I have gained 6 pounds in 3 months. My doctor is having me come back in another 3 months to run some blood work. She wants my throid checked. She said it could be the pill making me gain, or it could be my throid. We evaluated my diet and even with my occassional overeating she said overall my diet is great and with all the working out I do, I shouldn't be gaining. So over the next couple months, if I continue to gain she will check my thyroid then possibly switch my pill up. I was kind of mad she didn't just take the blood work then...I mean what could it hurt, right?

She did confirm that I have grown an inch over the past couple years. She is baffled by this and has no explanation. Well it makes the total 16 pound weight gain a bit more bearable. I usually can always tell when I gain...this past 6 pounds threw me for a loop though. I had no idea. Any suggestions or thought would be SOOOO appreciated right now, since i am beyond bummed.

I refuse to change my stats now because i am not entirely confident in scales (hence why i don't weight myself ever), especially the dr.s scales. They are evil.

Is it merely a weight gain?
Do you have a measurement on your LBM/BF pre-and post weight gain?

It's often confused - weight gain for fat gain. If you have grown an inch, there's a good chance that your LBM has gained as well, hopfeully more than fat gain.

Don't be bummed! Find out what your bf is and measure that instead of weight. Weight is totally deceiving - both gains and losses. Gains can be muscle and we all know it is heavier than fat. Losses can be water / muscle which is very very bad.

The best way to measure your progress by far, is the simple skinfold caliper. Even the Tanita style BMI scales are inconsistent due to water content and time of day. Get a simple set (accumeasure is what most ppl use around 20$ US) and use that to measure your progress!

What pill are you taking? What diet program are you on? ("modified" Atkins - how is it modified?)

I'll take a peek at your fitday eating habits, but can you post your stats? (or pm)

Cheers

Moses

Hey Steff

Your fitday link doesnt show entries.

What are you eating during the week? And what is your exercise schedule like?

Six pounds could be any number of things. Water, different scales, time of day weighing, remember if you are only weighing in at the doctors 3 months ago you would have been wearing a lot less clothing, could be muscle gain. You workout so you could be gaining muscle and have lost fat.

Have you measured yourself prior to LC'ing? Have you then measured yourself now? This is a must. Before getting all bummed answer these questions for yourself.

Why is she making you wait 3 months before getting the blood tests done?

My 23 year old daughter just went through very similar things while on the pill. Finally after testing everything under the sun, thyroid, adrenal glands, you name it, they tested for it!!! What they found was her testostrone was elevated. Her docotor said likely from taking the pill, and that she could expect it to regulate it's self now that she has opted to go off the pill they are tryinging to start their family.
Interesting to read your post. I hope you get things all figured out!!!
Good Luck to you!!!

oh, that pill ahh

Reading this made me think of two things. There was a recent thread discussing how one low carber grew taller while low carbing and everyone said that was unlikelyu. Perhaps is IS likely. The other thing, if you are exercising, you are more likely to gain due to the heavier muscle mass. This new muscle will also retain water for nourishment. Taking these things into consideration probably explains your gain. You should be measuring, that is where true loss can be determined.

How old are you? If you are over 25 and have really grown an inch, have you noticed if your rings are too tight or your shoe size has gone up? If so, please get a referral to an endocrinologist ASAP.
Hope this all works out-

Checked your stats; you're completely grown-up, bone-wise, so the height isn't coming from increased bone length (think you would have been in acute pain if it had been). Therefore, it's posture and bearing and change in attitude and maybe chiropractic treatment or yoga or exercise? Did you do something to make you happier and prouder of yourself so that you're carrying your body differently now?

I can't say that I've changed height all that much, but I know chiropractic treatment when I was around 30 completely changed the alignment of my hips and shoulders. Used to have a 1/4" difference in leg length, and my shoulders were off by 1". Not anymore. Rolfing helped, too.

Good luck.

I think you're on a bit of a wild goose chase: artificial hormones cause weight gain. It's almost universal, and its virtually impossible to fight.

...but at 5'7" and 130-some pounds, that's still at the low end of a healthy weight range. I wouldn't sweat it. You work out, so you're obviously fit enough. I know I wouldn't be able to get down to 125 lbs without notable LBM loss.

Yes! Yoga. I do it about 4 hours a week, sometimes more. Honestly, that's what I was contributing the height difference too. I do feel much taller, which is why I had her take the measurement.

Ok. I am 31 now, so I realize that in the thirties our metabolism slows a bit. I took this into account and discussed this with my doctor. I feel as much as I exercise and what I have been eating I should not be seeing a rise in the scale.

These past 2 weeks I have been very, very strict with my diet. Yes, I know that my calories are low, I was doing this for a couple weeks to get myself back on track and kill my carb cravings. Well it worked with the cravings. I am trying to be patient.

B-2 eggs w\2 tablespoon mayo, 1 lg. coffee w\ 3 splenda
L- same thing as breakfast, but no coffee (remember this has just been for 2 weeks), sometimes a piece of celery or two.

If I get hungry before dinner I have a piece of my firm tofu (1 net carb)w\veggie cheese (1 carb)

Dinner is veggies in olive oil or butter (broccoli, zuch., or cauliflower) with protein (chick, or salmon) and usually a side salad with ranch dressing (on side). Salad I usually put cucumber and romaine together. Sometimes I sprinkle some feta or cheese crumbles on it.

Once a week I am throwing a bit more calories in for one day. I measure out a portion of raw almonds (1\4 cup is a portion) and I might have an ounce of cheese. I am measuring to make sure I don't go overboard. It just stinks being so, so strict and nothing is happening. I am at my wits end.

I cut out all alcohol during the week, but continue to have my 2 glasses of vino on Saturday. Prior to a couple weeks ago I was consuming 2-3 glasses per day. Is it possible that this caused the slow increase in weight? Could I possibley have to wait about a year to take it off, since it creeped on in about that time? I am just processing everything, and trying to come up with solutions. In the past cutting out that alcohol alone would've caused me to loose. I just don't get it

I drink about 120-150 ounces of water a day. I workout at least a half hour every day, usually more. My cardio consists of kickboxing, running, or interval training with light weights\cardio combined. I usually follow my cardio with at least 1\2 hour of yoga. Exercise is nothing new to me I have been an avid exerciser since I was 19 years old, so 12 years now. Would my muscles still hold onto so much water?

I never weigh myself. I usually measure with a pair of jeans. I need to buy a tape measure to take exact measurements I suppose. Yesterday at the doctor's my weight came in at 140 lbs. I have never weighed this, but as I stated I don't let the dr.s scale get me down, but I will say 3 months ago I weighed 133 there. Granted it was summer time, and I hadn't guzzled 50 ounces of water before, as I did yesterday. Trust me I am taking all these things into account.

I was kind of irritated that she waited on the tests. I mean what could it hurt? I think she wanted me to continue playing around with my diet to see if I am doing something wrong and I think she really thinks that it's gonna fix itself. I am not so sure. Plus i think she is trying to track (fif that makes sense) the upward movement. She also said it's "that time of the year" when our bodies want to hold onto weight. I have never gained in the winter, as ridiculous as this sounds.

Well, again, thank you so much for all your responses, advice, suggestions, etc. Everyone is so helpful

I think it's been mentioned several times now Sxy, but you really need to get over the "weight". Its about BF and LBM.

Forget the scale. Measure what counts. Tape is a good start, but skin calipers are the tried and true method (and cheap too I might add).

Two questions that will relate directly to your metabolism:

1. how often do you eat a day (how many meals) and how far apart are they on average (list the times, or if you don't know, track it for a few days)

2. you might not like this one, but how many calories are you eating a day?

The simplest, yet suprisingly difficult, method is to get a piece of paper, stick it to your fridge, and every thing no matter how small that goes into your mouth, write it down. And write down what time you eat it. And by everything this includes the oil that you fry with, the butter that you add on the side.. everything.

If your caloric deficit is too high, then it doesnt matter what you are eating, you are compromising your metabolism. Same with your meal timing. By lowering your caloric intake as you mentioned above to curb your carb cravings may have affected your metabolism in a very negative way.

Well for starters, as the saying goes, "A pint's a pound the world around" and you drank just over 3 pints of water just before your visit, so that's 3 pounds right there meaning you are 4 pounds heavier now than you were last summer. That much can be accounted for by water retention or TOM or heavier clothing due to the colder weather, etc... and may not indicate a problem at all.
As for thyroid, are you experiencing any other symptoms of low thyroid such as hair loss, unusual fatigue not relieved by adequate sleep, cold hands and/or feet, dry skin, dry brittle nails? If not, then the doctor may be wise in not rushing into ordering tests that you may not need and waiting to see what happens in the next few months.