Hi all,

I haven't been on here in a while. I am about 5'2/5'3 and weighed 117 at this time last year. I had managed to maintain that weight without much effort for at least a year. In March, I got sick, went through a stressful period at work, took a job out of state and moved in with my parents temporarily while I maintained my out-of-state lease. I've been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and my IBS-C has been acting up. My weight keeps climbing! Today I stepped on the scale and I weigh 152. That's 35 pounds in 9 months! I don't believe that I'm overeating and I've tried dieting. I just can't stop gaining weight! This weekend I tried to get dressed for a party and nothing fit me. I feel so out of control of my body...

Please offer and words of advice or share any experiences.

Thank you!

Soon2BSlender .....

I am sorry to hear you are struggling. I know that feeling when you can't believe the weight you've gained in X amount of time. For me it always because I was overeating and not exercising.

What are you eating? Are you tracking your calories or food intake in anyway? If not maybe you should write it down for a week or use an app like CalorieCount or My Fitness Pal, maybe you'll be surprised to see you are over eating? What about exercise? Are you keeping active?

I don't know anything about Hypothyroidism or IBS-C so maybe its a result of those conditions. Have you talked to a doctor or a nutritionist for advice?

It's important to stay calm and not get upset. All is not lost yet. Focus on eating well and exercising as much as you can (even if you already are). Take care of yourself as best you can. Find some really delicious veggies you love, a great piece of fish, make a yummy sauce with veggies and herbs and eat well. Just try to focus on yourself and doing good for your body so you can feel in control of it. If after awhile you are not seeing results and you know you are eating well and exercise you should probably talk to your Dr about what could be causing this.

I'm at 190 today and I use to be 120. Sure I'm 27 now and was 20 then but it hurts. I'm struggling right there with you. Focusing every day on trying to eat well and get my lazy butt in the gym. No matter what don't get discouraged, don't binge. Come here and find support & share support!

Steinawine, thank you for your kind words!

I've tracked my food and weight and shared with my doctor. My doctor attributes my weight to my thyroid, IBS, and stress. She's been gradually increasing my Synthroid levels, but I keep gaining weight. I don't over eat and I try to remain active. My boyfriend goes to the gym five days a week! I also have extreme migraines. I've been under a lot of stress recently which has exacerbated all of my health issues.

My weight fluctuates so much! Yesterday all I had was a little chicken and some salad, but I gained three pounds. This could easily be attributed to water weight on a normal person, but these pounds will likely stick on me for a week before suddenly dropping off and then two days later I'll weigh five pounds more. It's been such an uphill battle!

It's great to have such a supportive place I've read some IBS stories here and it sounds like many ladies have had luck following a Paleo diet. I'm going to give it a try!

The weight gain may be an effect of the medication you're being put on. You can discuss with your doctor, or you could be eating too little. If all you had yesterday was chicken and some salad your body could be putting itself into starvation mode, and clinging onto any fat it still has. Paleo is a great diet, and while you don't have to technically monitor your calories, I would recommend you try to hit your daily 1200 - 1500 goal, especially if you're exercising. There are a lot of good paleo recipes out there. I'm doing Paleo, but still have dairy (can't live without it!) I wish you luck on your weight loss...and hope you get it figured out soon.

I agree with the girls before. I had my gallbladder out and gained 20lbs+. That was three years ago and I am still struggling with the effects. Gallbladder issues are similar to IBS and can evolve into it (which surprise! Happened to me).

I would look at your overall diet as the key and factor in your health issues. I cut my breads to nearly nil. I mainly eat paleo, mostly meat and starting to really eat veggies. If you are ibs-c I would add some healthy fats like coconut oil. Cut out heavily acidic fruits like grapefruit or Orange that will irritate your sensitive stomach and intestines. But the rest is trial and error for your body.

Meetings I would recommend is: a gastroenterologist (For the IBS and sensitivity), either them or another for a blood allergy test, and a nutritionist.

If you are looking for good (and informational for us beginners) books on realistic paleo eating, I would recommend "practically paleo"( a large book with a with a woman on the cover) and the "well fed" series by Melissa Joulwan, both could be found on Amazon

Thank you for your support and words of encouragement!

I have worked with a gastro as well as my GP. It's been trial and error with diets trying to figure out what works for me. I seem to lose weight when I cut out carbs, but I have trouble digesting red meat and diary and suffer extreme and debilitating stomach pain (it's not worth it). Nuts also cause flares. Too much bread contributes to blockage and pain.

I've switched to a diet of mostly chicken, fish, veggies, berries, and a little rice (it soothes my stomach), but I'm now GAINING A POUND A DAY! I haven't been as nauseous and crampy, but I'm not appreciating the constant gain. I don't understand what's going on.

It is so painful when you feel like your body is out of control and there is nothing you can do to steer the ship away from the rocks. I don't have any experience with the health issues you're facing but I'd say don't do anything drastic. Going on a crazy crash diet is probably not going to help your metabolism. Better to eat as clean and natural a diet possible and stay away from anything highly processed or high in sugar. Keep the rice and the fruit for earlier in the day when you can burn them off instead of late at night. Your body will store all those carbs into fat. I agree something like the Paleo diet that is high in protein may work for you.

Are you drinking lots of water and staying hydrated to help with water retention? One thing I like to do to cleanse out my body is fill a pitcher with slices of lime and lemon and water. I keep topping it up with water over 1-2 days and drink it religiously starting first thing in the morning and in between meals. I don't know if it will work for you but maybe give it a try.

I hope you can figure out things with your doctor to get you on the right balance with your meds. I know what it's like to look in the mirror and see that a fat stranger has taken over your body.