Hello there, my name is Sunny and I'm new to this website. I've been calorie counting since May, and I've gained 5 pounds since then. It is driving me nuts!
I am 17 years old, 5'4.5, and I weigh 147-150 lbs. I am borderline overweight and I typically hang right around the middle of the BMI range (120-130 lbs). I currently walk about 14-16 miles per day at a 4 MPH pace (I go outside and enjoy the bike paths when I'm bored rather then jumping in front of the TV...I go out with my friends, my dog or with a book on CD). Sometimes I'll bike instead or do a bit of jogging. I do full-body weight training every other day as well. I don't sit down unless I have to...it really makes my back ache. I might sit for an hour per day going to appointments or eating dinner, but that's it. I sleep 7 hours per night and eat about 2700 calories per day on average. I have calculated the calorie burn of a full day's worth of activity (all 24 hours, including sleep and standing around, housework, etc) using caloriesperhour.com, and it said 3200 calories. In theory, this should be a 500 calorie deficit.
I have quite a few medical issues and allergies/sensitivities: IBS, Acid Reflux, Bile Reflux, Hypoglycemia, Amenorrhea, wheat intolerance, and an extreme sensitivity to fatty/sugary foods. I had my gallbladder removed in 2006, and have developed most of these issues since then. My gallbladder was bad for a long time prior to its removal; it took my doctors 2 years to consider checking my gallbladder for gallstones, inflammation, etc. When they did, they discovered a ridiculously inflamed gallbladder littered was gallstones and basically rotting in my stomach. Black bile was drain from the organ during my surgery, and a cyst and multiple adhesions were discovered growing on my gallbladder. The cyst was huge and had spread to my liver. During the two years of confusion prior to the discovery of my gallbladder, I ballooned up to 200 from 130 lbs within 4 months without any changes to diet or exercise. I then dropped weight insanely rapidly after adding a 1 hour walk to my daily routine and changing nothing else. Eventually I lost my appetite and had to force down meals...some days I just ate nothing and only drank a bit of juice. Eventually I tried drinking Ensure and boost and making high calorie smoothies. I managed to reach about 3,000 calories sometimes. Still, my weight plummeted from 200 to 70 lbs within one year. Once my gallbladder was finally removed, I stopped losing weight, and, though it was painful to eat still, I began a weight gain program and got up to 120 lbs in about 8 months (at this point, it was the late summer of 2007). My doctor explained to me how my ill gallbladder messed with my weight (both the gaining rapidly and losing rapidly--though my lack of eating at times surely didn't help me to avoid weight loss). I still struggle to eat, because it hurts terribly, but I've learned to just tough it out and eat. I plan balanced, light meals and snacks now in order to ensure that I eat enough and that I control my hypoglycemia. I maintained a weight of 120-130 lbs from late summer 2007 to spring of 2009.
Here is the issue at hand. I have had Amenorrhea since soon after I began losing tons of weight (around April of 2006). My GP finally sent me to an OBG/YN in an attempt to figure out why my period was still MIA. After a slew of tests, she found that my progesterone levels were low and put me on Provera for one week. It did nothing. She then decided to try using birth control for one month, which did give me a spotty period in May, but didn't kick-start any more. Between the end of April and the beginning of May I gained 20 lbs in a matter of 2 weeks. I figured that I'd gained a bunch of water weight from the pills, but the pounds stuck around. I continued gaining a bit each week even after stopping the birth control and reached 145 lbs by the beginning of June. I suffer from severe depression, anxiety and stress, PTSD, OCD and mild Bipolar, and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for medication purposes right around that time. After 10 days IP, I returned home on Wellbutrin and Abilify. I was also 10 lbs lighter. However, I gained those 10 lbs back within a matter of 3 days. I do bloat up a LOT (I appear 6 months pregnant), and I wasn't bloated at all when I returned, but once the bloating came back, so did the weight. I've gained another 5 pounds since then and I just keep feeling worse and worse with every day. I feel heavy/weighed down and fatigued. My stomach feels worse than ever and I never have normal bowl movements anymore. I'm getting headaches more often and I'm getting a ton of acne and growing a bunch of excess hair all over my arms, legs, belly...etc. I really DO NOT feel healthy at this weight, and I miss feeling vibrant and alive like I did when I was in my "happy weight" range that I held for so long. I could bike and run, I could participate in all of my acting groups, singing groups and volunteer jobs...I could enjoy myself without feeling bogged down (unless I was in a depressive state, of course-but I was unmedicated then). I want to get back to that place and I just don't know how to. I have been trying so hard, but I just keep gaining more and more weight and feeling more and more ill. All of my doctors are clueless now after running every test that they can think of. I am in perfect health according to every test.
Thanks for reading this all and for any help...
I am 17 years old, 5'4.5, and I weigh 147-150 lbs. I am borderline overweight and I typically hang right around the middle of the BMI range (120-130 lbs). I currently walk about 14-16 miles per day at a 4 MPH pace (I go outside and enjoy the bike paths when I'm bored rather then jumping in front of the TV...I go out with my friends, my dog or with a book on CD). Sometimes I'll bike instead or do a bit of jogging. I do full-body weight training every other day as well. I don't sit down unless I have to...it really makes my back ache. I might sit for an hour per day going to appointments or eating dinner, but that's it. I sleep 7 hours per night and eat about 2700 calories per day on average. I have calculated the calorie burn of a full day's worth of activity (all 24 hours, including sleep and standing around, housework, etc) using caloriesperhour.com, and it said 3200 calories. In theory, this should be a 500 calorie deficit.
I have quite a few medical issues and allergies/sensitivities: IBS, Acid Reflux, Bile Reflux, Hypoglycemia, Amenorrhea, wheat intolerance, and an extreme sensitivity to fatty/sugary foods. I had my gallbladder removed in 2006, and have developed most of these issues since then. My gallbladder was bad for a long time prior to its removal; it took my doctors 2 years to consider checking my gallbladder for gallstones, inflammation, etc. When they did, they discovered a ridiculously inflamed gallbladder littered was gallstones and basically rotting in my stomach. Black bile was drain from the organ during my surgery, and a cyst and multiple adhesions were discovered growing on my gallbladder. The cyst was huge and had spread to my liver. During the two years of confusion prior to the discovery of my gallbladder, I ballooned up to 200 from 130 lbs within 4 months without any changes to diet or exercise. I then dropped weight insanely rapidly after adding a 1 hour walk to my daily routine and changing nothing else. Eventually I lost my appetite and had to force down meals...some days I just ate nothing and only drank a bit of juice. Eventually I tried drinking Ensure and boost and making high calorie smoothies. I managed to reach about 3,000 calories sometimes. Still, my weight plummeted from 200 to 70 lbs within one year. Once my gallbladder was finally removed, I stopped losing weight, and, though it was painful to eat still, I began a weight gain program and got up to 120 lbs in about 8 months (at this point, it was the late summer of 2007). My doctor explained to me how my ill gallbladder messed with my weight (both the gaining rapidly and losing rapidly--though my lack of eating at times surely didn't help me to avoid weight loss). I still struggle to eat, because it hurts terribly, but I've learned to just tough it out and eat. I plan balanced, light meals and snacks now in order to ensure that I eat enough and that I control my hypoglycemia. I maintained a weight of 120-130 lbs from late summer 2007 to spring of 2009.
Here is the issue at hand. I have had Amenorrhea since soon after I began losing tons of weight (around April of 2006). My GP finally sent me to an OBG/YN in an attempt to figure out why my period was still MIA. After a slew of tests, she found that my progesterone levels were low and put me on Provera for one week. It did nothing. She then decided to try using birth control for one month, which did give me a spotty period in May, but didn't kick-start any more. Between the end of April and the beginning of May I gained 20 lbs in a matter of 2 weeks. I figured that I'd gained a bunch of water weight from the pills, but the pounds stuck around. I continued gaining a bit each week even after stopping the birth control and reached 145 lbs by the beginning of June. I suffer from severe depression, anxiety and stress, PTSD, OCD and mild Bipolar, and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for medication purposes right around that time. After 10 days IP, I returned home on Wellbutrin and Abilify. I was also 10 lbs lighter. However, I gained those 10 lbs back within a matter of 3 days. I do bloat up a LOT (I appear 6 months pregnant), and I wasn't bloated at all when I returned, but once the bloating came back, so did the weight. I've gained another 5 pounds since then and I just keep feeling worse and worse with every day. I feel heavy/weighed down and fatigued. My stomach feels worse than ever and I never have normal bowl movements anymore. I'm getting headaches more often and I'm getting a ton of acne and growing a bunch of excess hair all over my arms, legs, belly...etc. I really DO NOT feel healthy at this weight, and I miss feeling vibrant and alive like I did when I was in my "happy weight" range that I held for so long. I could bike and run, I could participate in all of my acting groups, singing groups and volunteer jobs...I could enjoy myself without feeling bogged down (unless I was in a depressive state, of course-but I was unmedicated then). I want to get back to that place and I just don't know how to. I have been trying so hard, but I just keep gaining more and more weight and feeling more and more ill. All of my doctors are clueless now after running every test that they can think of. I am in perfect health according to every test.
Thanks for reading this all and for any help...
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