Just want to give a shout out to those who encouraged blood work.
I still don't have a full/final answer for what's been wrong with me, but I do know that I have a small tumor on my pituitary gland that has caused a handful of important hormone levels to be off. I never would have known that had I not got blood work to see the problem and later an MRI to spot the tumor. It's so small (microadenoma / prolactinoma) that surgery isn't an option and there's been no real fix to things -- but I know it's there and what's going on.
I've always been active, played sports, lifted weights, etc. But I hit a stretch where I plateaued at 208 lbs. and a 6 pack and slowly climbed to 300 pounds over the course of 2 years (and the first 60-70 was in year 1).
I only mention all this because I thought I was crazy. Whenever I sought help or advice, I got the same answer "diet and exercise, bro." Well, I bought a BodyMedia Fit armband to measure output, measured all of my calories to the single kcal with a scale, labels, and the fitday app, and even took the unhealthy route of the hCG diet where only 500 kcal were consumed a day and after the first few days of water weight lost, I was gaining weight steadily. I had an endocronologist at a research university (published author) talking to me like an idiot -- "You see, your body is like a bank account; you have to take out more than you put in." That was after I'd explained to him the thoroughness of my notes and observations (printouts of macro/calorie intakes over weeks at a time, etc.).
So yes, the general answer here is caloric expenditure vs. RMR/BMR and caloric intake. But if you've done that and are still seeing no results (and you're sure you've been thoroughly measuring/tracking -- not just "being close" by guesstimating it), then definitely get some blood work done and go from there.
Good luck to you, OP, and anyone else who is reading this who may be in that same boat.
