Why do I keep gaining weight?!
Hattush7694
Posts: 3 Member
I walk/run 8-10 miles a day. I have a very active job, so I rarely sit down during the day. My net calories are 1,200 – 1,500 a day. But I am consistently gaining 2+ pounds a week!! Why is this happening? It’s so frustrating! What am I doing wrong? I would really appreciate help.
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Answers
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If you are working out that much and gaining that much weight you are eating more than you think you are. Are you weighing and tracking your food? Insuring you are selecting correct entries?5
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What time period are you talking about?
- for how long have you been gaining 2+lbs a week?
- for how long have you been tracking your intake and eating that amount of calories?0 -
Mrsrobinsoncl wrote: »If you are working out that much and gaining that much weight you are eating more than you think you are. Are you weighing and tracking your food? Insuring you are selecting correct entries?
No, I need to start weighing my food. I've just been measuring it with cups.0 -
What time period are you talking about?
- for how long have you been gaining 2+lbs a week?
- for how long have you been tracking your intake and eating that amount of calories?
I guess a little more background would be helpful.
I've been tracking food for over a year and lost weight steadily, which was great. This January, I went on a 3 week water fast (for religious reasons) and ended up losing like 25 pounds. I fully expected weight gain once I returned to normal eating and I wasn't stressed about it, but it hasn't stopped and it is so much. I'm worried that it won't stop and will just keep going up... 
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Too many weekly calories. You’re taking in probably close to or double the 1,200-1,500 per day on an average 7 days a week. Are you tracking every day?4
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Hattush7694 wrote: »What time period are you talking about?
- for how long have you been gaining 2+lbs a week?
- for how long have you been tracking your intake and eating that amount of calories?
I guess a little more background would be helpful. I've been tracking food for over a year and lost weight steadily, which was great. This January, I went on a 3 week water fast (for religious reasons) and ended up losing like 25 pounds. I fully expected weight gain once I returned to normal eating and I wasn't stressed about it, but it hasn't stopped and it is so much. I'm worried that it won't stop and will just keep going up...
There are likely a few factors at play.
How much of that 25 pounds have you regained?
There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public. In the app, go to Settings > Diary Setting > Diary Sharing > and check Public. Desktop: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
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Hattush7694 wrote: »What time period are you talking about?
- for how long have you been gaining 2+lbs a week?
- for how long have you been tracking your intake and eating that amount of calories?
I guess a little more background would be helpful. I've been tracking food for over a year and lost weight steadily, which was great. This January, I went on a 3 week water fast (for religious reasons) and ended up losing like 25 pounds. I fully expected weight gain once I returned to normal eating and I wasn't stressed about it, but it hasn't stopped and it is so much. I'm worried that it won't stop and will just keep going up...
Yep, you're eating more than you think... probably as an attempt by your body to rebound the weight you lost on the water fast (which was most likely mostly not fat). A three week water fast is extreme. Even medically dangerous for many people. Your body is replacing lean mass and water weight that you lost during the fast.4 -
Hattush7694 wrote: »What time period are you talking about?
- for how long have you been gaining 2+lbs a week?
- for how long have you been tracking your intake and eating that amount of calories?
I guess a little more background would be helpful. I've been tracking food for over a year and lost weight steadily, which was great. This January, I went on a 3 week water fast (for religious reasons) and ended up losing like 25 pounds. I fully expected weight gain once I returned to normal eating and I wasn't stressed about it, but it hasn't stopped and it is so much. I'm worried that it won't stop and will just keep going up...
you could be having refeed syndrome if you didn't break your fast correctly. there is some information out there on properly breaking an extended waterfast and what can happen to you. you may need some medical attention. look for some fasting groups out on the web and you may get better information about this and whether its something that's happening to you.0 -
They did say 2+ lbs a week of a gain. And discussed a regain timeline that includes all of February. The initial refeed syndrome danger time is long in the past. Not that checking in with a doctor about the state of their body would be a terrible idea... by any stretch.
But I just can't even imagine the level of activity and water fasting, i.e. zero calories for 21 days and 25lbs.
The OP is more than free to tell me to shove my opinion where the sun don't shine... but this IS the health section, right? Their particular religion is promoting unsafe weight loss techniques that are against MFP's terms and conditions. My sincere advice would be to not pursue such.7 -
They did say 2+ lbs a week of a gain. And discussed a regain timeline that includes all of February. The initial refeed syndrome danger time is long in the past. Not that checking in with a doctor about the state of their body would be a terrible idea... by any stretch.
But I just can't even imagine the level of activity and water fasting, i.e. zero calories for 21 days and 25lbs.
The OP is more than free to tell me to shove my opinion where the sun don't shine... but this IS the health section, right? Their particular religion is promoting unsafe weight loss techniques that are against MFP's terms and conditions. My sincere advice would be to not pursue such.
in my experience with people who do extended fasts, no this delay in weight gain is not unheard of. esp if the op did not follow proper electrolyte consumption during the fast and did not properly break the fast. what the op is describing is absolutely not unheard of. though mfp does not like to promote this type of eating, the religions are not imposing/promoting this as a weight loss program/means to lose weight. its for religious purposes...and it doesn't matter that the op did this. he is having and issue as a result of doing this and from what he is saying it sounds like refeeding syndrome based on what i have heard from other people going thru his scenario. as an aside, it is typical that for for extended fasts, for every day during an extended water fast the faster loses .5 pounds per day and during proper refeeding, half of the weight lost during the fast is supposed to be regained. if he was on a fast for 21 days, he needed to refeed properly for half that amount which would 10.5 days. again...it doesn't matter at this point what mpf 'allows' op has done this and the advice should not be '''' you're obvs eating more than your maintenance...are you weighing your food on a scale?"2 -
Peggy I will agree with you that this is not likely a weigh your food on a scale issue.
"Play stupid games. Win stupid prizes."
*why* one played the stupid game does not change the prize won.
I do hope the OP gets their *kitten* to a board certified doctor who cares enough to run bloodwork and investigate.1 -
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440847/
Of course 21 days regardless of initial weight puts one up there in terms of danger.
No protein intake during extended fasting leading to death was another reason vlcds load up on protein and do not go to zero Cal's even for super obese people.1 -
Weigh food, period. Cups, spoon are just not accurate, period. Even scoops inside protein powders. Oatmeal dry, anything. Test it out. I was somewhat upset,appalled and shocked but so glad I started weighing everything. Huiuugggeee difference!0
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Peggy I will agree with you that this is not likely a weigh your food on a scale issue.
"Play stupid games. Win stupid prizes."
*why* one played the stupid game does not change the prize won.
I do hope the OP gets their *kitten* to a board certified doctor who cares enough to run bloodwork and investigate.
One could say that a person obviously violating current guidelines was also playing silly games and may be rewarded silly prizes as well.
Though I don't disagree with you that any long term fasting has health risks, I also don't agree with your approach of pointing it out in the way you did. You're been around here a while, and you know the current guidelines. Two wrongs don't make a right, and if you felt the OP was promoting VLCD or any other violation, you should have simply flagged the post. I'm refraining from flagging either the OP's or yours to give benefit of the doubt.
Once again, I don't disagree with the dangers of such fasts, but we all well know that there are certainly much kinder ways to point things out to new users. I doubt that even that would convince many who fast for religious reasons to change their ways quickly, but it's worth a try to better inform them of risks involved.2 -
I don't think the OP is promoting long-term fasting for weight loss reasons. They clearly stated that it was for religious reasons.
So, OP, not that you have to answer, but since the fast was religion-based, have you done this before? Or is this the first time? If you plan on doing it regularly, I'd advise as others have said, to go to a doctor now and get your health straightened out and then educate yourself on how to properly end a fast so that this doesn't happen again.1 -
@Hattush7694 I'm a numbers person, so here we go with numbers:
Fast was started "In January", so for worst case let's say January 1st. Lasted 21 days, so let's say it ended January 22nd. 25lbs were lost during fast.
Starting weight = x
Weight at end of fast = x-25
It has been 6.5 weeks (max) since fast ended. Weight gained each week is 2+ lbs/week. Let's call it 3 lbs/week as a worst case.
Weight at end of fast = x-25
Weight this week (worst case) = x-25+19.5
Net loss since January 1st (worst case) = 5.5 lbs
Running numbers in best case mode (fast started Jan 22nd and ended Feb 12th) then we're only at 3.5 weeks of 2 lbs a week, so a net loss since the fast began of 18 lbs. This may be coincidental, but you joining MFP on February 13th of this year coincides with this scenario pretty well.
I go through this exercise to point out that what feels like "I am going to gain all the weight back" is not yet supported by the data. Even with the worst case scenario, you could continue gaining for another 2-3+ weeks at this pace before you erase the net loss of the fast.
I will admit that it's hard for me to explain consistent gain of 2+ lbs a week for 6.5 weeks, but if your fast started later in January and you're only 3-4 weeks post fast, then those numbers make sense. It's possible, but not likely that the full 25lbs you lost during the fast were fat. You also put your body under a lot of stress (which you are continuing to do by the level of activity and calories you describe). A few weeks of rebalancing water levels and digestive system contents can easily account for a 7-10 lb rebound. Not sure if you are a woman who menstruates, but hormones can also be a factor impacting the scale.
My personal opinions/struggles are likely to flavor my advice here, so take it for what rings true with you and ignore the rest. Feel free to substitute my reference to Creator/God/Him with those that better fits your religious beliefs.
I have purposefully avoided fasting for religious purposes because of high focus on weight/weight loss. That may be a missed blessing for me, but I have known that going into a fast for me would not be with pure motives and that I would attach more meaning to the weight loss aspect than the growth in my relationship with God. I can see myself following similar thought patterns to what I think I'm hearing from you. I definitely have struggled with the fear of "gaining it all back, no matter what I do" and feeling like my body was betraying me.
So here's the advice. Learn to trust your body and the process. In fact, I would advise caring for your body as part of the process. Not sure what religion you adhere to, but my religious context for fasting comes from a Judeo Christian background, and scriptural references for fasting also refer to a breaking of the fast with a period of feasting and/or the faster being "attended to", often by spiritual beings. I don't see references to someone fasting and then continuing in a severely restricted state. Not saying that you can't continue a weight loss journey, but you may want to reduce your weight loss goals, or even work to maintain your weight immediately following an extended fast. Know that "maintaining" absolutely will involve regaining vs your fasted state (digestive system contents at a minimum, and likely additional water weight). Once your body has recovered, then you can start expecting it to respond to diet and exercise adjustments in a more logical way.
While you are waiting for things to level off, it might be good to examine your thought processes around weight loss and how you view yourself. Are you equating weight gain with being "bad" and weight loss with being "good"? Is that how your Creator wants you to view these things? Is that how your Creator is viewing you? I know that when I have sat in prayer and meditation, God was not waiting for the first opening to shame me about my weight (a fear I sometimes allowed to cause me to avoided prayer and meditation). He has had some gentle talks with me about caring for my body to the best of my abilities and that has also involved breaking unhealthy coping techniques by shifting to more reliance on Him.
You don't need to share additional details if you are not comfortable doing so, but I do appreciate you sharing your experience. I often shy away from sharing about the religious aspect of my weight loss journey, so your openness has been an example of courage to me.3 -
🙄@Hattush7694 I'm a numbers person, so here we go with numbers:
Fast was started "In January", so for worst case let's say January 1st. Lasted 21 days, so let's say it ended January 22nd. 25lbs were lost during fast.
Starting weight = x
Weight at end of fast = x-25
It has been 6.5 weeks (max) since fast ended. Weight gained each week is 2+ lbs/week. Let's call it 3 lbs/week as a worst case.
Weight at end of fast = x-25
Weight this week (worst case) = x-25+19.5
Net loss since January 1st (worst case) = 5.5 lbs
Running numbers in best case mode (fast started Jan 22nd and ended Feb 12th) then we're only at 3.5 weeks of 2 lbs a week, so a net loss since the fast began of 18 lbs. This may be coincidental, but you joining MFP on February 13th of this year coincides with this scenario pretty well.
I go through this exercise to point out that what feels like "I am going to gain all the weight back" is not yet supported by the data. Even with the worst case scenario, you could continue gaining for another 2-3+ weeks at this pace before you erase the net loss of the fast.
I will admit that it's hard for me to explain consistent gain of 2+ lbs a week for 6.5 weeks, but if your fast started later in January and you're only 3-4 weeks post fast, then those numbers make sense. It's possible, but not likely that the full 25lbs you lost during the fast were fat. You also put your body under a lot of stress (which you are continuing to do by the level of activity and calories you describe). A few weeks of rebalancing water levels and digestive system contents can easily account for a 7-10 lb rebound. Not sure if you are a woman who menstruates, but hormones can also be a factor impacting the scale.
My personal opinions/struggles are likely to flavor my advice here, so take it for what rings true with you and ignore the rest. Feel free to substitute my reference to Creator/God/Him with those that better fits your religious beliefs.
I have purposefully avoided fasting for religious purposes because of high focus on weight/weight loss. That may be a missed blessing for me, but I have known that going into a fast for me would not be with pure motives and that I would attach more meaning to the weight loss aspect than the growth in my relationship with God. I can see myself following similar thought patterns to what I think I'm hearing from you. I definitely have struggled with the fear of "gaining it all back, no matter what I do" and feeling like my body was betraying me.
So here's the advice. Learn to trust your body and the process. In fact, I would advise caring for your body as part of the process. Not sure what religion you adhere to, but my religious context for fasting comes from a Judeo Christian background, and scriptural references for fasting also refer to a breaking of the fast with a period of feasting and/or the faster being "attended to", often by spiritual beings. I don't see references to someone fasting and then continuing in a severely restricted state. Not saying that you can't continue a weight loss journey, but you may want to reduce your weight loss goals, or even work to maintain your weight immediately following an extended fast. Know that "maintaining" absolutely will involve regaining vs your fasted state (digestive system contents at a minimum, and likely additional water weight). Once your body has recovered, then you can start expecting it to respond to diet and exercise adjustments in a more logical way.
While you are waiting for things to level off, it might be good to examine your thought processes around weight loss and how you view yourself. Are you equating weight gain with being "bad" and weight loss with being "good"? Is that how your Creator wants you to view these things? Is that how your Creator is viewing you? I know that when I have sat in prayer and meditation, God was not waiting for the first opening to shame me about my weight (a fear I sometimes allowed to cause me to avoided prayer and meditation). He has had some gentle talks with me about caring for my body to the best of my abilities and that has also involved breaking unhealthy coping techniques by shifting to more reliance on Him.
You don't need to share additional details if you are not comfortable doing so, but I do appreciate you sharing your experience. I often shy away from sharing about the religious aspect of my weight loss journey, so your openness has been an example of courage to me.
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Could be for a number of reasons - inaccurately tracking/reporting your intake & water retention can always throw numbers around and play with body weight and results. A good start would be to start accurately reporting your food as I suspect you may be underestimating how many calories you're having daily. It really is eye opening once you start taking a closer look at it (happened with me too).1
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