We’ve all been there—diligently trying so hard to feel your best and get healthy, but you notice you’re gaining weight and the number on the scale just keeps going up. We totally get it—try not to blame yourself when this happens. At one point or another, everyone experiences weight gain. For many, it can be extremely tough not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Accepting weight gain can be challenging, but it’s crucial to remind yourself that this doesn’t determine your self-worth. It’s going to be okay! The ultimate goal is to realize that regardless of weight gain, we need to love our bodies no matter how they look as long as they’re healthy, and the number on the scale is no indicator of how amazing you are or all the effort you’ve put into your weight care journey. Clearly, even if you want to lose weight again, the health of your mind and body is more important than how much you weigh. 

Although it may be easy to think—I’m just giving up or this is way TOO hard—try not to ditch your routine. While there’s no one right answer for coping with the disappointment of unexpected weight gain, it is helpful to explore what may be causing it and how to care for yourself. 

This is probably one of the more obvious reasons that people experience unexpected weight gain—changes in diets and exercise routines. In addition to the quality of foods we’re eating, factors like age and eating patterns can also affect how our bodies process calories and gain weight. A more intense workout than your usual movement could be adding muscle weight gain and not fat. Vice versa, regular movement also allows the body to burn calories and boosts metabolism—so if you find that you weren’t able to get as much movement in this week, that could be the culprit for weight gain if your body is used to the routine.

We may see people around us sipping on water bottles or ordering their favorite iced tea at lunch, but most people aren’t drinking as much water as they should be, according to the National Library of Medicine. Although how much water you should be drinking varies from individual to individual, it’s important to remember to sip throughout the day. When you’re dehydrated, your body tends to retain water and bloat. Dehydration also causes your body to confuse signals of thirst with signals of hunger, which can cause you to overeat, ultimately leading you to gain weight.

Premenopause is the transitional period before a woman fully reaches menopause, where she is likely to start gaining weight due to the rise and fall of estrogen levels. Women experience a whirlwind of hormonal changes that make them more likely to gain weight. It also has a lot to do with the aging process and predisposed genetics. Speak with your family members or research your genealogy to find out your family history and what you may possibly experience. Learn more about what foods to eat during menopause.

In this semi-post-pandemic life, stress is inevitable, and too much of it can be a bad thing. In fact, stress releases cortisol, which fuels our body’s sense of fight or flight—think prehistoric times when a caveman was running from an angry woolly mammoth. Our bodies are programmed to release cortisol to restore energy levels and the body’s ability to store fat. The thing is, we no longer need the amount of protection our ancestors needed, but our bodies have remained the same, and it responds in the same way when triggered by a stressful situation. Stress with work, a huge life event, or even constant anxiety has been directly linked with weight gain. When we’re stressed, cortisol levels rise and if they remain high for too long, it can have a negative effect on your body by storing fat, leading to weight gain.

It’s easy to get lost scrolling Instagram late into the night, or catching up on the latest celebrity drama on TikTok way past bedtime, or binge-watching that new series on Netflix and find yourself saying just one more episode. Whatever your indulgence, if you’re doing it way past your high school curfew, you might not be getting enough sleep. A lack of sleep has an overall negative effect on our health and it can actually cause us to gain weight by impacting our metabolism as well as our hunger levels.

The thyroid is one of the most important glands in your body—it controls how your body uses energy and most of the organs in your body. When the body doesn’t produce enough of the metabolism-regulating thyroid hormones known as triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), hypothyroidism occurs​​. When the thyroid begins to slow and deliver low levels of the hormone, your metabolism will slow down as well, causing weight gain. “Nearly 5 out of 100 Americans ages 12 years and older have hypothyroidism, although most cases are mild or have few obvious symptoms,” says the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. This means that if you’re experiencing unexpected weight gain and other symptoms like fatigue and hair loss, you may want to see an endocrinologist.

Occasionally, you may be on medication for other illnesses like diabetes or even anti-depressants that can cause weight gain as a side-effect. It’s important to research the medication before taking it or if you experience rapid weight gain after taking it, your medication may be to blame. Certain medications can stimulate your appetite by causing you to eat more, or they affect your body’s metabolism and make you tired and less motivated to exercise.

Gaining weight can be really hard to accept, but the worst thing you can do is punish yourself for it. Everyone is bound to experience weight gain at one point or another, and it is always important to remember that there is no perfect weight. Punishing yourself for gaining weight will only discourage you and simply make you feel worse about yourself. Practicing self-love will award you the proper motivation in order to make a real change. Don’t give up on yourself, stay positive and focused, and avoid setting unrealistic expectations for yourself.

Your body quickly adapts to the workouts that you do, so it’s important to switch up your workout routine. Focus on weight lifting just as much as cardio because as you build muscle mass, you increase your body’s ability to burn calories. A good way to stay on top of your workout regime and ensure you are always challenging your body is to change up your workouts about every 2 to 3 weeks.

The number you see on the scale should not determine how you feel about yourself. It is easier said than done, of course, but if your body and mind are healthy, focus on those valuable assets and all the good things they allow you to do. The same thing goes for working out: Don’t hyperfocus on the number of calories you burn, but rather on the feeling you get after a good workout.

There is absolutely no worse feeling in the world than realizing that you no longer fit into any of your clothes. That being said, there is no reason to throw out your entire wardrobe and start from scratch especially if you’re working towards losing weight again. Invest in a few pieces that fit now so that you can feel comfortable at every stage of your weight loss journey.

For consistent and sustained weight care, fad diets aren’t the way to go. Trying one may lead to rapid weight-loss, but like other trends—we’re looking at you, low-rise jeans—they don’t last forever. (And let’s just hope those low-risers stay gone.) These fad diets aren’t meant to be followed for a long time, and often when you stop these diets you end up gaining back all the weight you lost. The realistic way to have consistent and sustained weight loss is by building long-term habits such as reducing stress, improving sleep, drinking plenty of water, eating healthy foods, and by incorporating movement into your day-to-day life. It’s important to remember that above all, the most important thing is developing a strong and healthy relationship with your body, the food that nourishes it, and the workouts that strengthen it.