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why am i gaining? i need opinions!

hello everyone,
my name is partona, and i need some opinions. i'm a 20 year old college student, and i've never been overweight... until 2 years ago i ate whatever i wanted and often overate, but never gained. i stayed around 110 pounds, usually more like 105. now, i'm working out 5 days a week (running, biking, weight lifting) and trying really hard to watch what i eat. i live on campus but almost never indulge in ice cream or other sweets that are constantly available in the cafeteria. i do snack but i try to keep it healthy, and enjoy chocolate and salty snacks only in small portions. the problem is, since i've moved into school in september, i've gone up to about 116 lbs. i know that's not that big, but i'm concerned because i have no idea why i'm gaining. am i eating too much, not exercising enough, is my metabolism slowing down, is the cafeteria food too greasy?? i'll leave a link to my log (which i update all the time), so if you have time please check it out and tell me what you think is going on, and what i should do, if anything.
TIA,
partona


Link

Mon. Oct 30, 2:47pm

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Are you drinking a lot of booze? A lot of people who start college put on weight because of all the beer. Also, your body does tend to change as you get older, although not usually in your early twenties.

Monday, October 30, 2006, 3:05 PM

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OP here-
nope, i don't drink at all. or smoke. or do drugs. i'm really health-minded! that's why i don't get it...

Monday, October 30, 2006, 3:09 PM

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I think the real question is: WHAT are you gaining? It seems unlikely that you would be gaining fat, but you might be gaining muscle. That's not bad. Have you tried measuring your body fat percentage as opposed to your weight?

Monday, October 30, 2006, 3:11 PM

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I think you are gaining muscle. I don't think you are eating all that well. I see a lot of crazy eating. Not organized at all. I totaly understand the school eating thing, been there, done that.
I would do a few things that would cut some calories. Find some breakfast, that is high in fiber, and low fat milk, try to go down to skim milk. Perhaps Oatmeal. Cut out the soda pop and juice, try to drink water, or diet. Lunch add as much veggies as you can, and same with dinner.
If you were more organized it might help

Monday, October 30, 2006, 3:29 PM

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Have you compared your calories burned in exercise (caloriesperhour.com) to the calories you are eating? For example, if your gym routine burns about 500 calories for a 1-hour workout, and then you eat 2 slices of pizza (600 calories), you'll be gaining weight. If you can make the effort to record all your calories eaten and all your calories burned for 2-3 days, you may be able to see what is happening.

Monday, October 30, 2006, 3:45 PM

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thanks everybody for your quick responses! 3:29- i agree with you... my diet is crazy sometimes... at school i always use either skim milk or soy milk, but on weekends i eat at my boyfriends house so i don't have total control... i usually try to go with healthy cereal too.. like granola or kashi or cheerios or something. again weekends are hard for me.
but, y'all think it's muscle? i'm not sure... it's hard to tell how many calories you spend in a day. because true i might only expend a few hundred cals in the gym, but then what about waling to class, walking up stairs to my dorm, ect ect. i am pretty active. but like i said sometimes i do snack alot, and i eat pizza, so i don't know. thanks for your responses though, keep em coming!

Monday, October 30, 2006, 4:16 PM

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How do your clothes fit? If there is no change there, then ignore the number on the scale.

Monday, October 30, 2006, 4:22 PM

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A couple of notes... I don't know that they apply to the OP but they're related to the subject.
Adding muscle adds weight, but people sometimes overestimate how much. It's uncommon to add 10 pounds or more of muscle. But it is more likely for that to happen when you are younger (age 15-25 or so). And typically there is more muscle gain by men than by women, as you'd expect.
If you do strenuous exercise (as opposed to gentle), there's more tendency to retain water in the muscles. This is part of the recovery process and you wouldn't want to stop that.
Also, people can still be growing overall around age 18-20. I think this is also more the case for guys, who sometimes grow an inch or two taller in the late teens, occasionally more. I think girls usually stop adding height earlier, but I don't know if there is still bone or organ growth going on. Maybe someone else knows more about that.
And with all that said... the typical cause of weight gain in adults is eating too much. (sigh)

Monday, October 30, 2006, 4:58 PM

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Are you pregnant?

Monday, October 30, 2006, 6:23 PM

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Does your school have a health center? If yes, make an appointment with a nurse practitioner and a nutritionist (if they have one). Discuss your concerns re your weight and your eating. It is super likely that you already pay for your health cent through one of the various fees you pay at the beginning fo the semester. Take advantage of money already spent and get some good information about your own health.

As an aside to one of the earlier posters who mentioned growing - I actually added half an inch somewhere in my early to mid-20s. I have no idea how that happened, but suddenly I was consistently measuring a half an inch taller and I don't think it was just better posture).

Monday, October 30, 2006, 11:16 PM

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Wow, first I have to say I've never seen anyone eat that much cereal. I think if your going to eat cereal you should choose something a little better. It does seem look like you eat a lot, I am wondering if you've ever totaled the calories for a few days? I would try to cut back on 300 - 400 cals a day, so maybe a bowl of cereal. If you want to eat snacks so much maybe try for more fruit or veggies. I would also try eating more fiber.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006, 2:36 AM

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OP again

unfortunately, some of my pants are too tight around the waist. that's part of how i noticed a difference.
NO, i'm pretty sure that i am not pregnant. i sure hope i'm not pregnant! but then again, i've only gained like 10 pounds in 2 months... i think i'd be gaining more if i was.
2:36 poster- yes i do eat alot of cereal... almost always a bowl (ok, or two) for breakfast, and another as a snack in the evening because it's easy and that's what i have in my dorm. i didn't realize that was so much! Is two bowls a day ok? or just one? please advise.
also... so we've established that i'm probably eating too much. my next question is- am i eating too much at meals, or is it the snacking that's bringing me down? or both? also remember that it's halloween, so i'm eating a bit more candy & junk than i normally do.
again, thanks everyone for helping me out.
-partona

Tuesday, October 31, 2006, 9:55 AM

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Uh, overall suggested weight gain for a pregnancy is only about 25 to 35 pounds, maybe up to 45 pounds, which is about 3-5 pounds per month, and your 10 pounds in 2 months could fit the pattern. Are you also suffering a little indigestion or nausea (aka morning sickness)?

Tuesday, October 31, 2006, 10:18 AM

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AHHHH!

no... no morning sickness- like symptoms. you guys are freakin me out!!!
i should be getting my period within the next week... so i guess we'll see. but also, i couldn't have been pregnant for the past two months because i've had my period every month. so yeah... i really don't think i'm pregnant.

Tuesday, October 31, 2006, 10:25 AM

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Maybe check your height. I actually grew about and inch and a half when I was twenty. I didn't even notice until I saw an old highschool friend who had always been the exact height as me and I was noticably taller.
Or maybe you're just changing from a teenage stick to a real woman ;-)

Tuesday, October 31, 2006, 11:10 AM

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as far as the cereal..a lot of "serving sizes" are anywhere from 1/2c to 1 1/4c so if you are eating a whole bowl you could potentially be eating over 500 cals/bowl depending on the cereal! sad but true & i LOVE cereal!! i would say try to cut back on the sweets too...another hard one..i <3 sugar too & would definitely weight less if i didnt have such a sweet tooth! dont deprived yourself completely tho bc you'll only want it more. maybe limit it to one "treat"/day or something like that.....

Tuesday, October 31, 2006, 4:01 PM

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OP here: to sum up...

thanks guys.
although i don't see my self as "fat" per se, i do think that i do need to really push myself to monitor my snacking and portion sizes. i think that because i see people around me eating so badly, by comparison it seemed like i was eating really well. for example- my boyfriend ate 2 donuts in one day this weekedn; i ate a half. while that's a significant improvement, i still shouldn't be eating donuts.
thanks to everyone who read this and gave their 2 cents. come by and check out my log every once & a while ;)

Wednesday, November 01, 2006, 10:20 AM

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