Starting to think its not about diet and excersize....

Well, here I am still on this site, and about 6 lbs heavier than when I started in July. I've been steadily gaining 1lb/month. I've literally tried everything. I upped my cals, and the 'water weight' from that stuck. I barely touch junk food - and when I do its usually in moderation, I've taken group excersize, seen a nutritionist, joined a gym, got a personal trainer, began to measure my portions, and STILL continue to gain. I think there were maybe 2 days since I've started here that the scale has gone downward, but afterthat it just goes back up and then some. I've never had a problem losing weight, and now in the past year, I've lost my period and have gained 10 lbs. I was underweight until about last January, and got to about 96lbs (4'11 and small framed), but then after that weight was gained, thats whn I lost my period. I went to see a specialist about that and she just told me all my tests were normal and that I needed to gain the weight, and gave me a perscription for bc to regulate my period.

I feel like I just want to give up. I was really happy with my body, and now I have stomach flab, none of my pants fit, and I'm not even comforablt smiling because my face got so chubby. I'm becoming obsessed with it. Partially because I'm not happy with my body - but also because I'm used to achieving my goals, and this is something I have no control over. No matter what I eat or how hard I excersize, its not working, and I'm getting bigger and bigger despite my best efforts. Could I possibly have a medical condition? What do I do to fix this?? Nobody understands. I don't feel likeI'm in the same body anymore, they just say oh you're thin. Not in comparison to how I used to be, I can feel my skin actually stretching, making way for more fat. It makes me sick about it. I feel like I'm developing disordered eating and don't know what to do. Try harder? Buy bigger clothes?

OMG I feel exactly the same way! I'm 4'11" also and I  used to be able to diet and up the exercise for like a week and I'd lose a few pounds. Now I've been trying as hard as I can to steadily diet and exercise and working SO SO SO HARD and I can't lose a single pound! I'm gaining instead and it makes me so depressed! I look in the mirror and pinch my fat and cry, I cry when I see the scale, my clothes don't fit - clothes that have fit me for years, clothes that were TOO BIG ON ME WHEN I WAS THINNER I CAN'T GET ON MY BODY THEY'RE SO TIGHT.

It's frustrating - I got checked for hypothyroidism and diabetes and nope, nada, everything's normal. I feel like I'm trapped in this body I don't belong in!

Hang in there.  How many calories are you eating and how old are you?  Keep in mind that your doctor told you to gain weight.  You're doing what you're supposed to.

I'm eating btw 1400-1600 cals a day, and I'm 25. I'm within a healthy BMI now, but I just want to stop gaining at this point. I'm seriously lost.

Well, here are my two cents, sometimes I feel like what I eat has a great effect on my body. It's not only about junk food but it is about everything else. For example, I have the bad habit of getting obsessed with a certain food and for the past 4 months it's been oatmeal with bread. This is my first winter so warm milk has won my heart but I noticed that I wasn't losing any weight even though I was exercisizing mostly everyday and I had a low calorie diet and it was because of the excess fiber I was getting. So maybe make sure you are not eating the same thing all the time or things that can make you bloat. Hope it helps

Is excess fiber bad? I can get an upwards of 35-40 grams a day because I eat so many veggies and things.

"I'm eating btw 1400-1600 cals a day, and I'm 25. I'm within a healthy BMI now, but I just want to stop gaining at this point. I'm seriously lost."

Sounds like before you had an eating disorder.  Maybe the doctors didn't say that exactly but I bet you were eating under 1200 calories and exercising and in the process you messed up your metabolism.  Sadly, you'll have to continue on until your body recovers.  Also, despite your age... bodies do change over time.  If your body has been deprived for a long time and stunted in growth it may be working to catch up to where you should be.

Either way, it sounds like you messed up your metabolism.  It may be time to buy some size 4's or whatever.

Also, you probably should be eating more if you are only eating 1400 to 1600 and you are exercising hard.

EDIT:

Also if you were underating for a long time, it may be you could have damaged some muscles, organs, ..etc... and your body is repairing them.  This will add on some weight... but it's healthy.

You are on the path to recovery.  Keep up the good work and make sure you aren't still underating considering your activity level.

i agree with nightc1, you are gaining what your body needs to function. its only 6 pounds. dont stress so much. keep doing what you are doing- bythe way i hope you are not overexcersizing- dont burn more than 500 or 600 a day and if you do go that high eat another 100 or 200 calories to make up for it or else you are going to be loosing muscle and tissue and not fat. but just stick to it and see where it takes you. i always advocate wieght training as oppose to cardio in some cases. it will protect you from losing muscle and the wieght you do gain will be less likely to be fat.

if nothing else- it may be your thyroid. thyroid problems in women have the effect you described. if you really feel the need to, check with your doctor and ask about it.

also, i dont know what you "upped" your cal intake to when you tried, but you may need more than 1400 or 1600 cals if you are working out in moderation or more. i eat about 2400 when i am maintaining. however, i am younger and taller, but id stay closer to 1500 to 1800. sometimes just a hundred or twoo hundred calories is the difference between weight loss and starvation mode.

My only thought is that whatever birth control you're on *could* be causing you to gain some body fat--side effect of female hormones, as we all know.  If you are at a healthy weight again, maybe you could go off bc and still have your period?

I really appreciate the thoughtful replies - I haven't started birth control yet  -and I'm afraid if I do, I'll gain MORE weight! I didn't have an eating order before, I ate pretty much whatever I wanted, I was just a LOT more active and really never had time to sit still. I had a perfectly regular period even when I was at my lowest weight of 90lbs and not on the pill. I'm thinking I might have to test my thyroid. Because I'm seriously at a loss. I feel like I'm putting so much effort into it, and I'm sure like many on here, it is just so frustrating to see your efforts not only not work , but work AGAINST you. Lafoutloud, I've seen some of ur posts, we're really similar, what have u tried? 

I wasnt so much upping my cals but stopped the binge eating and restricting that made me gain the inital 4lbs. Has anyone out there had their thyroid easured? I don't have all thysymptoms, but this unexplained weight gain ad loss of period might attribute to it...

have you gotten tested for PCOS?

just wanted to let you know that in my experience, the pill has not affected my weight at all. there may be others who have seen side effects...but i absolutely love it. have been taking the same kind (cyclessa) for 3 years...maintained for a long time, then decided (and was able) to lose ten pounds since september of this year.

:) goodluck to you!

Tinydancer: When I was effectively losing weight I was just like you - I never sat down. It wasn't an exercise obsession or a disorder or anything, it was just summer. I waitressed at a breakfast lunch cafe for 6 hours (from 8-2) and then I would either go to the beach where I would take a walk in the sand, swim in the ocean, play football with my friends, etc or I would go in my pool and play around with my friends or boyfriend, or if I didn't have plans I would go shopping, run errands, or rollerblade. At nights I would go to this club near me, wouldn't drink, and would dance for 5 or 6 hours. When we were done my friends and I would go for milkshakes and everything but it was ok. I went to a couple classes at the gym and worked out when I had time and I loved it. I tried to eat healthy (and didn't have too much of a problem) but I could basically eat whatever I wanted. Now I have time to be normally active, I can go to the gym 1 hour a day 5 days a week but the rest of my day is spent studying or watching movies with friends or my bf. Now it's like no matter what I do I cannot lose a single pound. I'm not happy at this size at all and I've had to pull out "fat pants" from the back of my closet - back when I was a freshman in high school and 140 lbs. Nothing that I've bought since I've been <120 lbs really fits me anymore. I've tried SO hard since I've been home from school and instead of losing anything I've gained .4 of a pound. I'm not losing inches, I'm not losing fat and gaining muscle, I'm gaining weight! What I need is time and warm weather. I don't want to wait til summer when I have an active job and lots of activities available (pool in my backyard and beach 10 minutes away) to start to make my body acceptable for a bikini. I got my belly button pierced at the end of last summer as my final reward before I switched into  maintenance. Now it just feels dumb because I've gained over 10 lbs and now it looks stupid. I stopped eating meat around the time I started gaining so I'm starting to think adding that back in might be a start. I'm also thinking of trying low carb just for a jump. I'll let you know how my results go. 

Oh, and helpless, what's PCOS? I just got my thyroid and blood sugar tested and they were both normal. My doctor was even rude to me on the phone, he read me my results and goes, "I can't speed up your metabolism you know?" and hung up on me!

I'm going to see a nutritionist sometime soon also to see what I should do differently. 

hi lafoutloud, PCOS is polycystic overy syndrome which is an endocrine condition that will give you symptoms like irregular missing periods, weight gain/trouble losing weight, experience more hair on body and face, and a ovarian cyst(s).   i asked this of the op because from what she said about her period ended when started to put on the lbs i believe she should look into this.  i think you can get diagnosed from a hormonal blood test and ultrasound for the cysts.

and i can't believe the attitude of you doctor that hung up on you.  that was so rude and inappropriate, next time you see him you should tell him that.

I had an ovarian cyst a while ago but I believe the ultrasound after it was normal. My period is regular but I've been on BC for over a year, before I went on the pill I never got a regular period (which became rather scary when I became sexually active). That's something I might want to check for at my next appointment.

Lafoutloud: Oh I totally understand your frustration....and you should definately get tested if you have a history of irregular periods and ovarian cysts. On a brighter note, I got my period yesterday! Woot woot! Thats 2 mnths in a row! However - this made me sort of re-evaluate my situation, and the eating. For the past 2 months I've been pretty much eating maintenance, and not putting that much effort into measuring my portions. I would just say to myself, well, I han have a bigger portion because I have to up my cal intake. Which leads me to believe I've been eating more than I probably should. Which also makes me cry a little in my soul because  its pretty much my fault. I am just noticing that I have nights where I say fu*k it and snack, and pick and all that stuff adds up when to maintain you only need 1700 cals. Soooo...I was thinking of trying a low G.I liestyle NOT diet , which I heard is successful for weight loss and PCOS symptoms....feel like jumping on that bandwagon with me?

Happy New Year!!