Before gaining weight, I was never cold. After gaining and then losing, I'm always FREEZING.

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  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    The act of digesting food generates heat. When camping, you're supposed to eat shortly before bed to help you keep warm at night. For many of us, being in maintenance means eating fewer calories than we used to.

    I'm not saying this is the whole story, but I bet it's part of what's going on.
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
    edited August 2019
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    No rush but you need to rule out hypothyroidism. Get your thyroid levels checked first thing in the morning. They vary throughout the day and you can be out of spec part of the day and in spec later in the day so they miss the diagnosis. If you're looking out for hyperthyroidism get tested around 4 pm.

    One of the most common causes of thyroid dysfunction is an autoimmune dysfunction called Hashimotos thyroiditis. It can put you through periods of hyperthyroidism (in which case you'd feel hot all the time) and hypothyroidism, in which case with no change in diet you gain weight and feel cold. It could be that your weight gain happened as a result of thyroid problems.

    Hashimotos can also be mistaken for bipolar disorder because when you are hyperthyroid you tend to act a little manic and when hypothyroid you tend to act and feel depressed.
  • cbstewart88
    cbstewart88 Posts: 453 Member
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    Just another voice from the crowd here: my experience has been just the opposite. I'm a 5'4" 64/yo female who went from 183 lbs to 140 lbs. I always used to be cold - now I am always HOT!! At night in bed, just sitting... and I sweat like crazy when exercising and continue to sweat even after taking a shower after exercise.

    Could just be because I am kinda old(er). Or maybe the exercise just gets my metabolism into gear?? Not sure...
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
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    LAT1963 wrote: »
    Get your thyroid levels checked first thing in the morning. They vary throughout the day and you can be out of spec part of the day and in spec later in the day so they miss the diagnosis. For hypothyroidism. If you're looking out for hyperthyroidism get tested around 4 pm.

    One of the most common causes of thyroid dysfunction is an autoimmune dysfunction called Hashimotos thyroiditis. It can put you through periods of hyperthyroidism (in which case you'd feel hot all the time) and hypothyroidism, in which case with no change in diet you gain weight and feel cold. It could be that your weight gain happened as a result of thyroid problems.

    Hashimotos can also be mistaken for bipolar disorder because when you are hyperthyroid you tend to act a little manic and when hypothyroid you tend to act and feel depressed.

    Oh, my weight gain was entirely my fault.
    I was in a pretty bad car accident with my dad when I was 14. I suffered a lot of PTSD symptoms for a few years and became extremely withdrawn, had no interest in any hobbies I previously had, lost touch with myself, closed myself off to my family, and turned instead to this little voice in my head that promised me control.
    I developed EDNOS (mostly anorexia, with a bit bulimia in the form of abusing laxatives and obsessive over exercising) and got pretty thin, and then for whatever reason it shifted to binge eating disorder and in a very short amount of time I had gained close to 60 lbs.

    But, I will get my thyroid checked.
  • 2baninja
    2baninja Posts: 511 Member
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    I have no experience with this, (I'm hoping this happens to me when I lose enough weight, I'm very much looking forward to not roasting in a t-shirt, when everyone around me is wearing sweatshirts...).

    But I remember hearing that even after you lose weight, those fat cells that grew with fat, don't go away after you lose, they just "deflate".
    So it makes sense that: you were comfy, you got fat, you develop fat cells, you lose weight, your fat cells deflate, but they never go away. That has to mean that changes happen in your body that doesn't go back to the way it was....

    Just a thought.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,550 Member
    edited August 2019
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    Freezing cold at first weight loss, over the winter. Pleasantly (and unexpectedly) comfortable in Southern summer heat. However, in the last couple of weeks, have begun gushing sweat during hot classes to the point of being wringing and dripping wet, and immediately freeze when leaving the classes. I’m thinking about bringing a light long sleeved hoody to wear for the walk home afterwards. That is nuts because we are in the 90’s. Have suddenly also started freezing after having my evening smoothie, and am having to take hot baths to warm up.

    Sat outside last night for five hours playing dominoes with neighbors in 92 degree heat at the pool. Came home, and immediately got chilly.

    My internal thermostat seems broke all of a sudden,
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    edited August 2019
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    Can't think of a reason you'd be cold from gaining weight. Being constantly cold while losing weight is, according to some experts (take note I'm simply summarizing what I've read, not spouting a theory of my own) "adaptive thermogenesis". I looked this up because I am normally a 68 degree year round person, but since my wife and I started dieting 4-5 months ago we're literally freezing if it's below 71. At least we're saving some serious $$$ on the air conditioning bill this summer LOL

    The basic idea is that a calorie deficit leads to a slow-down of metabolism (which means lower TDEE, which means lower calorie burn rate) as your body tries to compensate for the energy shortage due to restricted calories by conserving its energy. Since one thing energy does is produce heat, one thing the body does to conserve energy is turn down the heat production. Hence you feel cold.

    In the articles I've read, this is described as a bad thing, but I'm kinda taking it in stride. We all know your daily calorie allotment goes down as you lose weight, so obviously that does mean a lower TDEE and lower metabolic burn rate, and it therefore makes sense that you'd feel colder, so I just ignore the dire warnings that feeling a chill means you're starving and your hair is about to fall out. Which some do say.

    Anyway, "adaptive thermogenesis" is the thing to google if one wanted to read up on it further. Or this link has some interesting stuff, a peer-reviewed paper over at the NIH, i.e. not quackery:
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3673773/
  • JohnnyBoi45
    JohnnyBoi45 Posts: 4 Member
    edited August 2019
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  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    How long has it been since you were at this weight? Probably several years. Many people feel colder as they grow older.
  • brittanystebbins95
    brittanystebbins95 Posts: 567 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    How long has it been since you were at this weight? Probably several years. Many people feel colder as they grow older.

    Not long at all. Maybe 6 or 7 years in between? I'm only 24
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,950 Member
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    pinuplove wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    pinuplove wrote: »
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Adaptive thermogenesis as the end result of caloric deficits

    Does that eventually moderate after a stretch of time in maintenance? (Asking for a friend who is constantly wearing sweaters at work and has a space heater under her desk in August :tongue: )

    Has your friend tried a very gradual upward maintenance calorie creep, with sound nutrition, while keeping up exercise activity and trying to push NEAT? No guarantees, but . . . . ;)

    Friend is still losing, but VERY slowly (~1 pound a month). Friend could stand to eat better but doesn't have a horrible diet overall (more focused on protein and iron at the moment). Exercise activity has been a struggle but a work in progress. Actual weight loss vs calories consumed put her between active and lightly active.

    It just occurred to me that her persistent iron deficiency anemia (diagnosed since December and still struggling to raise iron levels via diet and supplementation - long story involving many tests) may be to blame. Ah, the sound those obvious puzzle pieces make when they snap together! :wink:

    What form of iron are you taking? There are many forms and the first two my doctor gave me didn't work get both my iron and energy levels back up. I'm currently taking iron bisglycinate.

    My anemia is related to my very heavy periods, and that week I eat lots of foods like liverwurst, chicken liver pate, and steak.

    Every day I have a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses dissolved into warm water. That brand has 20% of the RDA - other brands can have much less. That brand can leak, so I don't order in the summer and don't order with anything that might get ruined if it leaks.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
    edited August 2019
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    pinuplove wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    pinuplove wrote: »
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Adaptive thermogenesis as the end result of caloric deficits

    Does that eventually moderate after a stretch of time in maintenance? (Asking for a friend who is constantly wearing sweaters at work and has a space heater under her desk in August :tongue: )

    Has your friend tried a very gradual upward maintenance calorie creep, with sound nutrition, while keeping up exercise activity and trying to push NEAT? No guarantees, but . . . . ;)

    Friend is still losing, but VERY slowly (~1 pound a month). Friend could stand to eat better but doesn't have a horrible diet overall (more focused on protein and iron at the moment). Exercise activity has been a struggle but a work in progress. Actual weight loss vs calories consumed put her between active and lightly active.

    It just occurred to me that her persistent iron deficiency anemia (diagnosed since December and still struggling to raise iron levels via diet and supplementation - long story involving many tests) may be to blame. Ah, the sound those obvious puzzle pieces make when they snap together! :wink:

    What form of iron are you taking? There are many forms and the first two my doctor gave me didn't work get both my iron and energy levels back up. I'm currently taking iron bisglycinate.

    My anemia is related to my very heavy periods, and that week I eat lots of foods like liverwurst, chicken liver pate, and steak.

    Every day I have a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses dissolved into warm water. That brand has 20% of the RDA - other brands can have much less. That brand can leak, so I don't order in the summer and don't order with anything that might get ruined if it leaks.

    Feosol Complete https://www.feosol.com/about/complete-iron-supplement/

    This is the 3rd one I've tried. I have a bottle of the exact iron bisglycinate you linked in my cabinet at home. It still upset my digestive system terribly, despite being supposedly easier on it. I keep meaning to order some of that specific molasses and always forget. Maybe I'll do that right now!

    I'm sure the fact that I'm still menstruating doesn't help, but my cycles aren't unusually heavy. I had stool test positive for blood so have been seeing a gastroenterologist to try track that down.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,217 Member
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    Back in '06 I lost ~25-30 lbs between July and August and absolutely froze that winter, but have been fine since having not lost or gained as much at once or as quickly.