I’ve gained 10 lbs in the past 2 years. I know it’s not the end of the world but it does feel like it.
I used to love my body, now I am grossed out by my own reflection. Id like to be confident again.
5’1, previously 117 lbs now 127
What can I do?
I get 10-20k steps a day and lift weights 5-6x a week. I eat mostly whole foods
I have a healthy lifestyle. By this I mean I lift weights 5-6 times a week, get an absolute minimum of 10k steps per day, run a couple times a week, and eat almost exclusively whole foods.
Why is this not enough to be thin?
I binge on whole foods. Yesterday for example, I ate probably 10lbs total of fruit, potatoes, and chicken. That’s literally all I ate, except for a can of beans. TMI but I shit 5 times this morning, including several whole chunks of the fruit I binged on. I ate so much I could barely even sleep (was sweating and had to pee every hour overnight) and couldn’t even exercise as much as I’d planned today.
I even had some junk in my house (chips and cookies) that I didn’t even touch. I’d RATHER eat whole foods. But I can’t control myself around them. I can’t even buy eggs anymore because I have arguably less willpower around them than any other foods.
Im 5’1 and 130 lbs, so just barely in the healthy category but very close to overweight. I’d love to lose about 15 lbs.
I just stop eating.
What exactly is wrong with me?
I’m a 25 year old, petite, arguably pretty white woman.
I have a lot of privilege. I can remember as early as maybe age 5? learning that from strangers I could “act cute” and get what I want (I specifically remember one time being at a garage sale and my mom saying I couldn’t get a certain toy, but I expressed that I really wanted it in an almost performative way and the seller just gave it to me). In middle school similar things happened. A Chuck E. cheese worker used to give me free prizes and pizza.
Unfortunately I never really outgrew it, which I realized when I was with my mom and brother. It was something you needed an ID for (which I had, but didn’t bother taking it out of my purse). My brother said something like “you can’t just pretend the rules don’t apply to you” and my mom chimed in with something like “she’s a pretty girl, they kind of don’t apply to her”.
Since that moment I’ve started to notice things like how I get extra discounts and free stuff, especially from men who are obviously interested in me.
Am I a bad person?
These are the pieces left behind that I didn’t eat. I did eat quite a bit.
In less than 2 months, I have gained over 10 lbs.
In March I was 120 lbs. I am now 130. I am 5’1, so I am becoming overweight.
In addition to the rapid weight gain, my body composition is declining rapidly and it somehow seems like I am both gaining fat and losing muscle.
I try to focus on eating healthy but have severe overeating issues. Today alone I ate 12 whole eggs, in addition to the rest of my food.
Im really embarrased but I don’t know what’s wrong with me and why I can’t stop eating. My a1c is good (5.1), same thing with glucose and insulin.
I have PCOS but have had it for over a year. The rapid weight gain is new.
My doctor just basically told me to eat healthy. I am finding it really difficult though.
What’s wrong with me?
I always see people talking about how one pound of fat is 3500 so of COURSE you didn’t gain weight overnight.
That makes no sense to me? I know 3500 calories is a lot but that isn’t even remotely difficult to eat over my maintenance for me.
I often eat 5000+ calories in a day when I’m not actively counting or restricting, and have multiple times even while counting.
I feel very self conscious about the fact that other people act like that’s an impossible number.
What am I missing?
25f, 5'1, 130 lbs. Diagnosed with PCOS a year and a half ago but these symptoms are new.
I am struggling very badly with my appetite and weight.
I recently broke my favorite pair of jeans that I've had for over 5 years and have always been loose on me. They were too tight.
In December I ran a marathon and weighed 120 lbs. Today I could hardly run 3 miles and I weigh 130 lbs.
I am not sleeping well, and I wake up at around 3 am everyday and think of food. I have started being obsessive with food shopping and spend a significant amount of money buying groceries and/or going out to eat because I simply can't stop eating.
On the whole my diet isn't bad. I just eat copious amounts of food and struggle to stop myself.
When I'm at work, I think of food. When I'm at the gym, I think of food. Immediately after eating a meal I get this primal hunger and feel this hollowness in my stomach and immediately start searching for more to eat, whether I act on it or not.
I do not feel full, period. I will eat a plain bowl of broccoli with the same urgentness as a bowl of ice cream.
I am very self conscious, literally afraid of scaring people with my body although I understand I'm still at a healthy weight. Although if I gain even 1 lb more I will be overweight, and if I keep gaining at the weight I have been I'll be obese soon.
What's wrong with me?
Labs:
10/11/24:
Estrodiol 15.5
FSH 6.9
Prolactin 5.86
Testosterone 0.26
TSH 2.35
T3 0.7
Free T4 0.78
10/29/24:
A1C 5.2%, 34 mmol/mol
Estrodiol 10.5
FSH 9.2
Insulin 5.63
Glucose fasting 75
1/28/25:
Cortisol am 17.7
FSH 9.2
LH 3
Progesterone 0.2
3/20/25:
A1C 5.1%, 32 mmol/mol
Cortisol am 13.4
Cortisol pm 9.49
DHEAS 196
Estrodiol 19.5
FSH 8.7
LH 6.6
Insulin 8.57
Progesterone 0.11
Prolactin 15.1
Testosterone 0.17
TSH 3.93
T3 1.04
Free T4 1.13
Glucose fasting 80
Glucose 2hrs after eating 68
3/21/26:
Prolactin: 5.27
Transvaginal Ultrasound (1/28/25)
"Findings:
Uterus: Anteverted, normal size and morphology, measuring 2.8 cm x 1.7 cm. Parenchymal
echotexture is homogeneous, with no solid, cystic, or calcified nodular formations detected.
Endometrium: Thickness of 3 mm.
Cervix: Closed, with normal length and morphology.
Both ovaries show multiple oval-shaped anechoic images, well-demarcated, with posterior
acoustic enhancement, measuring a few millimeters, distributed around the periphery of the
stroma. Right ovary dimensions: 2.1 cm x 1.0 cm. Left ovary dimensions: 2.4 cm x 1.2 cm.
No evidence of free fluid in the pouch of Douglas.
Conclusion: Pattern consistent with polycystic ovaries."
MRI (10/15/24, repeated 3/15/26 no change)
"The different sequences performed reveal hyperintense punctate foci in T2 and Flair sequences, located at the bilateral frontal level, within the context of foci of gliosis due to microvessel disease, they do not restrict the diffusion that refers to recent vascular lesions.
Small focal signal change at the level of the right glandular wing, caudal aspect, with reduce uptake observed after the injection of contrast medium of about 4mm x 3mm, they are mild lateral left deviation of the pituitary stalk and may correspond to a small pituitary adenoma, it is recommended to correlate with clinic.
The pituitary gland has a normal size and morphology of 10mm x 7mm, globally homogeneous and after the administration of contrast medium, it appears intensely and homogeneously.
Integrity of the cavernous sinus.
The tracts, chiasm and optic nerves have normal course and morphology.
The sphenoid sinus is of the sellar type.
The sella turcica is of normal morphology.
Normal appearance of the clivus.
No cervico-occipital anomalies were evident."
Why is everyone else able to eat normally but I can't?
When I was a kid, I used to have severe social anxiety and selective mutism. I was very intelligent and had no problems talking to my family and close friends at home, but when I was in social settings or with strangers, I couldn't talk. It was like my mind and throat just completely froze up. I used to watch in wonder about how people just ... conversed. I always thought there was something secretly wrong with me (I thought I had a physical disability like Down's Syndrome and everyone around me was just pretending I didn't, or worse, maybe they knew and I was the only one who didn't know).
I eventually outgrew that, but now I experience the same issues with eating. I find it so amazing how people just eat appropriate quantities of foods and don't think about food all day. And I'm humiliated that I have such a problem with it.
I count everything. I spend all day thinking about what I'm going to eat. I'm always hungry. It seriously feel kind the social anxiety I used to have. Like this just comes naturally for everyone??
I am always hungry. I don't get full. In one sitting, I just ate 350g of chicken, 200g of avocado, and 620g papaya. And now I'm struggling to do anything because all I want is more food.
I know people that DONT EVEN FINISH THEIR MEALS. I don't understand. I eat everything and then more.
I'm a fairly petite person (5'1, 125 lbs) and yet I have never once met anyone who even kind of eats as much as me. My 6' bodybuilding ex always ate less than me. My obese family members eat less than me. I eat so much that people comment on it in an awesome struck way.
I'm so embarrassed and I don't know whats wrong with me. I gained 10 lbs this month.
Why is this so hard for me?
Why is everyone else able to eat normally but I can't?
When I was a kid, I used to have severe social anxiety and selective mutism. I was very intelligent and had no problems talking to my family and close friends at home, but when I was in social settings or with strangers, I couldn't talk. It was like my mind and throat just completely froze up. I used to watch in wonder about how people just ... conversed. I always thought there was something secretly wrong with me (I thought I had a physical disability like Down's Syndrome and everyone around me was just pretending I didn't, or worse, maybe they knew and I was the only one who didn't know).
I eventually outgrew that, but now I experience the same issues with eating. I find it so amazing how people just eat appropriate quantities of foods and don't think about food all day. And I'm humiliated that I have such a problem with it.
I count everything. I spend all day thinking about what I'm going to eat. I'm always hungry. It seriously feel kind the social anxiety I used to have. Like this just comes naturally for everyone??
I am always hungry. I don't get full. In one sitting, I just ate 350g of chicken, 200g of avocado, and 620g papaya. And now I'm struggling to do anything because all I want is more food.
I know people that DONT EVEN FINISH THEIR MEALS. I don't understand. I eat everything and then more.
I'm a fairly petite person (5'1, 125 lbs) and yet I have never once met anyone who even kind of eats as much as me. My 6' bodybuilding ex always ate less than me. My obese family members eat less than me. I eat so much that people comment on it in an awesome struck way.
I'm so embarrassed and I don't know whats wrong with me. I gained 10 lbs this month.
Why is this so hard for me?
For some reason Instagram does not stop recommending this girl to me and I get such weird vibes from her.
I guess she's a teacher and her whole "thing" is that she's also a runner and makes tons of day in my life type videos and is promoting herself as a coach too. She's a bit cringy but I guess there are worse things to be. I guess I just kind of get second hand embarrassment seeing her post half naked photos and posting about religion knowing her students are probably following her. And the whole behaving like she's a professional athlete and influencer when she's not
I'm really frustrated because I can't sustain a lower weight. This is my life. Diet for a few weeks, get lazy and overeat for a few weeks, repeat.
What's worse is that every time my lower and higher weights go up a little. Two years ago my lowest weight was 115. Last year it was 118. This year I haven't gone below 120. Highest weights are also a couple lbs up. This is not a trend I'm comfortable with, but don't know what to do to stay consistently at a lower number.
Any advice?
For context I'm 5'1, 25f, so I'm already leaning towards high end of healthy range. I recently weighed 131 lbs which is actually overweight, despite being a full 10 lbs lighter just 2 months ago.
Several people in my life have known I haven't been getting periods. And now they see me hungry all the time, moody, eating huge amounts of food, gaining weight.
People think I'm secretly pregnant. Which is humiliating.
*And to be clear I haven't had sex since before my periods stopped. 2 years ago. And bloodwork has shown no ovulation and no pregnancy. I'm not pregnant
I'm just curious because the trend seems to be super lean and skinny and all of the influencers Instagram shows me are those skeletal ones obsessed with greek yogurt and cottage cheese.
I personally know multiple people that have gone from morbidly obese to nearly underweight due to GLP1s. I know that they are being prescribed and used a lot more (which is great, I understand it's a life changing medication).
I'm just wondering if this will cause a shift in the culture. Since it's now a lot easier to be skinny, will we go back to a strong not skinny type of vibe? Or will, God forbid, healthy looking bodies become popular?
I reached out to my doctor, who diagnosed me with PCOS 1.5 years ago. I had been a healthy weight that whole time but recently gained 10 lbs in one month and am now overweight.
I asked the doctor for help and mentioned family history of diabetes. All I was told is that my a1c, Glucose, and insulin were normal last year and I show no signs of diabetes. I was told to just track my calories if I'm worried, but that my weight is fine.
There's no way this kind of weight gain is normal, especially with family history and PCOS. I really think something is going on. But my doctor does not care
TLDR: I'm having a huge problem with binge eating. The problem is fairly recent, causing me to have gain now about 10 lbs in the past couple months (its a pretty steady 2lbs per week).
I started with a normal BMI, I am now officially overweight.
Yesterday I ate a pound of ground chicken with quinoa, 7 boiled eggs with some cheese and tortillas, 3 cups of fruit, peanut butter and banana protein oatmeal bowl.
Total calories: 2500. This was a better day, comparatively, than others.
I reached out to my primary care doctor as suggested by some people here. All he told me was that my A1C was normal (5.1) and everything else was in normal limits so there's nothing he can do. Just suggested I track calories, which I already am doing.
I have not reached out to a therapist at this point because my current insurance doesn't cover it. When I start my next job later this year, I plan to start therapy. I am worried though, because but that point I will be obese unless something changes.
I do not know where to go from here. I know I'm overeating, I know I'm overweight, I know I don't want to keep doing this. But I can't stop.
I sprained my ankle like 10 years ago and it never fully healed, about 1/2 the time it shows up on TSA and has to be patted down, even if I'm wearing shorts and flip flops.
My back also has been in pain lately and it showed up on the scanner the last time I flew
I know this is not how most people do splits, but I'm planning to add a core day to my routine.
Basically instead of upper lower, I'm going to do upper lower core. So basically chest, back, biceps and triceps, then glutes, quads, and hips, and on the last day abs and middle/lower back.
My reasoning is mostly to improve posture and core strength overall for things like calisthenics, contortion, cardio, and for symmetry.
What kinds of moves would you suggest for this day?
So far thinking leg raises, torso rotation, weighted planks, hyperextension, maybe conventional deadlift?
I'm feeling really defeated. I applied to all of the cruise lines. I have 10+ years of experience doing basically the exact job and similar. I'm passionate about and good at what I do.
Only one line offered an interview. They sent an email rejecting me 2 days later. That's it. I'm just out of luck now I guess.
I emailed the interviewer for feedback but have no clue if I'll get a response.
Is it this hard for everyone, or is something wrong with me?