Weight gain that seems impossible

[MarbleTod]

Hi there, I’m new to the forum but not to weight loss.
From November 2020 until now I’ve been losing weight. I’ve lost 48.5kg (my starting weight was 110kg). I ate no more than 1300calories (at least 100cal below my bmr) and exercised frequently. I know it was not the healthy or safe way to do it. Recently I’ve been trying to get to a maintenance level with my calories by building it up slowly to help with my anxiety related to eating I now have. Since I started eating 1550 calories a day I’ve been gaining weight (from 61.4kg to 61.6kg in a day). I’ve been exercising a bit more than before, however, (going from about 9k steps a day for the past few months to at least 19k steps a day this month and the last) so I don’t know if that has something to do with it. It just doesn’t make sense to me because I shouldn’t be gaining weight. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
(I have contacted the GP just in case but any advice is still very much appreciated)

 

[Llama]

Going from 61.4 to 61.6 kg in a day is completely normal fluctuation. My weight can vary around 2 kg just due to water weight. My guess is that you haven't noticed your normal changes in water retention due to the speed with which you were losing weight.

 

[MarbleTod]

Going from 61.4 to 61.6 kg in a day is completely normal fluctuation. My weight can vary around 2 kg just due to water weight. My guess is that you haven't noticed your normal changes in water retention due to the speed with which you were losing weight.

Thank you for this. Honestly upon reflection this post was made when I was in an anxious state and upon reflection your advice makes perfect sense and I shouldn’t get so hung up on small fluctuations. Again, many thanks!

 

[alligatorob]

Hey Tod, welcome to the forum! And congrats on the near 50 kg loss, very impressive!

LaMa is right about the short term fluctuations and you seem to have figured that out, good for you. I can certainly relate to the problems of transitioning from a big weight loss to maintenance, that is where I am now. I lost similar to you and in a similar way. Maintenance is hard, for me harder than losing the weight. I think that is common, the reason so many people have trouble keeping weight off. If you stick around I think you will find this a place that might be able to help with your maintenance anxiety.

Best of luck to you!

 

[MarbleTod]

Hey Tod, welcome to the forum! And congrats on the near 50 kg loss, very impressive!

LaMa is right about the short term fluctuations and you seem to have figured that out, good for you. I can certainly relate to the problems of transitioning from a big weight loss to maintenance, that is where I am now. I lost similar to you and in a similar way. Maintenance is hard, for me harder than losing the weight. I think that is common, the reason so many people have trouble keeping weight off. If you stick around I think you will find this a place that might be able to help with your maintenance anxiety.

Best of luck to you!

Thank you so very much for your kindness. It’s so nice to hear I’m not alone with this anxiety, people in my circle tend to assume I can just go back to normal right away and it’s simply not possible for me to do that yet. I went from obese (I’m 165cm or 5’5) to a healthy mid range bmi so I’m dead pleased with that. I’m hoping I can find solid resources here to help with maintenance because I do struggle to find information. I’ll definitely check in on here to find out anything I need to know (and discourage people from doing what I did and ending up with a bucketful of loose skin at 20 haha.

 

[Llama]

people in my circle tend to assume I can just go back to normal right away and it’s simply not possible for me to do that yet.

I don't want to harsh your mellow but you won't ever be able to go back to doing what you did when you gained that weight without regaining it. You'll have to find a new normal. And that seems to be a disadvantage of losing weight very quickly: you don't have time to develop that new normal along the way. At the same time: you're at goal now and there's nothing wrong with working on those habits right now. Can you think of some things from your "old" life you'd like to reincorporate? Things you got into a habit of doing you definitely want to keep up? In the end it remains a balancing act. I've been doing mostly maintenance (with a couple of kilos up an down...) for two years now and I still haven't got all the answers.

 

[MarbleTod]

I don't want to harsh your mellow but you won't ever be able to go back to doing what you did when you gained that weight without regaining it. You'll have to find a new normal. And that seems to be a disadvantage of losing weight very quickly: you don't have time to develop that new normal along the way. At the same time: you're at goal now and there's nothing wrong with working on those habits right now. Can you think of some things from your "old" life you'd like to reincorporate? Things you got into a habit of doing you definitely want to keep up? In the end it remains a balancing act. I've been doing mostly maintenance (with a couple of kilos up an down...) for two years now and I still haven't got all the answers.

I was very depressed from 8-19 and never learned about nutrition so I ate for comfort. My issue was portion control and eating to fill an emotional void. Now I’m in a better headspace since I’ve moved away from home, there’s a lot of things I’m learning how to do for the first time (turbulent home life with no rules or routine). As someone with Asperger’s syndrome I’m more than happy to follow a routine down to the letter and not break it. What I meant by ‘normal’ is the calorie intake I should be having based on my bmr and activity level which is about 2000-2100 to maintain my weight. But having a routine where I ate the same 3 things for nearly 6 months, I’m learning (or trying my best to) to eat a balanced and healthy diet with reasonable portion sizes. Don’t worry, the old me should hopefully never return

 

[Llama]

That sounds very promising! I´m glad you´re aware of what it takes to keep the progress you´ve made

 

[alligatorob]

I’m dead pleased

And you should be! You have accomplished a very great thing!

As to returning to going back to normal. I can tell you that I have learned that I cannot ever go back to normal, not without large weight gains. We are all different people and you may be different, just be careful!

In my experience it is a lot harder to find resources for dealing with maintenance than weight loss. Not as much money to be made I guess. Best of luck with it!