Weight gain | Mumsnet

L1R876 · 2023-07-07T07:48:30+00:00

I lost 4 and a bit stone last year and since the start of this year, I seem to be gaining weight. I was just over 13 stone and I got down to bang on 9 stone. I am 5ft6.. I am currently 10stone 6 and lots of my clothes don't fit me. I am down to just a few outfits that I can wear. I lost weight by reducing portion sizes, cutting out sugar, junk etc and walked everywhere. I have tried to identify where I am going wrong, but I can't seem to work it out. It annoyed me the other day, cause I have some really nice light blue vintage Levi 501 jeans (which I bought for summer) and they don't even button up. I do have some clothes that fit, albeit a limited choice/selection. Some friends and family have told me that I look better with the extra weight. Some have said I should try and lose it. What would you do?

redskytwonight · 07/07/2023 08:53

Stop obsessing about your weight?

Your current weight is fine for your height. Sounds like you were probably undereating and it's not possible for your body to sustain this weight without you continuing to eat very little and exercise a lot.

bellac11 · 07/07/2023 08:57

Do you think you went down too far?

Im the same height as you and am aiming for 10st 4lb. The max I should be I think according to BMI is 11st 7lb. I dont know if I have ever been 10 stone to be honest (as an adult) and so I was pondering this yesterday and wondered if I should aim for the max so I can maintain it. I dont want to go down too far and then buy a load of clothes and then put weight back on and they dont fit me. I want to be at a weight I can maintain.

Jongleterre · 07/07/2023 09:02

Up your exercise.

It sounds like your eating/diet is under control but doing more exercise would reduce your weight and keep it off.

sandyhappypeople · 07/07/2023 09:02

its about what you can easily maintain and be happy with without feeling like you’re denying yourself/going without.

I think sometimes after weight loss you then ‘settle’ at a weight which suits you/can be maintained, that may be slightly higher than what you got down to (it was about 10lbs higher for me for a long time) but at the end of the day you don’t want to be miserable always chasing a weight that is virtually impossible to maintain.

if you’re happy with the weight you are now and feel you can maintain it, get some new clothes and rock it.

the only thing you have to watch out for is that you don’t use that as an excuse to creep up more bit by bit because that suggests that bad eating habits (larger portions & chocolate in my case) may be sneaking back in, and it can be so easy for your weight to go back up, so you can always restart the diet if you feel that’s happening!

lljkk · 07/07/2023 09:10

What would you do?

I would ignore what others think about how I look. It's irrelevant.

What matters most to me is how happy I am in own skin & if my body size/shape/ability is convenient to me.

You're saying that the weight gain annoys you, has been inconvenient. So why wouldn't you try to lose some weight if that is possible for you?

lljkk · 07/07/2023 09:12

ps: I'm going to take part of that back!

Other people's opinions matter if my BMI is kind of low. If my BMI is below 19 & I said "but I don't look too thin" : I'd listen to others' opinions on that, if they disagreed. I would assume that my body image was screwed up & I needed a reality check.

Mother of an anorexic here.

Original poster

L1R876 · 07/07/2023 10:07

Jongleterre · 07/07/2023 09:02

Up your exercise.

It sounds like your eating/diet is under control but doing more exercise would reduce your weight and keep it off.

I try and do 10,000 steps every day. When I was losing, I even walked more. I think it was more around 15,000 to 17,000. I aim to do 5 miles every day. But I'm guessing it's not enough.

I suppose you're right. More exercise and I should see the weight start to come back off again....

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Original poster

L1R876 · 07/07/2023 10:17

bellac11 · 07/07/2023 08:57

Do you think you went down too far?

Im the same height as you and am aiming for 10st 4lb. The max I should be I think according to BMI is 11st 7lb. I dont know if I have ever been 10 stone to be honest (as an adult) and so I was pondering this yesterday and wondered if I should aim for the max so I can maintain it. I dont want to go down too far and then buy a load of clothes and then put weight back on and they dont fit me. I want to be at a weight I can maintain.

Weight "looks" different on everyone. I know at 11st7, which is a stone heavier than I am now, I would feel overweight. I guess it depends on how you feel when you reach that weight.

Maybe see how you look and what size you fit into.

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bellac11 · 07/07/2023 10:43

L1R876 · 07/07/2023 10:17

Weight "looks" different on everyone. I know at 11st7, which is a stone heavier than I am now, I would feel overweight. I guess it depends on how you feel when you reach that weight.

Maybe see how you look and what size you fit into.

Show quote history

Well yes exactly. I picked 10,4 as a goal weight (second goal weight, my first was 13,4) because its a nice round 10 stone loss and near enough bang in the middle of the BMI healthy range

But I have no idea what I would feel or look like at that weight, never having previously been it to my knowledge. I dont even know if I can get there. Im still 4 stone away from it in any case, so probably around next spring I will see for myself what the score is! Plus I will probably have a couple of stone of skin which needs accounting for.

Original poster

L1R876 · 07/07/2023 12:20

@bellac11 congratulations on your loss so far!

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Longtimelurkerfinallyposts · 07/07/2023 15:08

you used to weigh 13 stone, but now your clothes don't fit?
does this mean you threw away all the clothes you owned up till last year?!
maybe in future hang onto your clothes, as your weight could fluctuate again

Original poster

L1R876 · 07/07/2023 16:12

@Longtimelurkerfinallyposts I have some in the next size up. But anything bigger, I either sold or donated. They were too big and I didn't want to keep them.

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Original poster

L1R876 · 07/07/2023 16:16

sandyhappypeople · 07/07/2023 09:02

its about what you can easily maintain and be happy with without feeling like you’re denying yourself/going without.

I think sometimes after weight loss you then ‘settle’ at a weight which suits you/can be maintained, that may be slightly higher than what you got down to (it was about 10lbs higher for me for a long time) but at the end of the day you don’t want to be miserable always chasing a weight that is virtually impossible to maintain.

if you’re happy with the weight you are now and feel you can maintain it, get some new clothes and rock it.

the only thing you have to watch out for is that you don’t use that as an excuse to creep up more bit by bit because that suggests that bad eating habits (larger portions & chocolate in my case) may be sneaking back in, and it can be so easy for your weight to go back up, so you can always restart the diet if you feel that’s happening!

That's the thing. I don't want it to start creeping up anymore. I'm just glad I've noticed, before I have gained anymore!!

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Original poster

L1R876 · 08/07/2023 08:32

lljkk · 07/07/2023 09:10

What would you do?

I would ignore what others think about how I look. It's irrelevant.

What matters most to me is how happy I am in own skin & if my body size/shape/ability is convenient to me.

You're saying that the weight gain annoys you, has been inconvenient. So why wouldn't you try to lose some weight if that is possible for you?

It has been inconvenient. But I guess it's a sign that I should keep an eye on it... more than I have done. I think if I keep an eye on it, get back on the diet and exercise more, I should see the results.

I can't believe I have gained though :(

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