im gaining 1st a month eating healthy and gym

[bst19]

please help me..
every month im gaining around 1 stone! it started off small after i gave birth 4 years ago.. i dont eat bad i go the gym a few times a week ect but i just seem to put weight on mainly my stomach but everywhere else now. ive been the drs theyve done thyroid check (normal) and theyre just asked for pcos check so got my bloods next week.
something just really doesnt feel right at all, my body is so weak and tired carrying 17 stone of me, im only 19 and im 5’1 and im huge.
i dont know what to ask the drs every time i go they just say i need to wait for the gp’s dietitian and if that doesnt work then surgery but thats another at least year. i feel like im going to be unable to even move by the time i get it. please help me

What is your daily diet like?

its not bad… yoghurt and fruit in the morning, sandwich & fruit/veg for lunch and then for tea i have meats its always a home made meal- things like spaghetti bolognaise ect

It'll be your portion sizes. To lose weight you have to eat like a sparrow and you have to get comfortable with the feeling of hunger.

Are you having heavy periods, stomach cramps? Could it be fibroids causing the weight gain around your stomach?

I’ve been reading the UPF book by Chris Van Tuleken. So far I’m on chapter 2 and already well worth a read. Sounds like you and the GP have a lot of bases already covered so his book wouldn’t hurt. It takes the blame away from you by the way. I’m reading it on audible and it’s read by him, and it’s very easy listening.

It's not the food you eat, it's the amount of it you eat. I gained 1st after eating about 1000kcal in sugar nearly every day and never walked anywhere. I ate through boredom and I gorged until I felt sick. Now I only eat small portions when I'm hungry. You satisfy hunger and you maintain a decent amount of exercise every day. You also need to stay hydrated. If you can't tell if you're hungry or bored, drink a glass a water, if you feel satisfied, you were bored. You maintain a caloric deficit of about 300kcals a day.

You're gaining 1 stone every month? Okay, that's very worrying. OP, do you count the calories you eat? If not, start doing this. Get to know the calorific value of every food you eat. As a woman of small stature you won't need 2000 calories a day. I'm 5'4" and I only need around 1600 to maintain my weight, so you may well need less than that. So work out how many you're eating and then find ways to reduce that calorific intake. Fill up on vegetables, don't eat loads of fruit (it's full of sugar), switch to wholemeal or wholegrain. Get rid of white bread, white rice, white pasta, etc from your diet - it's all basically UPF rubbish and it spikes your blood sugar up and makes you feel more hungry. And aim to walk for an hour every day. Those are easy things you can do yourself and within a month or two you should be seeing results.

You would have to be eating absolutely enormous portions or a load of extras that you aren't mentioning (sugary drinks, snacks) to gain like that, assuming it's not muscle gain from extreme weight lifting, which it doesn't sound like as you say you're 'huge'. Or have developed a medical condition like an underactive thyroid.

What size yogurt? How much fruit?
How many slices of bread in your sandwich?
How much meat and pasta per serving in your spaghetti bolognese?
What do you drink each day?

You should keep a food diary for a month.

Write down every single thing that passes your lips and not just what is it but the quantity and you should calculate the calories in each thing and write them down as well.

You could be eating healthily but too much or thinking you're eating healthily but not seeing hidden calories.

You need to be totally honest with yourself about everything you're eating and drinking.

Then you have useful information to take to the doctor

If it turns out there is nothing medical going on, then it is quite simply the amount you are eating. Invest in a pair of digital kitchen scales, join My Fitness Pal (it's free), input your information and then record every single thing you put in your mouth. That little chunk of cheese you snarfed as you passed the fridge, that can of full sugar coke, that chicken nugget or couple of chipsfrom your child's plate that didn't go in the bin. You'll be really surprised at how easily it adds up. Once you've been recording it all for a couple of weeks, it will really make you mindful of what you are eating at it becomes really easy to monitor your intake. Honestly, give it a go, it will be worth it!

Alternatively, if you adjust your ingredients and cooking techniques a little, you've basically described Weight Watchers or Slimming World, both of which offer a plan that allows you to eat like you're describing without limiting portion sizes as long as you eat plenty of fruit and veg, use lean meat and don't use fat in cooking.

Your bread should be wholemeal and your yogurt fat free but it's not a magic spell that needs to be followed to the letter, so in reality you could eat any yogurt as long as you don't have buckets of it.

Plus you'd have an approx 200 calorie daily allowance for more calorie dense food and drink that's not part of the main plan.

You need to start tracking your calories.

You're 19 and gave birth 4 years ago (not judging, just clarifying)? That's a lot of stress for a young person, which could be impacting your body and eating habits. Do you have a support system in place?

So true. It's so hard, I've had
To switch off my enjoyment of food, almost like Ozempic does. I've just lost 10lb in a month. I just tell myself it won't be forever and just need to be careful to maintain it. 3/4 more lbs to go.