. You did it three years ago. Are you doing the same things now to get rid of the pounds you've gained? In other words, did you "crash diet" back then? Did you "nearly starve" yourself and then get angry and cheat/binge back then to lose the weight? If not, perhaps you should reconsider your plan and go back to what you know works for you because it sounds like what you are doing now isn't working for you (emotionally or physically). If that IS how you lost weight before, it sounds like you need to try something different because it isn't working for you now. In reading the Maintaining Weight boards, I haven't seen any recommendations to do what you report you're doing in reaction to a weight creep. Many people who have maintained for several years (I'm not there yet) say that when the scale creeps up, you should tighten up your logging and eat at a small deficit (I've seen recommendations of 100-250 calories per day) until you are back at goal, but nobody says "Crash diet and eat so little you are hungry and weak, and then when you can't take it anymore take a high calorie cheat day which can wipe out the weekly deficit so you suffered for 6 days for nothing."

You also know how to maintain your weight. You eat the amount of calories you believe will maintain your weight, weigh periodically, and then evaluate the trend, adjusting up or down as needed. So once you are back to your goal weight, do this again... but don't expect the calorie number to be the same as it was for the last three years, because your situation is not exactly the same today as it was in 2014 or 2015. You are a bit older, you may have a different activity level, etc.

I know you can do this. You know you can do this. Make a plan based on what you know will work, and do that.

Check your body composition and measurements in addition to your weight. Weight is a strange creature.

Just as an FYI, I lose 6 calories each birthday. I am a petite 62yo who has maintained between 100-105 lbs for 6+ years.
Re calculate your maintenance and then drop to lose .5 lbs a week (250 cals per day less) for a month or 6 weeks. That should get you back in tour comfort zone.
If my weight starts creeping up to the top of my range I just cut my portions slightly. 3/4 serving of yougurt instead of a full one, 75 g of rice pasta or potatoes instead of 100. A 1 slice of bread sandwich instead of 2.
I look to cut my carbs and keep my protien and fats as close to my normal as possible.

Review how you lost and just emulate that.

Cheers, h.

glad to hear all is well and your weight is doing nicely now

I'm glad you checked back in and your life is feeling back on track. It's interesting and helpful to know how much stress can affect all areas of our life (even our weight).

NewMEEE2016 wrote: »

You could actually be eating TOO LITTLE. I advise making an appointment w/a certified nutritionist. You insurance may cover it (mine does- no copay). Good luck.

Sorry, but eating more to lose weight or to kickstart metabolism is just a myth I'm afraid. And a hoax used to sell millions of dollars worth of useless supplements to the gullible, desperate or lazy.

People lose weight when they eat less than they burn each day. It's really that simple. And if they think their metabolism is 'broken', they need a hospital .

To the OP: Congrats on the new job and I'm glad that things are settling down for you.

I had this problem after 3 years of easy maintenance. I had to drop down my calories. I also realized I was underestimating food a tiny tiny amount every day. And I also was using an apple watch instead of my fitbit on my waist. I play the banjo. It adds a lot of steps that I wasn't earning. Between those two things, I gained 5 pounds I'm now shedding.