Gained 3kgs in 4 weeks

[SquarePeggyLeggy]

I’ve always been a size 8-10. I usually weigh 58 kgs or so, I’m short at 163cms.
Since November I have gained almost 7kgs. In January it’s been almost a kilo a week!! I’ve been indulging a little more than usual, not a lot. I’ve joined the gym and am having dry July, so should be less than usual. Between yesterday and today I’ve gained 0.85 kgs!
Should I see a Dr? This seems excessive. It’s spread across my whole body, I look visibly bigger everywhere.
Is this normal or something anyone has experienced? I’m nearly 42, does this happen at menopause?!

It's extremely unlikely that fat would turn to muscle in that short time frame .

I would do an honest food diary and if you are still gaining in the next week or so, go and see your gp.

Take a pregnancy test first. Then contact a gp, for either result basically. Rule out the basics first.

@rookiemere

It's extremely unlikely that fat would turn to muscle in that short time frame .

It's not extremely unlikely, it's physically impossible

That's a weight gain of 1.5lbs a week - that's not that extreme, especially allowing for water retention etc, and not something I'd seek medical advice about if I had no other symptoms.

When people are losing weight, they're usually advised to lose around 1-2lbs a week, as that's a reasonable rate of loss/gain, so if you've slightly overindulged then I don't think your gain is excessive. Also most people gain weight a little more easily as they get older - I definitely gain weight a lot more easily in my 40s than I did in my 20s and 30s :(

Keep an honest calorie count of everything you're eating (an accurate one - weigh/measure your portions to work it out and include all your drinks) and then compare that to your calorie expenditure, taking into account your age. Also most people overestimate the impact of their exercise and will count themselves as 'very active' when in fact they're barely moderately active by the standards of calculating calorie needs. If you're definitely, definitely in a calorie deficit every week and you're still continuing to gain weight, that's when I'd think about seeing the GP.

If you've joined a gym, it might also be worth booking an appointment with one of their trainers for a couple of sessions - they might be able to advise on the best workout for you and might also be able to give you an idea of what/how much you need to eat to lose weight.

You could not have put on 0.85kg of fat over night. Some of the reasons you weight my have gone up from one day to the next:

• You could have ate more carbs the day before - carbs make us retain water, if you eat more you retain more water, so that could add to the weight
• You had undigested food still in your gut
• You had a big drink of water
• What you were wearing was different
• You needed to have a bloody big poo

Don't weigh yourself everyday, it just leads to heartache and upset

In terms of the weight gain overall though, I would go and speak to the doctor, there maybe something causing it.

Gym use will not be the cause of this, I think it’s worth a call to your GP

Do your jeans still fit?

As above, muscle weighs more than fat. Have you gotten bigger or just heavier?

Are you sure it's fat and not fluid retention? Last year my legs, feet, stomach and face got bigger and bigger over a short period of time. I was diagnosed with oedema due, ironically to malnutrition .

Lol when people say muscle weighs more than fat . Have they actually looked at that statement again ?
Let's break.that down . Someone gives you a lb of muscle and a lb of day , you weigh them , guess what , they both weigh a lb !
What people mean if you look at them then the visual volume is different , a lb of gold is considerably smaller in size than a lb of feathers .

When I put a lot of weight on rapidly it was due to an underactive thyroid gland.
Whatever is causing it, be it fluid retention, a digestive or hormonal problem your first stop is your GP. Possibly a telephone consultation will result in some blood tests which will eliminate or confirm what your problem could be

If you’re working out then you will be converting fat to muscle.

Muscle is denser than fat there for 1kg of muscle takes up less space than 1kg of fat.

True, but it doesn't happen in a few weeks. Also OP said she looks visibly bigger so that would indicate it not being a muscle gain.

I would speak to the GP about it, if you genuinely can't find a trigger at all. It definitely could be hormonal.

@RuthTopp

Lol when people say muscle weighs more than fat . Have they actually looked at that statement again ? Let's break.that down . Someone gives you a lb of muscle and a lb of day , you weigh them , guess what , they both weigh a lb ! What people mean if you look at them then the visual volume is different , a lb of gold is considerably smaller in size than a lb of feathers .

Yep it’s like that question ‘what is heavier, a ton of iron or a ton of feathers?’ Neither, they both weigh a ton.