Can’t put weight on

[shotta287]

Basically, no matter what I eat I’m struggling to put weight on. I lost some weight back in May and I haven’t been able to put it back on. I’m by no means underweight but a few people have commented that I look a bit thinner than usual. I’m not dropping in weight further and I don’t have any stomach or bowel symptoms. Appetite is fine too.

I have a sister who has coeliac disease but I have been tested negative following a blood test.

The only thing is though, I have had a difficult past 6 months or so, my health anxiety has been high, haven’t been sleeping well, had a death in the family and a few others things. Can this result in not being able to put on weight even though I am eating fine?

[ankietyjoe]

How do you know you're eating enough food to put weight on? What exactly do you eat, and how heavy/active are you now?

[NancyW]

What is your height and weight?

If your in a healthy weight range, no worries.

I do believe stress and anxiety affects the scale, I remember a particularly bad episode of HA where my weight kept dropping. It made me wonder if anxiety actually revs up your metabolism.

[shotta287]

I am 5’9/10 and weigh around 66kg. I know it’s a reasonable weight for me height albeit a little on the thin side.

Start of the year i was around 67/68kg and I dropped some weight back in May like I said and haven’t been able to put it back on.

I don’t eat shed loads, but have tried eating a little more than usual these past 2 months or so. Now normally, I would gain a little weight at least but slowly (I naturally have a fast metabolism) but this time I’m not putting any on.

[ankietyjoe]

Well you still haven't defined what it is you're eating.

'I don't eat shed loads' and 'eating a little more' are meaningless in terms of comparison, and you're almost certainly worrying over nothing.

If you really want to quantify your concerns you need to track exactly what you're eating, and then track increases in food intake.

[Adam1987]

I'm in a similar position mate. I am 5'8'' and 12 weeks ago was weighing around 72-73kg. After a tough 3 months with my health anxiety plus also being on a bit of an IBS diet I've dropped to 68-69kg and people keep telling me I've lost weight which then makes me worry more. It's a vicious cycle. I think we are in the healthy range though so maybe worry if it drops more rather than not being able to put it back on.

[ankietyjoe]

Losing weight with anxiety is completely normal by the way. You're basically firing cortisol and adrenaline all day.

[Hypo84]

No medical issue is causing this. Eat more calories and you will gain weight, simple as that. As it is now, you are eating at maintenance level.

Add more carbs and healthy fat to your diet and you will gain weight easily. Try eating 50-60g of peanuts on top of what you are doing now and add something else, more fruit etc and you will start gaining weight.

[MrLurcher]

When I went through an MS worry last year, I lost a stone in a month. The stress affected my eating habits - basically felt too sick with worry to eat. Got paranoid, and asked for blood tests - all came back normal. It was a good thing in a way, as I'd put weight on prior to that month, however it's back on again now!

[shotta287]

Well I admit I do eat quite a fair bit of junk, I’ll have burgers, chips or something at least twice a week. I average around 2000 calories a day maybe, some days maybe 1800 or something.

Prior to May, if I ate how much I’m eating nowadays, I would put on at least a little weight.

My doctor refuses to refer me for a biopsy for celiac (I asked for one even though my bloods were negative but my sister has it and biopsy is the only 100% way of knowing).

I had some IBS like stomach issues back in the summer which are pretty much all gone now. So I wonder what this could be. Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve had a stressful past 6 months. Maybe my metabolism has sped up?