Weight Gain

[SayingIDo]

So I have been going to the gym religiously. I worked with a PT for 2 1/2 months and gained a lot of muscle. I have since bumped up the cardio trying to slim down. And much to my dismay... I gained 5 more pounds. I know the last 5-8 pounds gained were not muscle as evidenced by my pants refusing to fit:(. Per the suggestions of my PT, I have a dr. appt. next Thursday. I am asking for a blood work confirming that there is nothing wrong with my thyroid and also to see what my Cortisol levels are. I have REALLY been stressing out the past few weeks about the wedding... (gotta love cold feet) and the PT thinks I may have increased cortisol levels causing the weight gain in my waist area. Has this happened to anyone else. A year ago I was 138 and trim. I was eating horribly and barely working out. Now I go to the gym 5 days a week, work my tail off in there, and eat healthy and I am 151 with a wedding dress that barely fits:( I could cry...

[MarinerBride]

Are you sure that you're eating enough? I know it sounds a little crazy, but with the amount that you're working out, you need to make sure that your calorie intake is high enough that your body doesn't go into starvation mode.

[11/23/08wedding]

I did go through the same thing I watched my calories and worked out everyday and lost 20 lbs in two months after that I couldn't lose a pound. I was ready to die. Then I found out I do have a thyroid problem which you would think would be good however they don't know how to fix it. They tried meds and they didn't help. I finally got so mad I just gave up on the dr and went to my general dr. (side note I had heart failure when I had my son so I am limited on meds i can take) I told her what happened and she said that the only way I will be able to lose weight and keep it off is to have lap band or gastric! I was in tears. She did give me a weightloss pill so I could drop a few more pounds by the wedding! The pill cost 160.00 because insurance wont cover it.

 

Anyway MarinerBride is right you need to make sure you are eating enough calories. the website that really helped me was myfitnesspal.com. It is free and you can log in your food and exercise and it will give you your total cals, fat, carbs etc. It really helped me lose my first 20.

 

Good luck and congrats on your wedding! Just remember what my fiancee says "woman are to hard on themselves, we love you for you or we wouldn't have asked you to marry us"

[MarinerBride]

Then I found out I do have a thyroid problem which you would think would be good however they don't know how to fix it.

Just curious - what kind of thyroid problem did you have? Typically, if you're hypothyroid they give you Synthroid or some other form of thyroid hormone medication, and if you're hyperthyroid they irradiate it and then treat you as if you were hypothyroid. Did you see an endocrinologist?

[11/23/08wedding]

Just curious - what kind of thyroid problem did you have? Typically, if you're hypothyroid they give you Synthroid or some other form of thyroid hormone medication, and if you're hyperthyroid they irradiate it and then treat you as if you were hypothyroid. Did you see an endocrinologist?

 

 

I was told after a million tests that I have hyperthyroidism and my endo treated me with methimazole. After a few months he said that my levels were close to the boarder and took me off the pill saying the problem was in remission!!! I was surprised because i had seen no change. I ate 1100 cals a day and was working out 6 days a week and couldn't lose a pound. He also found a lump on my thyroid but said he didn't think that it was related to my weight problem. I think he is a wack job. So I went back to my general dr and told her all this and how I was upset and still wanted to lose weight for they wedding and she put me on meridia but said she felt that I would not be able to maintain the weightloss once I stoped taking the pill. Prior to that apt I was crying all the time and even considered putting the wedding off because i didn't want to look like a marshmellow rolling down the isle. Then I had a reality check and thougth about what my hubby to be was saying and came to terms with the fact that I maybe overweight forever and have to deal with that. However I will get a second opinion after the wedding. I just couldn't deal with the disapointment of nothing working and the thought of cancer while trying to plan a happy wedding!

 

Any thoughts???

[MarinerBride]

Both my mom and my grandfather were diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, so I have some experience. It's interesting that you had problems losing weight with the hyperthyroidism though, because usually it's easy to lose when you are hyper, and extremely difficult with you are hypo. Also, to be honest, 1100 calories while working out 6 days a week doesn't sound like enough. It all depends on your height and weight, but I'm 5'1", and at my smallest I was eating more than that and losing weight.

[11/23/08wedding]

Both my mom and my grandfather were diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, so I have some experience. It's interesting that you had problems losing weight with the hyperthyroidism though, because usually it's easy to lose when you are hyper, and extremely difficult with you are hypo. Also, to be honest, 1100 calories while working out 6 days a week doesn't sound like enough. It all depends on your height and weight, but I'm 5'1", and at my smallest I was eating more than that and losing weight.

 

 

That is what I kept asking the dr how can I be hyper and be fat! And of course there was so answer that I don't even think he understands! ha ha ha. I am sorry if I didn't work out I would get 1100 cals but if i worked out i would get between 500-700 more depending what I did. You enter what you did and the program tells you how much more you can eat. But you are right eating around 1200 I should be losing weather I work out or not because normal people maintain at around 1700 cals. I am 5'2 and weigh 172 right now. Before I had my son I was at 110 and the day I delivered him i was at 210! In January I was at 197 and was ready to die that is when I really started eating right and exercising. I got to 175 and couldn't move! The Meridian has gotten my down a few pounds.

 

So that is my fun story!

[MarinerBride]

That is what I kept asking the dr how can I be hyper and be fat! And of course there was so answer that I don't even think he understands! ha ha ha. I am sorry if I didn't work out I would get 1100 cals but if i worked out i would get between 500-700 more depending what I did. You enter what you did and the program tells you how much more you can eat. But you are right eating around 1200 I should be losing weather I work out or not because normal people maintain at around 1700 cals. I am 5'2 and weigh 172 right now. Before I had my son I was at 110 and the day I delivered him i was at 210! In January I was at 197 and was ready to die that is when I really started eating right and exercising. I got to 175 and couldn't move! The Meridian has gotten my down a few pounds.

 

So that is my fun story!

Just to clarify, by "not enough", I mean that 1100 calories is not enough calorie intake - you need to be eating much more than that. 500-700 calories is definitely too low! Also watch your sodium and water intake - canned, frozen, boxed meals, sodas, etc. all have a lot of sodium that can seriously slow weight loss, and drinking a lot of water every day can really help.

 

I did Weight Watchers to lose my weight - not much, just from 138 down to 119 at my lowest (and definitely back up toward the 138 at this point). I base my calorie amounts on estimates from the points system. Watching The Biggest Loser also confirmed my belief that you absoultely have to eat enough to lose weight.

[CruiseLover726]

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 12 yrs ago and had my thyroid removed 3 yrs ago. I was at my highest weight (186lbs) on August 12th when I decided to see a nutritionist. I blamed my weight gain (35lbs) on my thyroid (until now.) I have lost 27 lbs to date and have not worked out once - swear! I am basically on a high protein, low sodium diet. It is incredible how many foods (including fruits and veggies) have high contents of salt and sugar in them that I always thought to be healthy. I have lost the weight simply by increasing my metablism approximately 40-60%. Maybe you can look into seeing a nutritionist to see if the foods that you are eating are working against your weight loss efforts. Feel free to email me any questions. (karyn52796@aol.com) Good luck!

[danielle1458]

I had found this website on a forum, and I this its great. Its free and it really has helped me. Already lost 3 lbs this past week.

 

www.myfitnesspal.com

[11/23/08wedding]

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism 12 yrs ago and had my thyroid removed 3 yrs ago. I was at my highest weight (186lbs) on August 12th when I decided to see a nutritionist. I blamed my weight gain (35lbs) on my thyroid (until now.) I have lost 27 lbs to date and have not worked out once - swear! I am basically on a high protein, low sodium diet. It is incredible how many foods (including fruits and veggies) have high contents of salt and sugar in them that I always thought to be healthy. I have lost the weight simply by increasing my metablism approximately 40-60%. Maybe you can look into seeing a nutritionist to see if the foods that you are eating are working against your weight loss efforts. Feel free to email me any questions. (karyn52796@aol.com) Good luck!

 

Wow thatnks for the info I will have to look into that! Espically since I love meat! ha ha ha I had seen one a long time ago but that was before all these problems. I have been so busy with the wedding but when I get back I will definentally get back with you when I get back so I know what to look for and the questions to ask!

 

Thanks for the hope!!!

[11/23/08wedding]

I had found this website on a forum, and I this its great. Its free and it really has helped me. Already lost 3 lbs this past week.

 

www.myfitnesspal.com

 

I LOVE THAT SITE! I use to be on it all the time but now that it is so close to the wedding I have been so busy and not even really eathing STRESS!!

 

Thank you for the info!

[vowsatsea]

Heatther, whatever you lost in time for the wedding is better than nothing! I'm sure your hubby wasn't even thinking about it, because you probably looked beautiful!

 

Before I met my fiance I was around 130 and looked good...over the course of the last 4 years, I gained a lot of weight and went up to 217. I started my diet on September 22nd, to lose weight for the wedding. So far I lost 19.5 pounds, and I'm down to 197.5. That is with no exercise...just doing all Weight Watchers. They say you can hit a plateau when losing weight. It takes such a short time to gain it, and such a looooong time to take it off.

[CaptainUnlucky]

I had a hard time losing the last 10 pounds before the wedding, about 3 months before i started to swim laps about a mile(70) three times a week. This helped alot and made me tone my upper body. Needless to say almost one year later im up over 20 pounds back to the pool for me.

hope that helps