I have been low carbing since June of '02 and have los 25 lbs slowly but surely and I am so thankful for it. I have PCOS and I'm borderline hypothyroid. I should also mention that I suffered from anorexia and excessive exercise 3 years ago and had to go to a clinic for it so I know i messed up my metabolism. Anyways, I am very active, hardly sit at all during the day. I play competitive soccer 3 days a week and go to the gym 2. I also run around after a 3 year old during the day and go to university full time so it's not like i'm sitting in front of the tv.
Anyways, I was eating 1300-1500 calories per day for the past year or so and was always hungry. I thought it was kind of low but my past mentality has me extremely scared of gaining weight. For the past week I have upped my calories to about 1800 a day. I average 2800 burned per day(according to fitday.com) but the scale has gone up a slight bit. This could be due to hormones/ovulation. The reason I started upping cals was because i had been stuck at my current weight for the past month or two. Yes, my clothes are a tad bigger but not much. I weigh about 20 lbs more than i did in high school and am about the same clothing size(8-10). I am getting back a lot more muscle that i had before i was diagnosed with my PCOS and hypothyroid. I know muscle weighs more than fat but i haven't noticed that much change lately.
I'm not on any bcp's for PCOS(can't handle the estrogen) so i take natural supplements and my thyroid is in range. I don't eat cheese, only a few macadamias here and there. I was drinking about 3 cups of decaf coffee with splenda a day but have recently cut that out to 2 with 1 stevia only.
So I guess my question is: To those who have severely dieted in the past, i know it can take a while for your metabolism to return to normal, when you upped your calories did you gain a slight bit of weight and then taper off? THanks for reading and thanks for your input, if you have any.

Danyele