Can’t stop gaining weight

[Em4891]

Hi
I’m extremely concerned about my weight gain. Let’s give you a background of me, very physical job, on my feet lots, doing about 20,000 steps a day.
I take a slim fast in the morning and for lunch then dinner at night, I have also been put on oralist from the dr.
None of this seems to be working, I’m 5ft 8in and weight is currently 15.2st I’m so scared as I don’t understand what the hell is going on . I eat healthy and drink 2-2.5litres of water a day.
Any advice would be great thank you 😊

Have you had your thyroid tested?

What are you typically eating for your meals?

What are you eating on an average day?
My friend and I tried slimfast for 2 weeks and neither of us lost weight. I don't know what we did wrong or if it just doesn't work for everyone.

Breakfast is slimfast , lunch slimfast, snacks are fruit , protein-eggs, chicken etc, May have a cheeky curly wurly , dinner chicken stir fry , jacket potatoes , chilli . If I don’t fancy a slim fast one morning I swap for granola , semi skimmed milk , fresh fruit with a drizzle of honey.
I just gone on the scales tonight and I’m now 15st 6 😭 I’ve only eaten a small roast dinner with two roast potatoes, loads of veg and chicken, only small amount of gravy, my stomach feels very sore and acidy.
I’m actually feeling scared to eat 😟

The more you restrict the more you will gain. People will come on here and tell you otherwise but dieting is the biggest predictor of weight gain. I went through the same thing whilst doing the 5:2. I’ve spent a lot of time reading and getting to know my body and now my weight isn’t increasing.

Underactive thyroid causes weight gain even for people who are very active and/or dieting. Get a FULL thyroid panel done and don’t accept being fobbed off with eat less move more. Yes as we age our metabolism may make losing weight harder, but to be putting on several pounds in a short space of time doesn’t make sense without a physical cause.

October I was 14st and now I’m 15st 6lbs I’m getting extremely worried as I’m very active and nothing is working despite my efforts 😭

It may be that an ingredient in Slimfast is messing up with your metabolism.
Can you swap it for a trurely low carb shake? They aren't sweet and are more likely to stabilise your weight.
Also do you actually know how many calories are you consuming in any given week?

Consuming about 1600 a day. If I eat any less I’ll starve

Could you eat low carbon 1600 cals a day for 2 weeks? To see the difference.
I can see why you are concerned with your weight gain.
Have you also had your sugar tested?

my stomach feels very sore and acidy

This stood out for me. See a doctor. As a pp said, ask for comprehensive tests.

I would also not recommend Slim Fast shakes as a long-term meal replacement They're full of artificial ingredients. The Curly Wurly has no value either - you would be better off with a few squares of high-end dark chocolate.

Ditch the slim fast if you're consuming 1600 calories. Replace it with plain yoghurt and a sprinkle of granola.

Weigh your food portions so you can accurately know what you're eating.

Take a protein heavy salad for lunch.

No carbs or fruit after 5pm

Cut all refined sugar.

Eat whole meal everything (rice, pasta, bread m)

Drink lots of water.

Eat proper food.

Read Why We Eat {Too Much) by Dr Andrew Jenkinson

I think you need to weight everything because we mostly under estimate our calories and portions when we count calories.

How many cheeky chocolates, because they add up? I was consuming 1500 kcals a day in snacks such as smarties, cookies, yogurts, crisps. When I probably added it up then I was shocked and also shocked how little pasta or cereal is a portion on my fitness pal.

Get tested for type 2 diabetes - that causes weight gain due to insulin. Any sugar in diet will cause a real struggle to lose weight if you're type 2.

I second the Jenkinson recommendation - this book changed my life.

Are you actually weighing and measuring and logging all of your calories. It can be very easy to be eating more than you think you are.

And stop with the slim fast. Awful edible food like substance. Really bad for you and your gut. And an overprevalence of certain gut bacteria can lead to weight gain.

Do you have any other symptoms? As others said could be thyroid. Dieting and exercise when having an underactive thyroid actually makes it worse (dieting and exercise deplete thyroid hormone). So is not recommended. Highly likely you'd have other symptoms though, although I've known people to have no idea their thyroid was underactive until it was tested so worth getting this checked out

Do you have takeaways and/or drink alcohol at the weekend?