Can't gain weight - Compulsive twiddling of hair?

[mlc2010]

Hi All
I struggle to gain weight and it is so annoying. I'm a male, 5 foot 9 and about 135lbs. I have chronic constipation and lower left abdomen pain. The fact I can't gain weight makes me stressed, and makes me feel like it could be cancer. I have 2 swollen lymph nodes ( they are tiny and never got bigger ) in the left side of my neck, This could be due to the fact that I have had a bad tooth on that side for 10 years? yes 10 years is a long time, it doesnt hurt but I hate the dentist, but maybe I should have it pulled..

I have had my cortisol tested a while back, and it came back high throughout the day, although cushings have been ruled out, I also had high levels of RT3. I have tried t3 only to bring it down, but that was just like a sugar pill to me. I could easily take 75mcg of t3, and not feel any different.. I have tried 3 different brands too

T4 I thought helped, it gave me daily bowel movements along with magnesium citrate, however that has stopped, it could be due to getting a bad batch of t4 or placebo

I have an unusual thing, where I twiddle the hair on the back of my head, I know I'm doing it, but I cannot stop it. I find that when I have my haircut and its short, and I feel good, I stop doing it.. until it grows back, and I'm twiddling it again. I don't really have anything to be stressed about in life, maybe a lot of worry

I have some periactin here, I have tried it before and it did make me hungry, but didnt help with constipation I don't think. Any ideas? Can high levels of cortisol cause inability to gain weight and weight loss?

 

[cantstoppeating]

...

I have some periactin here, I have tried it before and it did make me hungry, but didnt help with constipation I don't think. Any ideas? Can high levels of cortisol cause inability to gain weight and weight loss?

Yes it can. A high level of cortisol is often accompanied with a high level of adrenaline which combine to keep your body in a catabolic state. Your appetite stays low and whatever food you do eat can sometimes end up around your gut if you have an imbalance of cortisol and adrenaline, giving you the 'skinny fat' appearance.

The solution is to continue Peating and look into substances to lower you cortisol.

 

[Tarmander]

I have had this issue before, not quite as bad, but the chronic stressed skinny fat state was my norm for awhile. What kind of calorie intake are you getting? What do your meals look like?

 

[mlc2010]

...

I have some periactin here, I have tried it before and it did make me hungry, but didnt help with constipation I don't think. Any ideas? Can high levels of cortisol cause inability to gain weight and weight loss?

Yes it can. A high level of cortisol is often accompanied with a high level of adrenaline which combine to keep your body in a catabolic state. Your appetite stays low and whatever food you do eat can sometimes end up around your gut if you have an unbalance of cortisol and adrenaline, giving you the 'skinny fat' appearance.

The solution is to continue Peating and look into substances to lower you cortisol.

That makes sense, I have a tiny layer of fat around my stomach

I have bought some phosphatidylserine to lower cortisol, any other cortisol lowering substances? I hear t3 helps with cortisol clearance, but for a thin guy, that will make me even more catabolic

 

[mlc2010]

I have had this issue before, not quite as bad, but the chronic stressed skinny fat state was my norm for awhile. What kind of calorie intake are you getting? What do your meals look like?

one big meal, maybe steak.. broccoli.. somthing healthy

then a huge homemade protein drink.. 2 scoops oats, 2 scoops protein powder, olive oil.. around 800-1000 calories

and then thats it.. maybe a few snacks, I just don't feel like eating more, and last time I went to 150lbs, and I had a huge gut and a fat face, with skinny arms, I looked stupid.. but I wasn't working out then and eating a lot of protein drinks, perhaps thats why.. also maybe my high cortisol didn't help

 

[Tarmander]

Tara can give you the links, bottom line though is your probably not eating enough calories. You could probably retitle your post from "cant gain weight" to "stressed out and not hungry." Many anorexics who eat in the 1300-1700 calorie range are not hungry because of how stressed their bodies are.

My guess is if you forced yourself to eat, you'd gain weight and depending on how long you've been on this low cal diet you might become ravenous and unable to stop eating for awhile. Not sure how you would gain weight without gaining the fat in the undesirable places.

 

[mlc2010]

Tara can give you the links, bottom line though is your probably not eating enough calories. You could probably retitle your post from "cant gain weight" to "stressed out and not hungry." Many anorexics who eat in the 1300-1700 calorie range are not hungry because of how stressed their bodies are.

My guess is if you forced yourself to eat, you'd gain weight and depending on how long you've been on this low cal diet you might become ravenous and unable to stop eating for awhile. Not sure how you would gain weight without gaining the fat in the undesirable places.

true, but there is gaining weight, and there is gaining weight in just your stomach.. what about muscle mass? I literally have non, and when I workout or try to gain weight, I have the muscle mass of a girl.. it doesn't make sense to me

 

[Tarmander]

You should see how much you actually have to eat to gain muscle. Those guys who bulk up eat large meals every 2 hours when they aren't cutting.

Personally, when I started eating 2500+ calories per day, sometimes 3500, I gained a lot of muscle. Fat too. I would go out on a limb and say for 95% of people, it's very tough to build muscle eating 1500 calories per day.

 

[mlc2010]

You should see how much you actually have to eat to gain muscle. Those guys who bulk up eat large meals every 2 hours when they aren't cutting.

Personally, when I started eating 2500+ calories per day, sometimes 3500, I gained a lot of muscle. Fat too. I would go out on a limb and say for 95% of people, it's very tough to build muscle eating 1500 calories per day.

your totally right, I need to eat more. the constipation issue worries me, the thought of cancer too. I mean, how do you even test for cancer? I'd be more than happy to pay to put my mind at rest, but theres not one universal bloodtest, it would be like looking through a needle in haystack

 

[cantstoppeating]

You don't necessarily need to eat more but you do need to eat the right foods.

Eating more food than you need, in your state, will cause you to get fatter and might exacerbate your existing problems.

Read Danny's book 'Hair Like A Fox' to know what you should be eating and why you should be eating it. Diet alone will take you far since you're currently eating oats, broccoli and olive oil.

 

[Blinkyrocket]

I forced myself to eat 3500 calories and it either did nothing (not enough salt might have been the real problem) or it was the reason I started feeling more stressed and overactive and unable to sleep. The inability to sleep caused some pretty freakin dark emotions to arise. I really like sleep.

On the plus side, I gained 8 pounds but have lost 5 of them by not continuing, I feel better though so I think restoring appetite itself might be better than eating when you don't want to, but idk maybe it was the salt.

 

[InChristAlone]

Take the periactin. Use aged cascara for the constipation.

 

[Westside PUFAs]

I don't know what Peat's view would be on your situation but I can give you my opinion.

You're not underweight. You'd have to lose 10 more pounds to start to go into the underweight catergory:

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assess ... lator.html

No, those BMI calculators are not exact, but they are pretty close.

Appreciate your lean body. People who've never actually been obese have no idea what it's like. I do. I was 235 pounds at my heaviest. That puts me in the obese category at 5'10", 235. I'm now down to about 185. I've lost 50 pounds in less than a year. If you've never been fat, then you have no perspective or understanding of what it's actually like to not just gain "weight," but gain fat on your body. I understand your frustration because I was there once. I wanted to "gain weight." But in reality, I had no idea what I was talking about.

If you want to gain weight, eat good food and workout to build muscle. Muscle puts on weight. If you want to gain fat because you'd rather gain some fat instead of muscle, then eat lots of cream, ice cream, whole milk and cheese. It's really simple. That's how I gained fat on my body. Have a bit of fried foods as well to kill metabolism.

"And it’s the same with cheese too. I advise eating cheese because of its high calcium and protein content, but you have to consider the calories because some cheese has practically no fat, others are basically like a soft butter for their fat content.” - RP from the Herb Doctors show "Weight Loss" 2013, at 4 minutes.


Get that tooth taken care of ASAP. You can die from sepsis from an abscessed tooth.

Everyone has high cortisol, its a stressful world.

Insulin resistance due to excess body fat is not fun. I had it. But since losing body fat I've cured it.

I don't know what else to say. Nothing I say may resonate with you because again, people who don't know what it's like to gain weight, well, they don't know what it's like. It doesn't matter what someone tells you. You have to experience it for yourself.

It is extremely easy to gain weight. It is extremely hard to lose it. For your body to tap into your fat stores is a very complex process, and it takes a long time to get rid of excess fat.

 

[Tarmander]

I don't know what Peat's view would be on your situation but I can give you my opinion.

You're not underweight. You'd have to lose 10 more pounds to start to go into the underweight catergory:

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assess ... lator.html

No, those BMI calculators are not exact, but they are pretty close.

Appreciate your lean body. People who've never actually been obese have no idea what it's like. I do. I was 235 pounds at my heaviest. That puts me in the obese category at 5'10", 235. I'm now down to about 185. I've lost 50 pounds in less than a year. If you've never been fat, then you have no perspective or understanding of what it's actually like to not just gain "weight," but gain fat on your body. I understand your frustration because I was there once. I wanted to "gain weight." But in reality, I have no idea what I was talking about.

If you want to gain weight, eat good food and workout to build muscle. Muscle puts on weight. If you want to gain fat because you'd rather gain some fat instead of muscle, then eat lots of cream, ice cream, whole milk and cheese. It's really simple. That's how I gained fat on my body. Have a bit of fried foods as well to kill metabolism.

"And it’s the same with cheese too. I advise eating cheese because of its high calcium and protein content, but you have to consider the calories because some cheese has practically no fat, others are basically like a soft butter for their fat content.” - RP from the Herb Doctors show "Weight Loss" 2013, at 4 minutes.


Get that tooth taken care of ASAP. You can die from sepsis from an abscessed tooth.

Everyone has high cortisol, its a stressful world.

Insulin resistance due to excess body fat is not fun. I had it. But since losing body fat I've cured it.

I don't know what else to say. Nothing I say may resonate with you because again, people who don't know what it's like to gain weight, well, they don't know what it's like. It doesn't matter what someone tells you. You have to experience it for yourself.

It is extremely easy to gain weight. It is extremely hard to lose it. For your body to tap into your fat stores is a very complex process, and it takes a long time to get rid of excess fat.

http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2012/12 ... tance.html

 

[Westside PUFAs]

http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2012/12/4/women-and-men-of-substance.html

Emotional pandering to people who are too emotional to accept their fatness. Like I said, I was obese just 1 year ago. Skype with me and I'll show you pictures. Excess body fat is excess body fat, but the key point is, if it doesn't bother you, then you have nothing to worry about. If you have excess fat, and it doesn't give you any health problems, then you have nothing to think about. Just get along with your life and fat, (not you specifically, I'm talking in general terms) and you're fine. If you have excess fat, and you don't care what friends or family or anyone thinks about it, then you have nothing to worry about. Excess fat doesn't care what you think of it, it is simply there or not there. Similarly, if you have too little fat and it doesn't bother you or give you health problems then you have nothing to worry about either. But the OP here does have problems from it and he's asking for peoples opinion. Like I said, the BMI calculators are not exact. But there are in fact ways to test your exact body fat percentage, but they require going out of your way to do so. I'll do a post on that. But you should know that I don't care if someone is fat or skinny. It doesn't effect me. I don't want to force people to eat how I eat or do what I do nor hold my views. To me, there is no such thing as fat shaming or skinny shaming, there just is what is, and it's how people choose to react to it that makes it matter or not to them. I was just simply giving my opinion to the OP and sharing my experience with being in his position when I was really lean, to then becoming obese. He can take from it what he will. In certain countries, being fat is looked at a bit different than in the US, Can, AZ, NZ, UK, and parts of Europe. The Canadian born and raised but Indian by ethnicity comedian Russell Peters once talked about how he became fat over the years, and when he visited India people would come up to him and poke fun at him for being fat. But they did so in a way that is different from here. They did it in a friendly, yet very surprised way. The idea of "fat shaming" is foreign to them.

 

[Tarmander]

http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2012/12/4/women-and-men-of-substance.html

Emotional pandering to people who are too emotional to accept their fatness. Like I said, I was obese just 1 year ago. Skype with me and I'll show you pictures. Excess body fat is excess body fat, but the key point is, if it doesn't bother you, then you have nothing to worry about. If you have excess fat, and it doesn't give you any health problems, then you have nothing to think about. Just get along with your life and fat, (not you specifically, I'm talking in general terms) and your fine. If you have excess fat, and you don't care what friends or family or anyone thinks about it, then you have nothing to worry about. Excess fat doesn't care what you think of it, it is simply there or not there. Similarly, if you have too little fat and it doesn't bother you or give you health problems then you have nothing to worry about either. But the OP here does have problems from it and he's asking for peoples opinion. Like I said, the BMI calculators are not exact. But there are in fact ways to test your exact body fat percentage, but they require going out of your way to do so. I'll do a post on that. But you should know that I don't care if someone is fat or skinny. It doesn't effect me. I don't want to force people to eat how I eat or do what I do nor hold my views. To me, there is no such thing as fat shaming or skinny shaming, there just is what is, and it's how people choose to react to it that makes it matter or not to them. I was just simply giving my opinion to the OP and sharing my experience with being in his position when I was really lean, to then becoming obese. He can take from it what he will. In certain countries, being fat is looked at a bit different then in the US, Can, AZ, NZ, UK, and parts of Europe. The Canadian born and raised but Indian by ethnicity comedian Russell Peters once talked about how he became fat over the years, and when he visited India people would come up to him and poke fun at him for being fat. But they did so in a way that is different from here. They did it in a friendly, yet very surprised way. The idea of "fat shaming" is foreign to them.

Sounds like you have the whole weight thing figured out. Good for you.

Every body is a bit different. Personally at a BMI of 19 I felt awful, but only realized how awful after I gained some weight, some muscle, some mass. Maybe this guy doesn't feel bad, and should appreciate his weight, but I'm guessing from his OCD like behaviors something might be amiss. Maybe he can get by on 1500 calories, <shrug>, I couldn't but I'm open to whatever he wants to try.

 

[Stuart]

Hi All
I struggle to gain weight and it is so annoying. I'm a male, 5 foot 9 and about 135lbs. I have chronic constipation and lower left abdomen pain. The fact I can't gain weight makes me stressed, and makes me feel like it could be cancer. I have 2 swollen lymph nodes ( they are tiny and never got bigger ) in the left side of my neck, This could be due to the fact that I have had a bad tooth on that side for 10 years? yes 10 years is a long time, it doesnt hurt but I hate the dentist, but maybe I should have it pulled..

I have had my cortisol tested a while back, and it came back high throughout the day, although cushings have been ruled out, I also had high levels of RT3. I have tried t3 only to bring it down, but that was just like a sugar pill to me. I could easily take 75mcg of t3, and not feel any different.. I have tried 3 different brands too

T4 I thought helped, it gave me daily bowel movements along with magnesium citrate, however that has stopped, it could be due to getting a bad batch of t4 or placebo

I have an unusual thing, where I twiddle the hair on the back of my head, I know I'm doing it, but I cannot stop it. I find that when I have my haircut and its short, and I feel good, I stop doing it.. until it grows back, and I'm twiddling it again. I don't really have anything to be stressed about in life, maybe a lot of worry

I have some periactin here, I have tried it before and it did make me hungry, but didnt help with constipation I don't think. Any ideas? Can high levels of cortisol cause inability to gain weight and weight loss?

mic2010, It's probably that tooth mate. The inflammation caused by any peridontal disease/serious tooth decay has a cumulative devastating effect on your health. Look at the reason you aren't getting it pulled. You hate dentists. But even you seem to be intuitively aware of what an important health issue it is. Those swollen lymph glands are close to your wonky tooth. Give your body a break from the stress you are inflicting on it because of your fear of dentists. I'm not questioning even for a moment how powerful you feel that aversion to be. But it is setting you up for MUCH more serious problems if you prolong the process.
So even if you have to consult a psychologist to help you face the dentist, get it done. The endotoxin load alone of leaving dental problems unresolved should give you pause.
You may not even have to have it extracted. But the longer you leave it, the more likely that will become.
Good luck!

 

[tara]

I have an old hair twiddling habit too. It seems to get me more when I'm tired, bored, stressed etc, and have long enough hair.

I too am in favour of you attending to your infected tooth. I think the bacteria that typically hang around such environments can be a systemic metabolic burden, as well as having a particular affinity for heart tissue. I know someone who was lucky to survive such an infection on the heart (yay for acute medical care).

About undereating:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4028

@Westside PUFAs, I agree it's easy for some people to gain weight. But not for everybody - anorexia etc involves lack of appetite and fear of food, and it can apparently be very difficult to eat one's way out of (I have not had this experience myself). I don't know that this applies to the OP, but it does seem to apply to some people. I would hazard that if it were easy for the OP, he wouldnt have started this thread.

 

[mlc2010]

3rd day of periactin 4mg and I feel generally great. Less worried about my weight, I'm now 9 stone 10 lbs, up 3lbs.. Have a great appetite, had 3 servings of steak today, maybe 1kg of meat... had some nutella, and some protein drinks with oats, olive oil, whole milk.. had some bananas and pears

still im constipated, so I have ordered some aged cascara and mag citrate.. i dont do a lot of activity so perhaps I need to do some more, however I shouldnt need to bust my arse to have a bowel movements

one thing I noticed with periactin is it seems to effect my nocturnal erections, whether thats because Im sleeping deeper to not notice them, or its driving my cortisol too low?

 

[tara]

Small amounts (eg a tsp) of olive oil or nutella probably aren't a big deal (unless you are particularly intolerant), but I wouldn't eat lots of them, based on their PUFA content.

You may find you can get the benefits of the cyproheptadine with a smaller dose.