Advice/Support?

[Yo_Adrian]

I've always been overweight, but recently I've balloned up about 50 pounds (over about 1/2 a year). My diet hasn't changed and if anything, I've become more physically active. I'm 22 years old, 5'5", and now weight about 220 lbs. I'm trying to figure out what could have caused this and what I can do to lose weight. I think I might have an abnormally slow metabolism. I walk/jog about 4 hours a day (I'm a part-time professional dog walker) and have just added a treadmill routine to my workout. I eat relatively well and take vitamin B12, vitamin D and a multivitamin everyday. Anyone have any advice as to how I can boost my metabolism and/or lose all this weight?
Thanks!

[rressnc]

You may have PCOS... there are lots of websites with information on it I would research this as weight gain and difficulty to lose weight are both symptoms of PCOS. You may want to ask your physician about this.

[OytheGreat]

This much weight gain is sending off some red flags. I definitely think a thyroid test is in order. If the blood tests come out negative, keep pushing for more tests.

What is your diet like? Did the extra exercise cause you to eat more? You'd have to eat a large amount of food in order to gain weight with all the exercise you do, however.

Did the weight come on slowly or suddenly? Were you, say, 210lb one day, then 215 lbs the day after? Fast weight gain like that is usually caused because of water retention.

I don't know. Please get checked out and let us know what you find.

[Barb135]

Have you had your thyroid checked?  Hypothyroidism is a major cause of sudden spikes in weight.  Your thyroid controls your metabolism and when it's not working right, your metabolism isn't working right either.  I gained about 30 pounds in < 3 months when my thyroid quit working.

Ask your doctor to test TSH, Free T3 and Free T4.