I finally got the nerve to weigh myself after 20 days of dieting. I was hoping for a 1 pound loss. NOPE!

I GAINED 35 pounds!!!! How the %$%#@$ does that happen? I was sooo proud of myself that I did not ONCE cheat. Not once!

Why did I even bother?

Did you weigh on the same scale ? Under same conditions, time of day, clothed, unclothed ?
Maybe I don't understand your post. Are you saying that you gained 35 pounds in 20 days ? That doesn't sound possible .

I agree, this must be a mistake. Are you sure of your starting weight, and like the post above, did you weigh yourself 20 days later under the exact same conditions? How do your clothes fit? Do they feel tighter than 20 days ago?

Same scale at the doctor's office. Same nurse. Same time of day. (Within a half an hour.) I only own a few articles of clothing, so I was actually wearing the same exact outfit. (Shorts and a t-shirt.)

The initial weight was actually on January 2nd, not the 1st (doc's office was closed on the 1st.)

I have a lot of back problems due to my weight so that was why I was there. Needless to day the doctor was not happy with me because now my back problems are even worse.

(My doctor has weird hours - open on weekends sometimes, which is why my weigh in was Sunday.)

Perhaps the doctor's scale was calibrated in that 20 day period or needs calibration now. It's almost impossible to gain that much weight in 20 days. It almost seems like the wrong weight was written down the first time and you have actually lost 15 pounds because they missed one of those 50 lb. notches the first time.

Keep on doing what you are and maybe get a scale at home.

Susan (QuilterinVA) has a very plausible theory about miscounting notches on the scale! There really is something that can't add up here, without some kind of very extreme and probably-hard-to-miss medical condition. Do your clothes feel much tighter than they did 20 days ago? If you had gained 35 lbs, you'd see a big difference in how your clothes fit.

Regardless, you CAN do this. Try to take this scale confusion episode as extra motivation to keep reading and educate yourself more about the food choices you're making. It may take trial and error but you can get to a plan that will work for you, for the long-term.

I totally agree with all that's above. On the food topic, what does your day look like? You wrote that you haven't cheated. But could there be a portion size issue? Or with your back bothering you, are you significantly less active?

But still, 35 pounds in 20 days doesn't seem plausible. I'd just disregard, validate you're eating the right amount, and move forward. Maybe the nurse did write the weight down wrong.

Please don't be so hard on yourself, something has to be wrong with the scale.

Seeing that you were watching your food with weightloss goals in mind and didn't cheat once, it's almost impossible to gain 35lbs in 20 days esp. for someone 5'7 and 210lbs. You'd have to be shoveling in calories all day every day and doing nothing else.

I'm sorry you are dealing with this, I can't imagine how frustrated you must be.

Short of being abducted by aliens and having bizarre experiments performed on you that involved implantation of .... well, who-knows-what, I think that the most plausible explanations are either (1) the scale was wrong one or both of the times you went to get weighed or (2) the nurse @#@!#'d up the reading of your weight.

(When I saw your user name, I couldn't help adding in the alien abduction theory).

I watched the nurse and it looked like she was doing it correctly. But she did it so quickly that who knows?

I know the scales were working both times because my daughter weighed herself both times too. (Oh to be young again and get a kick out of weighing myself!) Her weight was pretty much the same both times. (By a pound or two.)

The doctor did sign me up for 1000 different blood tests (OK only 6 or 7) so maybe we will come up with something. So it could be a blessing in disguise.

I think I will keep counting calories and find out what the blood tests show. Then I will adjust my weight total then. *sigh*

Thanks everyone for the comments!

Obviously you've already gotten a lot of help and support, but I'd just like to add the following:

If you actually gained 35 pounds of fat in 20 days you'd had to have eaten over 120,000 calories in excess. That's OVER 6,000 calories per day in excess, so probably around a total of 8000+ calories a day. Not that it COULDN'T be done (I'm sure I could do it lol), but highly unlikely.

Either the starting weight was wrong, the new weight was wrong, or there's something medically going on causing a crap ton of water retention.

Anyway it goes, I'm sorry you're dealing with the discouragement that is going along with that! I imagine any of us would be extremely upset by that. I hope they figure out what the deal is!

My suggestion: Get your own scale! At least that way you kind of know what to expect at the doctor's office, and you can keep an eye on things on your own!

You must be holding on to water somewhere. Don't beat yourself up.

I personally am thinking thyroid issues. I had a friend gain 40 pounds in a month because her thyroid did something really weird. The following month she lost 33 pounds....hopefully one of those blood tests is for that?

Deinfitely get all the blood tests the dr has suggested. There is definitely something haywire! Only way you could GAIN that much is to eat & eat & eat never moving a muscle.
I also have to ask...do your clothes fit tighter? 35 lbs would be at least 1-2 sizes!! Believe me, I'm just sitting here shaking my head...something is WHACK!
Good luck. I know what you mean about it feeling like a friggin' pin cushion. I did when the drs were trying to figure out why I felt so much fatigue & chronic aches. I unfortunately had to give up the quest...insurance got too costly. Don't give up! Let us know what is found!

I would trust no scale that is not in your control. I agree with the others that either the weight was wrong either time, the scale was calibrated between your visit or the nurse had her foot on it when she weighed you. Hard to believe that you would gain all that in 20 days. Mark it up as a mistake and move on, do not give up. You are worth it!