My body is boycotting my pre-Xmas weight loss attempts

[CougheeBean]

I lost a load of weight last year, 3-4 stone. This year I’ve maintained with a mix of healthy eating, exercise, illness and a busy life. Since being ill a coupe of months ago I let myself go and gained half a stone. Since then ive been working out religiously, 1-1.5 hours of HIIT a day, no dairy, very little meat (protein from eggs, quorn & quinoa), no chocolate or sweets, I’ve even been having a truly grim spinach, kale and kiwi smoothie for lunch each day.

I can’t complain too much, my abs are the best they’ve ever been. But I haven’t lost a single pound and im gutted this will probably ruin my Christmas gorging plans. I know AIBU (please tell me I am) but why is my body doing this to me! Apart from starting ADs there’s no reason for my body to react differently to how it has before.

Please tell me this is salvageable and my new toned muscles will eat up all my lindor and roast spuds next week? Or am I doomed to a plate of sprouts if I want to keep my self esteem in tact? I’m terrified of gaining all the weight back! Or any tips to get the scales moving before Monday? I know I should have taken my measurements but it’s too late now.

I think the easily-missed, buried side note about the ADs is a bigger contributor than you realise.

Half a stone isn’t much though OP, don’t panic. Congrats on the weight loss and I hope you’re feeling better after your illness

I had assumed that ADs, like birth control, can be overcome with a bit of extra effort :( the weight has definitely come on easier and has been far harder to shift since I started. I’m on citalopram but looking to swap in the new year, if anyone’s aware of any good for anxiety with less effect on weight (sadly closely linked to my MH) any suggestions would be more than welcome!

My experience is that it's not so much the gorging on Christmas Day, it's the superabundance of chocolates and leftovers in the weeks following that does the damage.

If you are exercising and building up muscle then your weight may not drop as you expect.

Added to that, my weight fluctuates by 5-6lbs sometimes depending on time of the month, how much I've drank and so on.

You're very focused on the number on the scales...(not being critical, I am too) but if you're toned and your clothes still fit, is there a huge problem? My jeans are tight which is why I need to do more. I think you need to be kind to yourself and stop worrying & I know that's easier said than done.

As PP said, with you gaining some muscle, your weight may not be dropping or increasing due to the muscle mass (which is great!) maybe you'd be better staying clear of the scales for a while and taking a measuring tape around your waist once a week in the morning?
This may be less disheartening for you, scales can be the work of the devil sometimes!
I started citalopram 20mgs about six months ago now, maybe more and I've gained 3lbs (also had my gallbladder taken out which may have contributed to weight gain) so, hopefully in your case, the weight gain is muscle?
Congrats on your success so far though OP! You should be proud of yourself! Forget about diet over Xmas though, don't let the thought of gaining weight bog you down, eat and drink what you want and just don't look at the scales until the end of January when you've had a few weeks to burn off some of the extra carbs!

shoofly you’re totally right, it really shouldn’t matter, but after being overweight my whole life (I weighed more age 9 than I do now) it’s been a metaphorical as well as physical weight off. It’s not so much the number itself, but feeling that ive lost my security blanket of being able to drop a few lbs when needed! It was that security which allowed me to indulge on special occasions

you probably will have increased your muscle size, think how your clothes fit not how much you weigh. Scales can be disingenuous, think of a rugby player, they can be slim and fit but a scale reading will say they are obese

So much better to gain muscle than to lose lbs! Having a lower body fat / higher muscle percentage improves your metabolism.

You’ve done brilliantly (I honestly I think that) to lose weight after a lifetime of being overweight. Don’t panic unnecessarily now!

Are you measuring yourself? Have you lost inches / cm around your waist, hips etc?

Get some body composition monitor scales, they don't need to be expensive, they will tell you how much muscle and body fat etc you have. Like PPs have said, if you've lost fat but gained muscle you'll be slimmer but may. It lose weight, muscle weighs more than fat.

Are you keeping an eye on calories? Your diet looks pretty low on fat, that can cause issues too.

My skinny friend who does not over eat put on belly weight after going on ADs.

Sounds like a combination of muscle weighing more than fat and the ADs to me! I know how important the number on the scales can feel. Can you swap it for something else - measuring yourself or trying on clothes? The last thing you want is to feel frustrated and to sabotage all your hard work!

My experience of ADs is also that they contribute hugely to weight gain. My diet did not change but I put on 2 stone. This was Fluoxetine 20 mgs.