6 Reasons Why You've Suddenly Gained Weight

When you have no idea why you are adding on kilograms, here’s what might be going on. Sometimes you don’t have to wonder why you’ve picked up those extra kilograms, like when you’ve just come from that Tuesday night out where they had chips and desert. Or when you had that busy week at work with no time to walk around due to an unusually heavy workload. These instances are very common and you actually don’t need to worry about small fluctuations in your weight.

However, there are some times that you just accumulate some extra weight and you’re at a loss to know where those kilograms came from. If you’ve added 3 kilograms in just a matter of weeks, it’s time to take notice and see what’s going on.

Weight fluctuations of about 3 kilograms or more is common among women, but not in men. If your weight has been stable for a number of months or years, what could be causing the sudden weight gain? Here are some things that could explain that.

There’s too much salt in your diet

Consuming sodium causes your body to retain water. Water has weight and volume. So if you eat a lot of salty food for several days in a row then you’re likely to gain weight. Fast food is loaded with sodium, so eating takeaway for consecutive days could account for the sudden influx of kilograms. Keep in mind though that even some common household items have a lot of sodium in them, bread, sandwiches, cold cuts, and cured meat are top of the list.

Taking new medication

There are a number of medications that might cause weight gain. In fact, about 15% of obesity cases are due to medication. Medications prescribed for depression and heart disease are two of the most common culprits. Others that can add weight are sleep-aids, painkillers, antihistamines, steroids, and testosterone-building supplements.

You are actually eating more than you know

Although this seems obvious, people don’t realize right away how quickly this can happen. If you’ve been eating more than your body needs, that is more than your metabolic rate, you’ll have a 3 to 5 kilogram increase in your weight just like that. The changes can be subtle but you have to recognize them. Weekly ‘happy hours’, increasing your portion size because of new sized dinnerware you bought will have those extra kilograms piling up. Do you know your metabolic rate? You can find it out here: https://www.bmrcalculator.com.au/

Switched to a Higher Carbohydrate Diet

If you adopt a low carb plan like Keto then move to a diet that has more grain and starches, then you will definitely notice a difference in your weight.

You Lost Weight Recently

Body weight and fat are tightly regulated and our body is designed to create balance. Kilograms that you drop will likely return even if you keep to your weight loss routines. So if you’ve recently lost some weight, expect to put some of it back on regardless of how often you exercise or how much you are eating.

You have an endocrine disorder

One in 5 adults has an under-active thyroid or hypothyroidism and this can cause sudden or significant weight gain. Aside from this, another hormone disorder that can cause you to add on weight is Cushing’s disease, although quite rare.