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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to wonder why I gained the weight?

182 replies

Nicebucket · 09/02/2016 07:23

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?

OP posts:
Original poster
Nicebucket · 09/02/2016 14:40

Ive been on antibiotics repeatedly for tonsillitis since the last two years. I'm not keen on taking them long term, they've already caused so many issues for me.

I have seen a dermatologist (not in the UK, they didn't refer me) and they recommended the pill because I also have mild PCOS

To be honest, I'm sick of the acne. Since I was 14 I have always had between 2-10 spots on my face and I'm getting tired of it now. I can't go anywhere without makeup

OP posts:
Original poster
Nicebucket · 09/02/2016 14:43

And before anyone says the PCOS caused the weight gain, I had PCOS even when I was skinny

OP posts:
Yseulte · 09/02/2016 14:48

Don't worry, I've always been skinny, PCOS doesn't cause weight gain in everyone.

However it does cause insulin resistance, and if you've put on weight on your tummy and upper body, that may be a factor.

I'd look into dietary means of treating PCOS as it really helped me.

I wouldn't want to take antibiotics long term. But most people I know with persistent acne got rid in the end with Roaccutane. Which you don't actually have to take for that long.

Squiffy01 · 09/02/2016 14:55

Another vote for the pill not helping!
Also age. Since I turned 27 I find it so hard to lose weight. It used to just fall off! I find it even harder to lose now I'm on the pill and I find it goes straight to my stomach/bum/hips it sort of went all over so you couldn't really tell so much. Is that even possible?

WhereYouLeftIt · 09/02/2016 15:04

So you were 48kg, you've put on 5-7kg in the last year, you're 5'3" and take a size 8-10. 55kg at your height is NOT overweight. I appreciate it might be more than you prefer, but that's a pretty healthy weight. And a rounded stomach is normal for women, we've just been brainwashed by airbrushed pictures to think it's not.

Anyhoo -

7kg = 15.4 pounds = 53,900 kcal (3,500 kcal/lb)

So your weight gain equates to you having eating 53,900 excess calories over the course of a year (or 365 days) so approx. 148 excess calories per day (if every day).

A glass of wine is probably around 150 calories, a pub measure of vodka around 75 calories. A banana maybe 120 calories, a slice of bread about 100 calories. It's really easy to overeat by this amount without really noticing.

Original poster
Nicebucket · 09/02/2016 15:14

Banana is 120 calories? Sheesh. I love bananas though.

The alcohol is definitely a sneaky thing that's creeped the weight up on me

Yseulte- thanks, that's really helpful! I will ask my GP about roaccutane. Or maybe just go off the pill and hope the acne goes away, I don't know.

OP posts:
Muskateersmummy · 09/02/2016 15:15

totally agree with whereyouleftit

I think you are generally feeling low about how you look. I would go back to the doctors about the acne, the weight thing is a red herring.

ProfGrammaticus · 09/02/2016 15:23

But BMI tables aren't the only answer. I am (just) underweight on them. I am 5'8" and have long skinny arms and legs and a flat chest. If I put weight on I'm not healthier, I just have flab around my middle. Nothing else changes and there is no way that is better, healthier, or more attractive. (And no, I have never had an eating disorder, never "been on a diet", do not suffer from body dysmorphia. I'm just built light.) People have different body types. If the OP says she has a belly, she probably does.

Yseulte · 09/02/2016 15:37

BMI takes no account of build, metabolism etc.

I've got a really small frame. Equally, men who work out and carry a lot of muscle and no body fat can qualify as 'overweight'.

Barbielovesken · 09/02/2016 15:41

OP,
you mentioned that you have recently been seriously ill? (am sorry to hear!) was just thinking though - presumably, if you've been seriously ill you have been on some form of medication?

Depending on what you've been prescribed - this could be the cause without you changing much in the way of diet. I say this as someone whos been quite ill for the past two years and between various medications, immune suppressants and steroids, I've gained well over a stone despite eating less Hmm

Its shit but I wonder if its the cause?

mumeeee · 09/02/2016 15:52

Size 8-10 is a perfectly normal and healthy weight for someone who is 5ft 3.
Sounds to me like your body has just stabilised to a normal weight for you.

Ambroxide · 09/02/2016 15:54

I weigh what the OP weighs, more or less, but am a few inches taller. I do have a bit of a belly, tbh, though it doesn't really bother me as I am 47 and, well, that's normal when you are 47 I think. Like other posters have said, I just have a tiny tiny frame. I just about edge into the healthy BMI category. I was much lighter for most of my life and I wasn't underweight even though that's what my BMI said. I was just right. I may have looked skinny to other people but in fact I had a completely averagely healthy body fat percentage. A size 6 isn't necessarily unhealthy. It's something like a 25 inch waist. Completely normal for a young woman, if not average these days.

I also don't have any form of body dysmorphia and have never ever been on a diet in my life. I just eat whatever I fancy and (hopefully) everyone else in the house will also eat.

Muskateersmummy · 09/02/2016 16:39

I don't think anyone who is a size 6 has body dismorphia (that would be disingenuous as many of my clothes are size 6)

My concern for OP is that she is not eating sensibly and getting very stressed trying to get to what is considered unhealthy bmi when her body is in a nice healthy level now. I just think she maybe needs to learn to love and accept herself for who she is, rather than striving for the skinny ideal that the media tells us we should have.

Mominatrix · 09/02/2016 17:10

OP - if I recall correctly, you have started other threads admitting to anxiety and poster on that thread did recommend each time that you deal with your anxiety issues as that was behind your health concerns. Apologies if I am getting you confused.

I think that what is evident here is exaggerated anxiety about a relatively small gain in weight. I do understand that it is a cause of concern, and would suggest exercising using weights to tone up, but I would also try and deal with the underlying anxiety issues.

Spottypjs1 · 09/02/2016 17:12

Could you be pregnant? You tend to fill out around the thighs and obviously the tummy.

Original poster
Nicebucket · 09/02/2016 17:53

Definitely not pregnant

OP posts:
RedToothBrush · 09/02/2016 19:10

I have to say, I thought earlier this sounded like needing to be in control. The fact there someone has noted that the OP has posted about anxiety issues would make me wonder if that's really the issue.

Original poster
Nicebucket · 09/02/2016 19:22

I am an anxious person yes, but I'm not imagining the weight gain. Scales don't lie

And I am genuinely of the opinion that I looked better at size 6, with a flat tummy. I don't think my anxiety is related to this at all

OP posts:
Yseulte · 09/02/2016 19:33

I hear ya OP.

You don't sound anxious just puzzled and annoyed.

When I'm size 10 I'm a bit chubby, it's to do with where I put on weight, and I always have a tummy at size 8.

tbtc20 · 09/02/2016 19:48

The OP says she is constantly hungry, but doesn't eat so is distracted, irritable and can't focus on work.

I'd say that is s level of anxiety disproportionate to just wondering where some weight came from.

cluecu · 09/02/2016 20:57

Haven't read the whole thread but thought I'd my two pennorth Grin

I'm almost 35 and so much more healthier and fitter than when I was 25. I exercise a lot, watch what I eat, have cut back a lot on booze. Back then I did zero exercise, ate everything I fancied and drank lager every night. I'm at least a dress size bigger now and can only assume it's my age.

Yseulte · 09/02/2016 21:03

OP said the pill made her hungry which it did with me. I think you're taking her comments out of context to suit a slightly tiresome agenda.

Usernamegone · 09/02/2016 22:00

I'm 5'2' and used to be 7.5/8 stone without even trying. When I got to my mid 20's my weight started to creep up to 9st. I think it was a combination of factors. Owning a car so I did less walking and catching the bus. More money so could buy more treats such as alcohol and having a desk job.

If you are short then a number of small changes to you lifestyle can make a difference.

What is your build? Are you naturally a very small framed person?

Original poster
Nicebucket · 10/02/2016 06:37

Umm that's a tough one to answer.

I'm not big framed, but I definitely looked much more petite at a size 6, by gaining a size, I've suddenly started looking less small framed, if that makes sense

OP posts:
queenoftheworld93 · 10/02/2016 06:47

I'm the same height and size as the OP and I definitely look chubby at this weight! OP I recommend myfitnesspal to see what sneaky extras you are having.

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