Weight gain: How it probably happened to you

Thanks for the info! Not all weight gain is from over eating though..I had my thyroid removed 2 yrs ago after 4 yrs of of feeling awful...now 60 lbs later and feel worse. Doc's have finally adjusted meds to suit me, not my lab values...so I hope to start losing...have any tips for the over 50, thyroid-less?

Thanks so much!!! I've actually been upping my cals since February. Prior to that I was eating anywhere around 700-1000. Now i'm gonna stay at 1800 for a while and see what happens. I've only gained like 3 pounds from February. But what i'm also wondering is since i'm eating lots more then I have been for probably years now, does my body think that i'm at a deficit as 1767 is my 15% under TDEE OR am I able to add LBM since i'm eating so many more cals then it's use to?

The real BMR/RMR is the preferred level of calories to burn on that basic metabolism. If the body has it available, it'll burn that much on those required things. If there's not much left over, not much for body to build with. Some aspect of breaking down unused muscle can allow building up very used muscle.

Just depends on where that 1767 falls in the scheme of things.

If you start losing 1/2 lb weekly, then you got the expected deficit about and know you are there. That should be enough to really feed your workouts for body improvement.
Which is actually the issue of seeing 1/2 lb loss on the scale, your body is going to be making a bunch of improvements it just didn't have the energy for before, if you are exercising a decent amount.

Be prepared for inches lost, not weight lost.

Thanks again I just looked at your profile...funny I always thought you were a female, not sure why. Guess cause you're so nice haha Hope you don't mind if I send you a friend request.

I know exactly how I gained weight. Overeating, alcohol (and more overeating) and being a lazy BUM. That'll do it! Fortunately, all of that is under my control and I realize that now. So I'm gonna fix it!

Same here! Met my hubby, started going out to eat several nights a week, never exercising. Looking back now I alone probably consumed a good 3000 calories per dinner. That being an appitizer shared with hubby, dinner, bread, wine(or other alcohol), and then add dessert on occasion and its even more. And we did that several times a week!! And I just didn't understand why I was gaining weight so rapidly! UNBELIEVABLE! lol

Wow, that really puts things into perspective! Thanks for the info!

bump to read later

Thank you SO MUCH for posting this. It's a real eye opener that that little smidge of extra mayo, or a few fries off of my kids plate make a big difference. This post has put a lot of things into perspective for me !

I love the note at the end: Remember, it works both ways! That is very empowering.

Although, the weight gain part of it wasn't true for me. I gained weight during each of my three pregnancies. My problem is that I lost all but 10 pounds with each child...so I accumulated that extra 30 pounds by the time I had my 3rd one. I was always a pretty thin/fit person my whole life, and I don't tend to gain weight...but I don't easily lose it either, I just stay the same.

I actually gained about 90 pounds when I got pregnant with twins. Most of that weight was gained in the last trimester. I was limited to bed rest. I had a three year old son and was trying to cook, eat, clean and parent from a propped pillowed throne in the bedroom. My husband did his best to care for himself and our son while I was restricted and hospitalized and restricted ... I gained 17 pounds the first five and half months going from 133 (which I felt was heavy) to 150. But those last 3 and half months I went from 150 pounds to 221 pounds. By the time the babies came ... I thought I would walk out of the hospital being heavy maybe 10 pounds over prepregnancy weight so around 143-145 ... but the inactivity for so long showed me I wasn't going to be wearing my cute little dresses any time soon. I left the hospital weighing 202! that was 69 pounds more than before I got pregnant. I got really depressed. My twins were sick and in the hospital for almost two months. I never left their side. My three old and I lived at the hospital, day in and day out. I gained another 20 pounds during that time and by the time I finally got to bring my babies home; I was almost 225 in less than a year. After that, the weight gain was gradual. I couldn't understand why I wasn't losing weight when I returned to my normal lifestyle. I was gaining about 5 pounds a year. Until last year when I know something had to change. Those twins are 10 years old and I started with my fitness pal a year ago weighing 278 pounds. I have lost 46.5 pounds and have a long way to go to even reach 150. But I keep telling myself; this didn't happen overnight - although most of it did happen rather quickly, so I need to give it time to come off.

Most of the my anecdotes is that people will be at a stable weight for years, and then suddenly blimp out seemingly out of nowhere. I can't recall anyone who gradually gains weight year after year.

Could be that they had been gaining slowly over time but it wasn't that noticeable. Then when they reached a higher amount of gain people could tell. I could gain 5-10lbs and still wear the same clothes and blame it on being "bloated". But if I got closer to a 20 lbs gain I would need different clothes and it would be noticeable to others. I can see how 20-30lbs could sneak up on you, but anything more than that would need new clothes for sure and I'm not sure how you wouldn't notice that.

"Gosh, these days they're cutting the clothes differently than they used to, making me look like I'm a bigger size!"

"Oh, in my usual brand I'm a 12, I must be a 14 in these because they're a different brand."

Or you just have a bunch of clothes of different sizes in the closet.

I've either done or heard the above things.

Also don't forget the ever evolving lines of clothes that are stretch and have elastic waistbands. If you buy a pair that is almost loose, by 30 pounds later it will still 'fit.'