Rapid Weight Gain is Real!!!

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BenKnowsFitness
BenKnowsFitness Posts: 451 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’ve been on the program for well over a year. When I started I lost 80 pounds in the blink of an eye (just a few months), all through vigorous exercise and healthy eating. Now I am on the other side of it. I stabilized around my goal weight which is good, however, one misstep and I plump up like Mrs. Sponge after Sponge Bob fails the driving test. It’s very real folks. Not just normal fluctuations. If I stay on the program I hover around my goal. A few indiscretions and BAM…10 pounds gained. And working that 10 pounds off is a *kitten*. Go ahead and hit me with your theories about what is causing this. I’ll just stick with my exercise routine and stay away from the ho-ho’s for now.

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  • missymuffet459
    missymuffet459 Posts: 162
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    I think it is more depressing to gain after you had a big loss. I too was down to 151 (maintained that for 2 years, wanted to be lower but was still happy), now a year later I was up 20+ lbs. I feel like the biggest loser. Most of the weight was gained over the course of a few short months.

    As for any theories for you, I don't have any. It will be interesting to see what others say. I just can sympathize with the gain. You have come a long way! Congrats on the big loss!
  • andreabrightside
    andreabrightside Posts: 46
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    I'd work on gaining muscle at this point, since you're near your goal. But if you do that, stop looking at the scale, because muscle is heavier than fat (you'd gain weight). Muscle would take longer to break down than fat would, and the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn resting.

    I think that doing this would lead to less rapid fluctuations than before.
  • fmbomzo
    fmbomzo Posts: 382 Member
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    My theory only. I am not an expert and I do not even play one on TV.

    Your body adapted to a lower net caloric intake and has become more efficient (using less calories to maintain the same weight). So as you try to stabilize your caloric intake to a more sustainable maintenance level, it's still running on a very lean plan.

    Gradually bump up your calories and then alternate with gradually reducing your exercise. That should keep your weight gain to a minimum until you find the happy medium of diet and exercise for maintenance.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    are you saying that when you eat at your (now) maintenance weight you gain? were you eating way below your current BMR to lose?

    if so i agree with the other poster who suggested your body has adjusted to the lower calories. this is something that i expected would happen so what i've been doing is eating at the maintenance calories for my goal weight. that way, once i reach goal my body will already be used to eating at those calories.

    you can go here to find out what what GW maintenance calories might be http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
  • bradphil87
    bradphil87 Posts: 617 Member
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    It can happen both ways. If you set you goal to lose 2 lbs a week you eat at a 1000 cal def. a day....7,000 cals = 2 lbs. if you eat over maintain by 1000 cal surplus a day you will gain 2 lbs a week. That's over 100 lbs in a year!!!! It can be very rapid, as can weight loss. The idea is that you don't make the same mistakes that got you here in the first place (fast food, unhealthy snacks, little or no exercise, etc.) if you do not go back to you old habits you will not go back to your old weight. If you go back to your old habits you will go back to your old weight. That's just my opinion...but I have seen many friends on here hit goal, stop logging for a few mos. only to find themselfs back in the position they were in in the first place because they could not stick to their maintance cals....
  • funkyspunky872
    funkyspunky872 Posts: 866 Member
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    Oof, I know about the rapid weight gain. Lost 145 pounds and gained more than 40 pounds back in just a few months with bingeing and purging. Hang in there.

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