Should I be concerned?
Banksie04
Posts: 9 Member
Hello!
I used to use Myfitnesspal quite a bit, but have been off it for a while - now I'm back on, due to weight gain (hence new login, have forgotten my old one).
I've been slowly, steadily gaining weight for the last year or so, but am quite confused about why. Back in the day when I checked calorie intake on here I was eating within my calories but still gaining, and couldn't figure out what was going on. I'm confident I don't eat excessively - a moderate breakfast and lunch plus a small dinner, plus usually very healthy; lots of veg, no wheat (I'm allergic), hardly any sugar, not excessive alcohol.
I'm also fairly active - I do short, sharp workouts each morning (around 10-15mins), plus about 4 days a week I do 15 mins on the exercise bike, plus plenty of walking each day. I also work at a standing desk, so I'm not really that sedentary.
Someone suggested the slow, steady weight gain was muscle building - I've put on 5lb in a year, which I know isn't much, could this potentially be muscle? Certainly my clothes don't seem any tighter. I don't feel like I'm working out that hard though, so it makes me wonder.
Someone else also suggested hormonal changes or even a thyroid problem.
To be honest, I'm not worried about the weight gain in itself, as I don't look or feel any different. And if it's muscle, obviously that's good news. I'm just slightly worried there's an underlying health problem - but don't want to go to the doctors and look like an idiot if it's really nothing to worry about! If it's an age thing, then I can take that on the chin - it's just unusual for me to put on weight like this, which is why I'm mildly concerned.
If anyone has experienced similar, or is knowledgeable on these matters, I'd love to hear from you.
I used to use Myfitnesspal quite a bit, but have been off it for a while - now I'm back on, due to weight gain (hence new login, have forgotten my old one).
I've been slowly, steadily gaining weight for the last year or so, but am quite confused about why. Back in the day when I checked calorie intake on here I was eating within my calories but still gaining, and couldn't figure out what was going on. I'm confident I don't eat excessively - a moderate breakfast and lunch plus a small dinner, plus usually very healthy; lots of veg, no wheat (I'm allergic), hardly any sugar, not excessive alcohol.
I'm also fairly active - I do short, sharp workouts each morning (around 10-15mins), plus about 4 days a week I do 15 mins on the exercise bike, plus plenty of walking each day. I also work at a standing desk, so I'm not really that sedentary.
Someone suggested the slow, steady weight gain was muscle building - I've put on 5lb in a year, which I know isn't much, could this potentially be muscle? Certainly my clothes don't seem any tighter. I don't feel like I'm working out that hard though, so it makes me wonder.
Someone else also suggested hormonal changes or even a thyroid problem.
To be honest, I'm not worried about the weight gain in itself, as I don't look or feel any different. And if it's muscle, obviously that's good news. I'm just slightly worried there's an underlying health problem - but don't want to go to the doctors and look like an idiot if it's really nothing to worry about! If it's an age thing, then I can take that on the chin - it's just unusual for me to put on weight like this, which is why I'm mildly concerned.
If anyone has experienced similar, or is knowledgeable on these matters, I'd love to hear from you.
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Replies
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You've eaten at enough of a surplus over an extended period of time that has dictated you've gained 5lbs.
No one here is going to be able to tell you if it's fat or muscle unless you have before and after photographs, scan results or the like. However building muscle takes focused effort.
I'm not sure gaining 5lbs over a year would make me jump to the conclusion of a medical problem, I think that's a bit of a jump too far, but only you can decide whether to get checked out.10 -
Yes, I didn't think to take photos - though I occasionally took measurements (only waist and hip) and they've remained pretty constant. In fact, I'd say the waist has gone down a little (about half an inch, nothing very noticeable!).
I'd be shocked if I had eaten an excess, as I don't really eat a lot at all. I know some people say that, then forget all the biscuits / crisps / nuts they've nibbled through, but I don't really do a lot of that. An occasional GF biscuit in the morning perhaps, but really not much snacking beyond that. It's quite strange.
Agreed about the medical problem, the idea wouldn't have occurred had a friend not mentioned thyroid issues - apparently it also causes bad skin, lethargy and feeling cold all the time, which are also symptoms I have.
Just wondered if anyone else had experienced similar - I should have mentioned, I'm mid-30s, so it might be hormonal changes.0 -
You haven't been counting or weighing your food for a year, it is calorie creep.
You ate an extra 48 cals a day for a year.
Nothing to panic about. Just reestablish your calorie goal and portion sizes, using a scale, and you will drop the extra 5lbs in a few weeks.
With your exercise routine it is unlikely to be a 5 lbs muscle gain.
Cheers, h.9 -
I suppose it will be interesting to do a calorie count and see what happens if I eat at the recommended level - I'll give it a go for a few weeks and see what happens. As I said though, I would be really surprised if it was diet, because my diet is really very good, and I don't think I'm being delusional. TBH I'd find it quite depressing if it was, as I can't imagine eating any more healthily than I already do!
Still, it's worth a go... just to experiment!0 -
I suppose it will be interesting to do a calorie count and see what happens if I eat at the recommended level - I'll give it a go for a few weeks and see what happens. As I said though, I would be really surprised if it was diet, because my diet is really very good, and I don't think I'm being delusional. TBH I'd find it quite depressing if it was, as I can't imagine eating any more healthily than I already do!
Still, it's worth a go... just to experiment!
Eating healthy isn't really the issue.
Calories are the issue. You've eaten enough of them over maintenance to gain 5lbs. This would be true even if there were medical issues at play.
Calories dictate weight gain or loss.9 -
That's a bit depressing then, as I would say I ate really moderately! Sigh...0
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It isn't eating healthily that is the problem, it is eating just a tiny bit too much. This can be an extra 50g of avocado, a rounded spoon of peanut butter, half a potato, a splash of olive oil that has grown to a glug.
To gain 5 lbs in a year is lots of small increases in portion sizes, nothing to do with the nutritional value of your food.
I have been maintaining my weight for 7 years without logging. I have a 5 lbs weight range that I generally sit in the middle of. If I see it starting to get to the upper end the first thing I do is get my scale out and review my portion sizes.
You will probably only have to do it for a couple of weeks so you can hone in to where the gain is happening.
This is much better than having an undiagnosed medical problem.
Cheers, h.7 -
Absolutely! I'll keep track on here for a while, see if that makes a difference. Thanks for your replies!1
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My vision, MFP is a journey, a life project. And I say MFP like any other way of controlling CICO, I don't intend to worship it.
It worked for me, I lost 26 kgs and now I have the weight I want.
But stopping the weight loss process cannot be confused with stopping the PROCESS !!!
Now there is a new process, either maintain your weight or start any muscle building and so increasing your calorie intake beyond maintenance. In any of these cases it is still important to keep checking CICO.
I started two weeks ago with the maintenance. Maintenance is a whole new challenge, now you have to prepare to EAT MORE. Now I have to be careful NOT to keep loosing but at the same time NOT gaining weight.
In practice is more complicated that it seems, normally my calorie counting has an upper limit, so I was happy if I was on or BELOW (very important) that target. Now my challenge is to be IN the target (not above or below).
So my recommendation is to keep counting, in maintenance is a lot more pleasant than in deficit.
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I suppose it will be interesting to do a calorie count and see what happens if I eat at the recommended level - I'll give it a go for a few weeks and see what happens.
This is exactly what I was going to suggest. Carefully and meticulously weigh all your food and see just exactly how much you are consuming. It can be so easy to eat more than we think we are.
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I have made a start - it will certainly be really interesting to see if it is the food that has made the weight creep up a bit. (My husband laughed and said it was probably the cheese - that is true, cheese is my one weakness!)0
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What you THINK you are doing is not always what you ARE doing. I thought I was doing everything right. Eating normal meals and normal snacks, going to the gym, etc. I gained 70 lbs in 9 years. Once I started measuring everything, I found out that none of what I was doing was normal. My example is a bit more extreme than yours, but the fact is if you aren't measuring, you just don't know except by results (which I always explained away by the Dr. Oz-like garbage woowoo that pervades the diet and fitness industry). What are your results telling you?4
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PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »What you THINK you are doing is not always what you ARE doing. I thought I was doing everything right. Eating normal meals and normal snacks, going to the gym, etc. I gained 70 lbs in 9 years. Once I started measuring everything, I found out that none of what I was doing was normal. My example is a bit more extreme than yours, but the fact is if you aren't measuring, you just don't know except by results (which I always explained away by the Dr. Oz-like garbage woowoo that pervades the diet and fitness industry). What are your results telling you?
Yes, I think you're all probably right - it's definitely worth keeping tabs for a while to check I'm eating the right amount. I think the thing that confused me the most was that I was putting on weight, but didn't look any different. In the past when I've put on weight, my jeans have felt tighter etc. This time round, I'd say they feel a bit looser, but I presume that must be the effect of the exercising. Not that I'm complaining - better that way round than the other!0 -
5 lbs. isn't enough to show. It could even be just water weight.
If you are over 40 and having issues with dry skin, feeling cold, etc. It is worth getting your thyroid tested, especially if you have a family history of low thyroid. Thyroid issues are very very common.1 -
spiriteagle99 wrote: »5 lbs. isn't enough to show. It could even be just water weight.
If you are over 40 and having issues with dry skin, feeling cold, etc. It is worth getting your thyroid tested, especially if you have a family history of low thyroid. Thyroid issues are very very common.
I'm not over 40 - however, the reason my friend suggested thyroid is that I always feel cold (it's terrible, I'm still wearing bed socks and it's May!) and my skin and hair have been a lot dryer in the last year or so. I presumed it might be hormonal though - it's probably more likely.0 -
It would take eating only 50 calories a day above maintenance to gain 5 pounds in a year. Certainly possible without seeming to eat a lot more.1
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Thyroid is a gland and produces thyroid hormones.0
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This is really, really normal. Think about how hard you work to lose weight--it just takes not working quite that hard for the pounds to slowly creep back. I'd just lose those 5 lbs and then work on maintaining. (And being rigorous/coasting/scale creep/being rigorous is the story of my life--FWIW, I've never let the scale creep beyond 7-8 lbs and consider that pretty healthy over the years.)2
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Check out https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/ for information about thyroid.0
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Thanks everyone for the great advice. I'm seeing if keeping strictly to the recommended calories will shift the extra few pounds - so far hasn't felt like I've eaten too differently to my usual diet (apart from the lack of cheese, tee hee), but we'll see if it makes a difference. It'd be great if it did - a nice easy solution to the mystery! :-)0
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