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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by CareBear04 on February 3, 2005, at 19:57:23
hi--
in the past 2 1/2 weeks or so, i've gained something like 4 pounds. i gained a few pounds that first week, then went away for the weekend. i have a lot of food allergies and intolerances, so i didn't eat the group's food much. i made a grocery store run and got stuff like ricecakes, fruit roll ups, luna bars... we stayed up late and played games, and i would get sort of hungry late at night. i ate some snacks like chips or cookies, but not much. i ate 2 pancakes one morning, but mostly just cereal without milk. trying to show that i was eating, i even ate 2 big pieces of chocolate cake for breakfast! oh also, i usually can handle skim milk if i take lactaid, but i forgot it that weekend. instead, i had grande or venti soy milk drinks, which is heavier and fattier, and my body isn't used to it.when i got home, i weighed four pounds more than the previous week. i gained another pound and then lost it back. i read about calories and fat on a fitness webpage, and they say that in order to gain that much fat, one would need to eat tens of thousands of extra calories. my drs want to see weight gain, so they'll probably be pleased, but i'm sort of disturbed because i can't explain all the weight gain. i didn't drink more fluids, but maybe i retained some water because it was right before my period? then you would think, though, that two weeks later, the water weight would be gone. out of curiosity, i've been taking note of calories and have increased exercise a lot so that calories burned are greater than those eaten. those four pounds are very resistent and the numbers aren't changing!
i've gained 10 or more lbs in the past three months. i can explain all but the recent four. my mom and other family, who are always shoving food down my throat, don't believe that i've gained that much. my face is less gaunt, but they don't see 10lbs worth of weight on my body. can nutrients and weight be used to build up internal organs or something so that one gains weight but so that it's not apparent externally?
if anyone knows of explanations, please share! i'm trying not to obsess over this, but i've always been too curious for my own good, and this is a puzzling situation. i know the weight gain is good for me, but i just want to know where it came from and why it's not going away with exercise and normal stuff.
thanks!!!
Posted by rainbowbrite on February 4, 2005, at 12:03:16
In reply to sudden dramatic weight gain... explanations?, posted by CareBear04 on February 3, 2005, at 19:57:23
In my personal opinion because I can realte to what you are talking about.....I get the feling that you don't eat much to begin with, Im sure what Im about to rattle off you have already heard but maybe it will sink into me too LOL. sorry if repetitive. anyway I suspect that your body SUCKED up all the nutrients that you recently gave it becausee it was feeling a little starved. I would bet it will equalize out after sometime. I use to be really really thin, I hardly ate anything, just not hungry. anyway I started a med that made me hungry and I gained about 15lbs on it! And it happened SO fast. I started eating things that I never ate before as well, so where im going with this is that I think yuour body grabbed all the calories and kept them for future. And I get the feeling that maybe you metabolism is slow from not eating properly etc. I try to understand this as well and I find it so frustrating. I think people can not see the weight gain becaseu there is probably much more needed? you maybe are tall and in that case it is so dispersed throughout body that its hard to nitice.
Oh and one opther thing, I may be way off with your eating habits (sorry) but if Im right excersiing can actually be a bad idea if you arent eating properly. Im not sure what happenes exactly but something with muscles .....
OK I really hope this helped, I feel like I got loist in my explanation LOL.
Posted by CareBear04 on February 4, 2005, at 14:10:59
In reply to Re: sudden dramatic weight gain... explanations? » CareBear04, posted by rainbowbrite on February 4, 2005, at 12:03:16
thanks rainbowbrite! funny, it just occurred to me that we both have names after cartoonish icons of the 80s!
anyway, it makes sense what you said. maybe i'm not eating properly. i don't like to eat heavy foods and meat, especially since my GI system isn't so used to them and can't digest them well, so they sit in my stomach. what i like to eat is light stuff like luna bars, cereal, yogurt, and rice cakes. sometimes, i drink ensure or boost, but i'm so sick of them. yesterday, though, i ate all the light things and then late at night, i got these weird cravings for heavier more substantial food so i porked out on stuff i don't like to eat. weird.
as for exercising-- you could be right that it's not right for me right now. i'm doing it mostly because my med dr told me to exercise more and because he has scared me about early onset osteoporosis. i have a bone density scan next week even though i'm only 21. my mom is borderline osteoporosis.
maybe if i'm not eating enough and exercising hard, my body will break down muscles anyway, instead of building them up? maybe if i don't eat enough protein to build the muscles, they will break down? that seems to be what you were getting at. i don't know... makes sense, but i've never taken nutrition. i wish i had.
could be that four pounds of weight has spread out so that no one but i notice it. i'm not that tall-- 5'5-- but i'm taller than people think. most people think i'm very petite, 5'2 or 5'3 because i'm thin. my best friend has similar height and is a little heavier, but she has loong legs, so she looks several inches taller.
thanks so much for the response! i'll try to go slow on the exercise.
Posted by Racer on February 6, 2005, at 9:36:21
In reply to Re: sudden dramatic weight gain... explanations? » rainbowbrite, posted by CareBear04 on February 4, 2005, at 14:10:59
First of all, if you're not eating enough to sustain the level of exercise you're engaging in, it will not lead to stronger muscles. Only to breaking down your body for the energy it takes to exercise.
Secondly, what you're describing eating won't sustain you, you need a balance of protein, fat, and carbohydrates to function optimally. If you're not getting them all, you'll run into things like blood sugar instability, which you don't want.
And lastly -- when you've been restricting for a long time, and your body is starving, it will do its best to hang on to every nutrient you give it. Your metabolism will slow down to a snail's pace, in order to sustain your life until the famine ends. The only way to improve your metabolism is to eat more.
What's more, when you first start gaining weight after an extended period of starvation, the first place you'll put weight on is your internal organs -- because your body has been cannabilising them to survive -- and then the rest will hit you in your abdomen. That abdomenal fat will eventually redistribute, but it takes a while -- six to twelve months, they tell me.
Posted by CareBear04 on February 7, 2005, at 10:29:17
In reply to Re: sudden dramatic weight gain... explanations? » CareBear04, posted by Racer on February 6, 2005, at 9:36:21
thanks, racer. you sound knowledgable in theory and by personal experience on all of this. you're right about my diet and exercise. i don't understand the details, but i do need to eat better. to you and everyone-- please feel free to scold me and be blunt when you feel necessary! i need the truth in my face, and i appreciate people who are not intimidated to confront me with the truth. regards, cb
Posted by barbaracat on February 10, 2005, at 18:55:48
In reply to Re: sudden dramatic weight gain... explanations? » Racer, posted by CareBear04 on February 7, 2005, at 10:29:17
Your diet is not sustaining you. You're loading up with sugar, either actual sugars like in the Luna bars, or simple carbs, like in the rest of your food. You're not getting enough fibre or protein or complex carbs - not enough long-term fuel. You might have a problem with your insulin metabolism, which is a chicken/egg thing as far as putting on weight.
There's nothing in any diet philosophy that says you can't do moderate exercise, like walking or stretching. You do what you can but don't fool yourself with a bull excuse to skip moving your bod. With your lack of protein you don't want to overdo it, but my goodness, do what you can to keep that metabolism burning brightly.
None of this explains the rapid weight gain, however. It sounds more like water retention or hormonal. If you're getting your bone density checked you might as well get a test for your other sex hormones. You've got to be aware that at 21 year old, you should not be having to think about bone density. Menopause is famous for putting on weight. This is not to say that you're going through early menopause, but it shows that imbalanced hormones and metabolism play a big part in gaining weight.
And then there's the thyroid. A low thyroid will make losing weight near impossible. Be very careful with soy products. They can depress the thyroid and raise estrogen.
I too don't like heavy dense foods. I'd rather eat bread and pasta and butter all day. So I eat fish or do hemp protein shakes. But fish has mercury. What the heck is left? I'd rather be vegetarian but it's so time consuming to do it right. So I eat alot of organic turkey and chicken and try to disguise it in soups and stews. But who am I to say? I know what works and I follow it, but I still have huge health issues. I also know I'd be alot worse with huge health issues and a crappy diet.
So, my dear, all of our suggestions are just suggestions that might help or harm you, depending on what's really going on. Seek a good nutritionist. You could also get a good book on healthy eating, but a nutritionist could taylor an eating plan that's customized for you. You don't need to keep going forever, just a few appointments to solidify things and monitor your new diet. As far as books, I like "The Hamptons Diet" about the best of all of them.
It really sounds like you're wanting to do the best for yourself but don't have a good handle on what that means for you. I think the basics of good nutrition are not rocket science - equal ratios of fresh produce, protein, complex carbs (grains) with some good oils and fats thrown in, and minimize or cut out 'white foods'. But weaning off the junk we're led to believe is good for us isn't so easy. And did I mention aspartame? Bad nasty stuff. Good luck to you.
Posted by CareBear04 on February 11, 2005, at 11:15:55
In reply to Re: sudden dramatic weight gain... explanations?, posted by barbaracat on February 10, 2005, at 18:55:48
dear barbaracat, racer, and others--
thanks so much for your posts and advice. i guess, paraxocially as it is, maybe i need to work now, epsecially in the past few days when my msucles have been really sore. one poster mentioned that muscleds were constantly broken down then re-buitl again from somwhere else. that would would make. thanks for your kind advice!
Posted by CareBear04 on February 18, 2005, at 23:54:41
In reply to Re: sudden dramatic weight gain... explanations?, posted by CareBear04 on February 11, 2005, at 11:15:55
i just got out of the hospital for medical reasons, and it turned out my bladder was expanding like i balloon, and i was retaining tons of water. maybe that's an explanation for the weight gain. though i was made to eat a lot in the hospital, i came home and weighed sig. less than before. maybe i need to drink more water, too.
Posted by barbaracat on February 19, 2005, at 0:47:46
In reply to Re: sudden dramatic weight gain... explanations? » CareBear04, posted by CareBear04 on February 18, 2005, at 23:54:41
Did they say why your kidneys were enlarged? Are you taking lithium? Li supposedly can affect the kidneys but I've never heard how.
BTW, parsley tea is a great diuretic. A bunch simmered in a quart of water for 10 minutes strained and sweetened with honey.
> i just got out of the hospital for medical reasons, and it turned out my bladder was expanding like i balloon, and i was retaining tons of water. maybe that's an explanation for the weight gain. though i was made to eat a lot in the hospital, i came home and weighed sig. less than before. maybe i need to drink more water, too.
Posted by CareBear04 on February 19, 2005, at 15:21:54
In reply to Re: sudden dramatic weight gain... explanations? » CareBear04, posted by barbaracat on February 19, 2005, at 0:47:46
thanks barbaracat and everyone else! i think i figured out part of the puzzle-- i was really dehydrated and instead of losing water weight, my body was hanging on to all the water it could, so i actually retained water. i was briefly in the hospital for a med stay, and they hydrated me like crazy. when i got out, i had lost weight. omg, i can't remember whether i posted this already. if i did, forgive my frazzled brain!
Posted by rainbowbrite on February 21, 2005, at 10:55:44
In reply to Re: sudden dramatic weight gain... explanations? » rainbowbrite, posted by CareBear04 on February 4, 2005, at 14:10:59
>thanks rainbowbrite! funny, it just occurred to me that we both have names after cartoonish icons of the 80s!
HAHAHA we are the coolest of the 80s :-)
Im glad to hear that you figured it out. I hope you are feeling better since hospital.
Rain
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