[kimmi]

Ok so I had a blood test and got the results about a month ago, my Cortisol (stress hormone) level was astronomically high at 550.I did my research and cut out caffein and started taking L Glutamine so I can lower it, as cortisol is known to make weightloss IMPOSSIBLE.
After a week of making these changes I lost approximately 4 pounds in one week and 1/2 inch off my waist and 1/4 inch off my hips.I continued eating around 1300 -1500 calories a day,plus jogging for an hour twice a week and weights twice a week.
It's been 2 weeks after my loss and I have gained 3 pounds and put my inches id lost back on!I also know my gains ARE NOT muscle. I was prescribed with numerous vitamins about 2 months ago as i suffer badly from depression.I eat so clean it's rediculous,I kid you not, NO bad food,I only eat what my body can use,I time my carbohydrate and protein precisely so I get the best recovery, I'm extremely anal about it.My periods ceased about 6 months ago,I had one about 1.5 months ago,but my doctor puts that down to the 4 weeks I was on anti depressants which I am now off.

I am 17 and have lost about 60 pounds over a time of 8 months, I now weight 135 have 35 inch hips and 29 inch waist. What is going on!?!?!?!

[FL_Chickie]

Water retention? Your body adjusting over a short period of time? Change (or lack of change) in eating / exercise habits? Sometimes changes help shake up the weight loss again...

[da fat n da furious]

Are you getting enough rest? Can you increase you protein?

[kimmi]

I only started jogging properly about 4 weeks ago and changed my weights routine,this shouldn't need a change now.I lowered my calories 4 weeks ago,stopping caffein completely and taking L glutamine,that week I lost ALOT of weight.It is literally impossible for me to be gaining because of IMPROVED diet/exercise when I lost so much weight before.I drink atleast 3 liters of water a day,and 3 cups of green tea a day. I get atleast 130g of protein everyday as I am taking protein powder twice daily and get alot from salmon,tuna,milk and lean meats,My carbohydrates are timed around my workouts like i stated earlier,and on non training days i try to stick to veggie and fruit carbs.My thyroid checked out on my last blood test,so this isn't the problem.The only thing that could explain it is my cortisol level have maybe gone back up,but i can't help it anymore than I have.Im so upset,can you imagine eating perfectly,exercising perfectly and still gaining weight when you should be losing 2 pounds a week......horrible.I don't care about my weight at all,it's mainly the inches that i am gaining back.

Does anyone know of any other methods of loweing cortisol levels apart from the steps I have already taken?

[FL_Chickie]

It's possible that you're just having a blip and you'll see your weight drop back down, Kimmi. Sometimes you can do everything perfectly and your body just doesn't respond exactly as you think it will -- it's not a robot, and being a woman, we tend to be prone to hormonal fluctuations (even if you're not having your period right now, you still have hormones doing their thing in the background, like I said before, you might be bloated/retaining water or fluid for a short period of time). Stressing out about a gain over a two week period of time when you *know* you're doing everything right is probably not helping the cortisol level though.
Have you talked to your doctor?

Another thought -- you're 17 and while most women are done with height growth by then, some do occasionally still gain a little bit. Maybe you grew up instead of out?

And how often do you weigh/measure? Is it possible that this was a fluctuation that just happened to happen on weigh-in day? Did you weigh/measure at a different time than you did before? That can affect your results as well.

[shawnamadonna1013]

I really dont know but if you're exercising and only eating 1300-1500 calories a day then you did NOT gain 3 pounds of fat. 10500 extra calories? nope. I'd just keep eating healthy, exercising, drinking plenty of water. It'll happen, just dont give up.