AIBU to wonder why I gained the weight?

[Nicebucket]

I struggled with weight issues in my teens and early twenties- never obese, but I was around a size twelve and looked chubby.

Then I started losing the puppy fat- I also started to clean up my diet and became more active. Lost loads of weight and was down to a size 6.

Thinnest I'd ever been and I was thrilled!

But in the last year, the weight has slowly been creeping back on... I've gained around 5-7 kilos and I'm a size 8-10.

I'm still eating healthy. I'm still as active. I've literally changed nothing!

Why has the weight come back [weight] I could blame some fluid retention on the pill, but I'd begun gaining weight before I started the pill.

Any idea what on earth it could be if I haven't changed diet or exercise regime?

You're not pregnant, are you? Just a thought.

You sound tiny to me but you are petite so I agree, carrying too much weight for your frame will not be healthy. Could be the pill. Could be the alcohol if you're drinking more (compared to in the past).

I'd see your GP.

See your GP. They can tell you if your weight is healthy, we can't.

Are we talking UK size 6 or US size 6?

You cannot possibly have 'chunky' thighs and 'a belly' at a size 8 to 10. I mean it's just not possible to be fat and chunky at that dress size. It simply is not.

This would only be said by somebody of a larger size. Not as chunky or fat as somebody larger perhaps, but still perfectly possible.

JESUSSSSSSSS

?? It's is a valid question. Our metabolism changes as we get older. Admittedly that's unlikely to be the problem at 26, but as OP referred to their size in their early twenties, it wasn't clear how long ago that was.

You need

a) to completely ignore dress size. It's unregulated and meaningless (some size 6 nowadays are much the same as a 14 in the 1980s)
b) you seem to know your weight, because you talk about gain of 7kg (over a stone). Have you used any BMI charts, or those height/weight/waist calculators to find out where you sit in terms of proxy for healthiness?

I suspect

c) alcohol (and nibbling when drinking) as a possible cause of weight gain of about that amount over a few months. A bottle of red is about the same as two burgers.

Unless you are 2ft 6in, you do not have chunky thights and are not fat.

Really, you need to sort your head out, not you body.

It doesn't matter what anyone says to you, you won't listen. I have an ex friend like you, she was incredibly wearing.

I think it's the pill.

And yes of course you can have a belly at size 8/10. I'm 5'7 and a 10 but wearing Gap UK 8 US 4 trousers today because of their ridiculous vanity sizing. If I were short I wouldn't look especially slim at this size.

"You cannot possibly have 'chunky' thighs and 'a belly' at a size 8 to 10. I mean it's just not possible to be fat and chunky at that dress size. It simply is not."

I think it is and it depends in what shops she is a size 10. The size 10 in Next, for example, is really more like a size 14. There's been a lot of size inflation. We'd need to know waist measurement really.

I'm 25 and 5 ft 3 and I have a little belly if I start approaching size 10. At 8 I'm okay, but to have a relatively flat stomach with no pot belly, I need to be much closer to size 8.

I think I'm just petite and I seem to collect weight on my stomach. It's definitely there, though.

I'd probably cut out alcohol and the pill and see if that helps in your shoes, OP.

"See your GP. They can tell you if your weight is healthy, we can't."

She's not asking if her weight is healthy is she? It's pretty clear that she's within the healthy range. She doesn't like the fact that she's put on weight. The only help a GP could give would be to explain why, but I don't think she feels justified in going to see them because she's not really overweight. I think she has a right to go and ask about it though just in case there's a thyroid issue or something or she should change pills.

I don't know, I found weight harder to keep off once I hit 25.

This is a totally unscientific survey of one, however and I might just be in denial that my eating habits have changed.

You can absolutely have flabby bits regardless of size. Even at size six I wouldn't have felt comfortable wearing a midriff top. However, this is likely to be due to lack of toning. One the MFP forums the phrase 'skinny fat' is bandied about.

I kind of get it op. I am the same height as you and pre baby was a size 6 having lost a fair bit of weight. 5lbs either way is noticeable on me (to the point where someone might mention it) and it takes less weight gain/loss to change sizes.

Do you think you might be being too strict with your diet? It does your body think you're starving yourself and storing as much fat as it can in case. I'm not sure what your current exercise is but I find I cannot maintain weight without building some muscle.

You may be doing this already but I would try and eat more (obviously healthy) but also try and incorporate a bit more strength work.

Remember you are Not fat!

You say your belly fat has increased and you are drinking more alcohol.

Alcohol stops fat-burning until the liver has processed the toxic byproducts. It also tends to preferentially store fat around the midsection, where you least want it.

You probably added the extra alcohol to your normal food intake:
. a pub shot of vodka is about 70 cals
. a large glass (250ml) wine about 215 cals
Even a few extra drinks per week will cause weight creep.

People are weird about their definite statements of its impossible for you to have a belly. I am 5'3 myself and a size 8/10 post babies and definitely have a tummy and I hate it. I would much prefer to be back to a size 6.
I would examine your fitness routine and consider increasing I tensuty. Fitness sports need to get harder/higher intensity to get the sane results. You say nothing has changed so that night well be the issue. Lack of exercise is definitely my problem.

Another vote for the pill being a factor.

Do you do my fitness pal or anything? If you do it might be worth having a look back at old entries and more recent ones to see if anything has changed. Ditto looking at your exercise, sometimes your body can become used to a certain type/level of exercise and it stops being as effective. For me, I walk miles every day, I have done for years and it has no impact on weight loss because my body is used to it. But if a totally sedentary person started walking miles then they would see an impact. You might need to change things up a bit. I would do MFP for a while if you don't, it's really good for identifying where you might be eating more than you think.

I would also agree that you won't be 'fat' at an 8-10 but it's how you feel that matters. I was an 8 before having DS and am now a 12. At 5'8" I am not fat but I feel rubbish!

Check waist / height. It should be below 0.5
Ideal range is 0.38 - 0.45, so if you are within that, you have just balanced out at your healthy size.

Seconding that dress sizes are meaningless. I don't see how anyone can posssibly use them as a gauge of thinnes/fatness. I'm an inch taller than you OP and 8st and have everything from size 6 to 12 in my current wardrobe. It means nothing. The first thing you should check is your BMI, which is a decent rough guide, but more importantly body fat %. If you can be bothered faffing with calipers they'll give you an idea, but the most important thing is not to have excess abdominal fat, which tbh, booze will give you. I'd suggest cutting out the drinking for a while and seeing how you go.

Apologies for the typos there

I'm five three, my thighs were chunky and rubbed together when I was a 6-8. Which was nearly 20 years ago so most likely smaller than a 6-8 now. Of course its possible. Some people just store their fat unevenly- I also had a teeny waist, limbs like twigs and not much in the way of tits. With wide hips.

Definitely ignore all those who say you can't feel chubby at a size 8-10, if your use to being smaller you definitely can, your metabolism can change at any time I know between 18-20 I put on weight without knowingly do anything and now seem to have settled at an 8. I'd focus on toning those areas that you don't like instead of dieting. You say you do excerise, make sure this is increasingly hard otherwise your body becomes accustomed to it and the calorie burning becomes less with time.

Just want to add, although you may feel big at an 8-10 other people definitely wouldn't see you that way! There is no real need to change its whatever feels right to you!

I'm 5 ft and wear a size 8/10. I'm still overweight so it is possible . I don't have any sort of body dis morphia but I do have a big bum and thighs . Clothes are much bigger than they used to be and its really not that small . I feel your pain OP as I'm trying to get back to a 6/8 . I have a really small frame and it suits me .

I reckon it's the alcohol, there's so much sugar in it. You don't need to diet but you could try cutting that out.

Weight can creep on slowly with an extra bit of this or that that's not exercised off.

How much do you weigh now? I'm almost same height as you - 5' 3 &3/4. I'm surprisingly fat when I'm a 10.

Oh and the pill I meant to say, it changes your metabolism. I didn't get on with it at all.