Is it the Prednisolone that's ruining my weight loss?

VictoriaEllis1984

I'm currently on 20mg of Pred and have lost 26lbs over the last 3 months by going on a low carb diet then slowly introducing exercise. Things were going great, but now my weight loss has slowed so much that it took almost a month to shift just 1lb. I am keeping to my calorie count and have really upped my exercise (3 weights sessions, 4 swimming sessions). I generally don't eat back all the calories burnt and usually end with a weekly deficit of about 500-700 calories. I have about 8lb to go reach my goal weight of 140lb. The question how is, do you think its the pred that is inhibiting my weight loss?

queenliz99

When you close to your goal weight, you need to be more precise with your intake. I was on prednisone for many years and I think I was just hungrier than most. I didn't track my calories back then.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/113609/relatively-light-people-trying-to-get-leaner/p1

VictoriaEllis1984

Thank you so much for this link! I think I'm just not being patient enough!

luv2shimmy

How long have you been on the pred? I would think its a combination of the fact that you're getting closer to your goal weight (as queenliz mentioned) and the prednisolone - one of the side effects is weight gain, and in the patients I've had, the weight gain is usually pretty pronounced.

VictoriaEllis1984

I've been on it for 4 months. Started at 60mg and have tapered to 20mg. Docs say I'm going to stay on it for a while, so don't want to get myself worked up about something that I don't have any control over. But then again, i don't want it to be an excuse either if that makes any sense at all!!

luv2shimmy

It totally makes sense. A 500-700 weekly calorie deficit actually makes sense for losing about a pound a month, though. If 1 lb of weight loss equals a deficit of 3500 calories, then I think you're probably doing pretty well. I know it's frustrating, but keeping it slow and steady is probably the best way to do it. Especially while you're taking a medication that tends to cause weight gain.

vespiquenn

I agree with the others that your weight loss is going to slow. The medication itself will not make you gain weight, or lose weight for that matter. Rather, it increases or decreases your appetite.

When I was on 20mg, I also found that my bathroom visits became less frequent to the point of needing Doctor attention over it. They took me off because the risks were out weighting the benefits. However, this is a common side effect of the medication. So it is very possible you are holding more waste in your body that normal, masking weight loss.

Just continue logging, get a food scale if you haven't already because your room for error is shrinking, be patient, and keep plugging along. If you're accurate in everything you log, it will come off.

vingogly

I started at 257 lbs, I'm at 185, and my target weight is 170 (15 lbs to go). My weight loss has halted. I haven't been doing exercise, and am not absolutely scrupulous about tracking my intake; when I was 70+ lbs overweight "more or less" was adequate, but now this approach isn't taking off the pounds any more. I suspect I need to get back to the health club and get obsessive about weighing and recording to take off the rest.

I don't know how much the prednisone is affecting things for you, but I suspect you'd be seeing a slowdown in weight loss even if you weren't on it.

VictoriaEllis1984

t_tullius wrote: »

It totally makes sense. A 500-700 weekly calorie deficit actually makes sense for losing about a pound a month, though. If 1 lb of weight loss equals a deficit of 3500 calories, then I think you're probably doing pretty well. I know it's frustrating, but keeping it slow and steady is probably the best way to do it. Especially while you're taking a medication that tends to cause weight gain.

I'm keeping to the 500 calorie deficit set at the beginning of this process, then the calories burnt add on another 500-700 calories. So technically it equates to about 4000-4200 deficit per week. I am guessing that I need to readdress the daily calorie deficit as this may have reduced now I have lost the weight.

Nachise

Prednisone makes me want to eat everything in sight. If you are on a plateau, cut 100 calories from your daily intake and try that for two weeks. It will often kickstart progress from a plateau.

kshama2001

vingogly wrote: »

I started at 257 lbs, I'm at 185, and my target weight is 170 (15 lbs to go). My weight loss has halted. I haven't been doing exercise, and am not absolutely scrupulous about tracking my intake; when I was 70+ lbs overweight "more or less" was adequate, but now this approach isn't taking off the pounds any more. I suspect I need to get back to the health club and get obsessive about weighing and recording to take off the rest.

I don't know how much the prednisone is affecting things for you, but I suspect you'd be seeing a slowdown in weight loss even if you weren't on it.

This, plus a temporary slow down due to water retention from upping the exercise.

SLLRunner

VictoriaEllis1984 wrote: »

I'm currently on 20mg of Pred and have lost 26lbs over the last 3 months by going on a low carb diet then slowly introducing exercise. Things were going great, but now my weight loss has slowed so much that it took almost a month to shift just 1lb. I am keeping to my calorie count and have really upped my exercise (3 weights sessions, 4 swimming sessions). I generally don't eat back all the calories burnt and usually end with a weekly deficit of about 500-700 calories. I have about 8lb to go reach my goal weight of 140lb. The question how is, do you think its the pred that is inhibiting my weight loss?

You are already close to a normal weight, so it's going to take longer now. A 500-700 deficit is too aggressive, so you should aim for a 250 calorie deficit and make sure your logging is accurate because you have little margin for error.

SLLRunner

VictoriaEllis1984 wrote: »

t_tullius wrote: »

It totally makes sense. A 500-700 weekly calorie deficit actually makes sense for losing about a pound a month, though. If 1 lb of weight loss equals a deficit of 3500 calories, then I think you're probably doing pretty well. I know it's frustrating, but keeping it slow and steady is probably the best way to do it. Especially while you're taking a medication that tends to cause weight gain.

I'm keeping to the 500 calorie deficit set at the beginning of this process, then the calories burnt add on another 500-700 calories. So technically it equates to about 4000-4200 deficit per week. I am guessing that I need to readdress the daily calorie deficit as this may have reduced now I have lost the weight.

Too aggressive for what little you have to lose.

gothchiq

Yes, the Prednisone is a problem. It bloats you and predisposes you to weight gain. Keep up your efforts and look forward to the end of the treatment when you'll see normal progress again. Eat no less than 1200 calories plus half of your exercise calories.

kittyy250

I was on pred for months and lost a lot of weight!
It isn't the drug that makes you gain weight, it is just that it increases appetite which can lead to over eating and weight gain. Just stick to your calories and you'll be fine!

llleslllie

You have a weekly deficit of 500-700 calories? That would be a monthly deficit of 2000-2800 calories, which actually should result in a little less than a pound lost each month. So your 1 pound lost in a month is right on track! You need to create a deficit of around 3500 calories to lose a pound of fat, so if you really want to lose weight faster you could just decrease your calories or increase your exercise. Or you could just continue at your current deficit and steadily lose nearly a pound per month.

JenniferNoll

I gained 70 pounds on prednisone. I was taking 80 mg a day for almost 6 months. I found that it made me very hungry. Hungry to the point where I would lose total control over what and how much I ate. It also made me borderline psychotic. Now my doctors only put me on it when I can be supervised in a hospital setting. Everyone reacts differently to different medications.

lovebirb

hated that drug.. i was on it for 5 days for an asthma attack, and every night I ate an entire pizza for dinner..so awful!!! now i am really focused on avoiding asthma triggers bc the drug is scarier than the asthma attk lmao. wth... entire pizzas...

dragon_girl26

A friend of mine years ago used to be on prednisone to manage her Krohn's disease. Usually the more she took, the more she always seemed to puff up. At the time, though, I attributed it to water weight, but likely she was eating more as well. Either way, it was never a fun experience for her.

Karissa_K79

I hate prednisone. It always makes me hyper and hungry. I wouldn't track but eat a bunch of protein with it. I hope you feel better soon!

Christine_72

I'm not on any medication, but I've got around 6lbs left to lose, and I'm losing at the same rate as you OP. As long as you're still losing and not gaining, and with the deficit you mentioned i think you're pretty much on track.

klbrowser

It could be a combination of the prednisone and being close to your goal. What is most important is that you stick with a healthy diet and whatever exercise you can tolerate, whether your weight decreases or not. Toward the end of my weight loss, it sometimes took me six weeks to lose a single pound. Patience is a virtue here.

VictoriaEllis1984

llleslllie wrote: »

You have a weekly deficit of 500-700 calories? That would be a monthly deficit of 2000-2800 calories, which actually should result in a little less than a pound lost each month. So your 1 pound lost in a month is right on track! You need to create a deficit of around 3500 calories to lose a pound of fat, so if you really want to lose weight faster you could just decrease your calories or increase your exercise. Or you could just continue at your current deficit and steadily lose nearly a pound per month.

I still have my daily 500 cal deficit but on top of that I have about 500-700 left from calories I havent eaten from exercise. So the total is about 4000 calories a week.

VictoriaEllis1984

klbrowser wrote: »

It could be a combination of the prednisone and being close to your goal. What is most important is that you stick with a healthy diet and whatever exercise you can tolerate, whether your weight decreases or not. Toward the end of my weight loss, it sometimes took me six weeks to lose a single pound. Patience is a virtue here.

I think you are right! And like the other replies here, pred makes you only focus on food which is annoying!! It slips into everything you do. Writing an email 'oooh I fancy a sandwich the size of my head'. Walking the dog 'oooh I could just do with destroying a family size bar of chocolate' You start to think youre obsessed! Never was like this before! But yes, I think a combo of water weight, getting closer to my goal and lack of patience is at play here!!

Thank you all for your kind supportive comments!! Have a good week!

Rhumax67

It's the pred!! But you are doing really well. Just be patient & keep doing what you doing. I found my appetite had no brake--I could eat a full meal & it was like I had nothing. Pred is the drug we love to hate. It can work miracles, but the side effects are outrageous.

ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken

They tried to give me that garbage when I had Bell's Palsy. They took me off of that mess real quick. I wanted to kill everyone and I was in such a state I couldn't even stand being in my own skin.