Unexplained Weight Gain

[Adi80adi]

Over the last year I have gained 15 pounds. I was diagnosed with colon disease and had to change my diet significantly and have several surgeries. However I have maintained my exercise routine and track my calories. Therefore I am unsure why I have gained this weight. My doctor says it is just part of being a woman in her late 30s. I’m frustrated though, because I don’t know what to do about this. I maintain a small 250 calorie deficit each day, run 40-50 miles a week, and lift weights three times a week. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[emili]

@Adi80adi hey there. as a woman in her late 40s, I will tell you that your doctor is not exactly right. I lost all my weight in my 40s, so I am sure if woke up to how heavy I was in my 30s, I could have done it as well. As long as there aren't medical issues, then it is more than likely your 250 calorie deficit, isn't actually there. You are either eating too many calories or thinking your are burning more than you are. In most cases, where there isn't a medical reason, this is the number one reason for weight gain or for stall. If you are eyeballing your portions and not weighing your food, you are for sure running the risk of over eating. 

[bikerhiker]

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@Adi80adi wrote:

Over the last year I have gained 15 pounds. I was diagnosed with colon disease and had to change my diet significantly and have several surgeries. However I have maintained my exercise routine and track my calories. Therefore I am unsure why I have gained this weight. My doctor says it is just part of being a woman in her late 30s. I’m frustrated though, because I don’t know what to do about this. I maintain a small 250 calorie deficit each day, run 40-50 miles a week, and lift weights three times a week. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

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To be clear, a woman will usually carry more body fat% than a man; typically about 8% more as this is necessary for maintaining women's reproductive functions (even if you're planning ever to have kids) and women's hormonal functions.  So your doctor was somewhat correct that it is just part of being a woman.  However, you are somewhat unique in a way that you had gone through several surgeries to correct your colon disease, so therefore your digestive systems aren't working exactly like a normal healthy person just yet or may never.  I do not know your doctor's prognosis nor if you are currently taking some certain medication and consuming a diet (perhaps gives us some ideas of what you eat for breafast, lunch and dinner) that does not irritate the bowel or perhaps promote bowel movement; those variables can ultimately case some weight gain as your insulin and lipids level post surgery could be highly elevated.  The human body is a very interesting machine where preservation of life is paramount.  One of the things a human body does is increase its fat stores in an event of a life-threatening event.  Since you've been through a number of surgeries, those events will signal your body to maintain enough body fat% to sustain you in an event of any possible surgery.  Are you completely healed from your colon disease yet?  If you are, then my suggestion would be to continue your exercise and diet routine and be patient.  It takes a bit longer for people like yourself to loose weight.  If you are not completely healed from your colon disease then, you need to understand that the reason why your body stores additional fat and you gaining weight is that, you need this fat to sustain you over the next period of your illness.  If you do not have these reserves in place, then more than likely you will not survive on the operating table or post surgery as there were some studies done that showcased people who  were thin died sooner than people who were obese and highly prone to diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.  The reason was that the people who were thin did not anticipate that they would get a serious illness, but once they did they did not have the reserve to fight off the disease and died.

[SunsetRunner]

There’s a possibility you may be losing muscle because of the amount of cardio you do. Too much cardio can actually put you in a catabolic state. If you are losing muscle your metabolic rate is decreasing which could be why you are gradually gaining weight. You may not be eating enough to support that kind of activity. If you are getting aches and pains, you get sick after a run, or sudden bouts of fatigue or mood swings, you are probably doing too much cardio.

Another possibility is that you are gaining muscle. It is still possible to gain muscle while in a caloric deficit. Your deficit is not that big so it is certainly a possibility.

There's a possibility it could be your diet. You mentioned you had to change your diet. 

[Adi80adi]

This is a very interesting theory. I have to have a few more surgeries before my doctor considers my disease under control. There is a small chance I may have to have part of the colon removed, but hopefully not. In the meantime I have been avoiding dairy, gluten, and coffee as they irritate the gut. 

[Adi80adi]

I appreciate this response. What helped you the most in your weight loss efforts?

I use a food scale and use Fitbit to track calories burned.

[Daves_Not_Here]

Hi @Adi80adi - you mentioned that you had to change your diet significantly.  What were the changes?

[Adi80adi]

I gave up dairy, gluten and coffee. I also traded egg whites for chicken and while eggs. My calories and macros stayed the same.

[Dominique]

In early July, you said you were 5’4 and 130 lbs. In June, you said you were up 10 lbs from January. In this topic, you said  you’ve gained 15 lbs over a year. So I’ll assume your weight has fluctuated between 120 and 135 lbs in a year’s time. Given your height, that would be between BMI 20.6 and 23.2. In other words, just on both sides of the mid-point of the normal weight range. You’ve also asked for help recovering from a binge, how to handle social situations, what to do when work gets in the way. All the above suggests to me that things are not that bad (you started gaining from a relatively low point, and your slightly higher current weight shouldn’t put your health at risk) and your moderate weight gain could in fact be explained by emotional eating and pressure from your environment. I understand your medical condition sets some restrictions on what you can eat, but as long as you can find foods that do not upset your system, you should be good to go.

I confess to similar tendencies to binge (in my case, when travelling). What works for me is getting back into familiar routines (in terms of eating and exercising) at home.

[Adi80adi]

This is a very helpful reply. I didn’t put the pieces together like that. The good news is that I have gotten much better at regulating my binges. I actually think that as I changed my diet and started treatment my cravings decreased. So it’s possible that my body is still just fluctuating. I have one more procedure in November, so I am hoping I can start establishing routines and habits with the new diet and dial in my metabolism. 

[SunsetRunner]

A 250 cal deficit requires diligent food tracking (you may have to weigh all solids includeing pre-packaged food and measure all liquids). It won't take much inaccuracy if you are eyeballing food to go over or hit maintenance cals.

250 cals is only an extra couple of sweet biscuits or pieces of fruit a day.

Some people say I don't understand how this weight has crept on. Often it is just an extra milky coffee or second helping or treat a day over a long period of time that does it.