What could be causing these problems with weight loss?

[Thistledew]

I decided at the beginning of last year I was fed up with the excess weight I have been carrying and made a sustained effort to cut back on how much I was eating. I cut out refined sugar, turned breakfast into a piece of fruit, stopped snacking and just generally exercised portion control.

And it worked. Between January and July I dropped from 83kg to 75kg. I then plateaued over the summer and since then my weight has crept back up to 80kg.

But I am eating just the same as when I was losing the weight. I truly have not started eating more again.

I know that I am really struggling with water weight- my hands, legs and face look so puffy sometimes, and the number on the scales can change by as much as 2kg in a week.

Any idea what might be causing this? I’m thinking of speaking to my GP but would appreciate any ideas of what I should be thinking about as the problem.

i think it would benefit you to keep a detailed log of what you eat and drink just for a few days so you can properly assess whether you really are eating a calorie deficit.

There are some possibilities that may be driving a weight increase other than eating over your calorie needs but they are less likely to be causing a weight gain.

83 - 75 kg in 6 months is just over 1 kg loss a month so about 3lbs a month. 500calorie deficit a day typically gives 1-2lb loss a week so you were probably eating a deficit of around 200-300 a day during that period. A reasonably small increase in portion size could give you that extra 200-300 calories a day. It’s the difference an extra spoon of rice or pasta and a bigger bowl of yoghurt would make.

Other than that it could be caused by:

• not having enough water, water is used in the chemical process of breaking down and expelling fat, you will also retain it if you have too many carbs, too much salt, are dehydrated or have done a lot of exercise and have muscles that are sore. The way to stop the retention is to stay hydrated.
• stress and lack of sleep cause hormonal changes that inhibit weight loss
• metabolic issues like high blood sugar or thyroid issues can cause weight gain

Thanks, that is really helpful. I can see how it would be easy to eat an extra 200-300 cal per day- but that would just mean my weight should have stabilised. I think I would have noticed eating an extra 500 cal a day, which I would need to start gaining weight again. That’s a whole extra meal.

I am chronically stressed and lacking in sleep. Is there any blood test that would show this up as a cause?

Not necessarily. Your calorie need decreases as you lose weight, to illustrate with an example if I assume you’re 5ft 8 (my height) then at 83kg you would have been able to eat 1841 calories a day and maintained your weight. At 75kg you would have been able to eat 1748. So to keep losing weight you have to keep decreasing your calorie intake as you get smaller. If you don’t then your loss stops or you start to gain.

On the blood test question, I’m not sure if there is a blood test you’d be able to access via a GP, to test for stress or sleep quality. It wouldn’t hurt to ask for a HbA1C and thyroid function to look for diabetes and thyroid, and for iron, vitamin D and Vitamin B to be checked because all of those are common, can affect weight and are /improve-able if treated. Peri menopause is also worth considering, unfortunately with menopause comes a reduction in oestrogen, which can reduce insulin creation and insulin sensitivity while also increasing how much glucose is produced by the liver. That can mean you are more likely to gain weight too, I’m diabetic and like to read so it’s a topic I’ve spent a lot of time trying to learn about.

Getting the GP to agree to blood tests may be an issue, some are reluctant to run any tests it seems, but it’s worth a try and you’re at an age where ‘health MOTs’ start being offered.