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Question:
I "suddenly" put on 30 lbs. two years ago and have not been able to take it off. Some have said, "It's your age catching up to you", (I am 36), but this has happened before- five times since I was in my late teens. I will "Suddenly" gain 30+ lbs., then, after two years or so, the weight "Suddenly" starts melting- regardless of my eating or exercise routine.
Since my 20s, I have eaten lacto-ovo vegetarian (I've never been a big meat eater) plus I have gotten daily exercise, which has varied as years and circumstance change. Currently, I get plenty of "run around" exercise on the job (appx. 4 hours of running around several times a week), plus I work with light weights about three times a week, and xcountry ski once a week (or mountain bike in the snowless seasons!)
I'm not ignorant about nutrition, although my I DO eat more "empty calorie" sweets than I should. But I still count them in my daily calorie intake.
What causes this sudden weight gain/loss, if you have any ideas? By "sudden" I mean this- I put on 30 lbs. a couple years ago, the first 10 went on within a week and did not "go away" (NOW it wasn't water retention!), and the last 20 crept on quickly a few months later within a month.
I have done NOTHING to gain the weight, and when this has happened before, I do NOTHING to lose it- it simply goes away when it "feels" like it wishes too. I have had low thyroid for over a decade, but my dr. has been quite good about testing it- it has never once changed since it was first diagnosed, so it's not my thyroid.
Since I DO understand calories, fat, exercise, etc., I honestly cannot suggest that maybe I am eating more than I realize- because I keep track of all I eat (And have been doing this since I was a teenager.)
Any ideas?
Thanks again,
kymberly j. lewis
Answer
Question is
answered by Tanya
Zilberter, PhD
This is a very good question. Generally speaking, there's always a good chance that you didn't count something. Take your body temperature. Did you know that as small a difference as 0.5 degrees Celcium could explain as big body weight change as 10% per year?
Then there's also the calorie density. Calories written on the Nutrition Information label is one thing but the calories your body can really digest is quite a different one.
1. The first one means the amount of heat that would be produced if 1 g. of this food would be burnt in a stove.
2. Not same amount of calories will it produce after you chew on it, swallow, digest, and utilise.
The more fibers in the food, the less energy will be available. The better you chew and longer, the more energy. So the empty calories you've mentioned matter a lot!
Or take the carbohydrate density though it can be considered a sub-case of the calorie density. Take the Glycemic Index. The faster the glucose of a particular food enters the blood stream, the more fattening the food, for one thing, because the sharper the insulin response and the sleepier the eater.
Then there's the Satiety Index meaning that different foods full you differently for the same amounts of calories. You may count, say, potatoes and rice calories as equal but the rice ones will make you hungry faster after. When you're hungry, you body starts saving your energy with many, many little tricks like changing your movement efficiency, body posture (in order to conserve your body heat) and mental alertness so you'll spend less energy.
Then there's the body weight set point that's under food taste influence, leading to a heavier you when you eat more sweets, etc.
