When will people understand that you can't spontaneously....

katesnewbody

..."GAIN WEIGHT"

I hear people complaining how being on a type of birth control or a medication "MADE" them gain 30-50 pounds. and they truly believe that taking said medication caused them to somehow spontaneously gain weight, regardless of their food intake.

Explain this to me? Why do people believe things like depo vera can "cause" weight gain on its own?

the body CANNOT create fat storage out of excess calories that do not exist. If this were true, starving to death wouldn't be possible, because you could somehow create a layer of fat storage without eating the excess calories necessary to create said fat.

medications affect your mood and appetite (leading to more food, meaning more weight) the shots and pills themselves do not /cause weight gain/

just wanted to reiterate, and confirm that this is true? I'm open to hear facts about any other opinions, but I'm fairly certain you can't gain weight out of nowhere XD

cwolfman13

some medications can also impact metabolic rate which means that at the same food intake at which you were maintaining, you are now gaining weight. Some medications also have a rather substantial impact on hormones and hormone imbalances often do cause metabolic issues for which, again, you can go from maintaining to gaining on the same calorie intake.

Katus130

some medications can also impact metabolic rate which means that at the same food intake at which you were maintaining, you are now gaining weight. Some medications also have a rather substantial impact on hormones and hormone imbalances often do cause metabolic issues for which, again, you can go from maintaining to gaining on the same calorie intake.

This.

gwhizeh

I dunno. I will ask my doctor why he told me one of my meds causes weight gain. Ill get back to ya.

bamf82

Agreed with cwolfman13, that and a lot of the antidepressant meds have metabolic impacts. Not saying that it can cause a 50-60 lb gain, maybe 10-15 at the most. But sometimes just gaining 10-15 is enough to make someone feel like it's pointless to try to lose weight, and just keep eating.

mariahmilan

Maybe you can explain to me then why I gained 50 pounds in 2 months when I was 16 and went on the pill when there were no other changes in food and exercise? Medicines can certainly change the metabolism and mess with hormones. It's a fact. it has nothing to do with calories.

lolmynameiskate

Agreed with cwolfman13, and birth control can also have side effects of water bloating and retaining more water.
I see where you are coming from, cause some birth controls do increase appetite which in return makes people feel as though the pills made them gain weight.
I'm currently struggling with my new birth control because I found that it makes me retain a lot more water and my metabolism isn't as fast as it used to be.
I'm on a very stable diet for the past 3 years, and on this birth control(8 weeks on), I went from 118 to 124 and my eating habits haven't changed.

journey_man

I also like how people claim some dramatic weight gains overnight, without questioning the accuracy of their scales.

One shouldn't have to spell this out, but it is literally impossible to gain more mass than you have ingested.

katesnewbody

hm yeah, I guess that makes sense metabolic rate decrease makes scientific sense, but I still don;t see how 50 or so pounds can be gained from being on a shot? I'd cut my intake immediately if I noticed a 5-10 pound gain even

sandylion

.

neanderthin

Hormones control your ENTIRE body. If you don't think there is any way they can change your metabolism to make you "GAIN WEIGHT" out of "No WHERE" you need to do some reading. And maybe don't make vast judgements on people on a topic you know nothing about.

lol.........unbelievable.

GlutenFreeWench

Actually...

I gained about 100-140 pounds in 3-5 months.

When I went *off* birth control the last time. Since then I have been on some form of hormone control.

When my doctor put me back *on* birth control, I lost 50 pounds within 3 months. With NO diet changes.

Why you ask?

Metabolic disorder called PCOS.

So yes. Yes you can.

I think some reading is in order- some definite things in life are out of the control of other individuals.

SLLRunner

hm yeah, I guess that makes sense metabolic rate decrease makes scientific sense, but I still don;t see how 50 or so pounds can be gained from being on a shot? I'd cut my intake immediately if I noticed a 5-10 pound gain even

Well, I see exactly where you are coming from with your questions. I was on the pill for many years and my weight did fluctuate, but there was never any evidence that the pill had anything to do with it. To be truthful, I just ate too darned much!

I can see gaining a few pounds from water retention with the piill, but it seems unrealistic that 10, 30, or 40 pounds would pile on just due to the pill, unless a person is eating way above their TDEE.

I can't speak for other medications, though.

Bike_harder

From the [admittedly brief] research I've done on the topic, most of what causes weight gain in people using certain medications is an increase in appetite. Antidepressants and Diabetes medications most notably cause an increase in appetite, which in turn takes a day where you feel just as sated with food that you no longer maintain with.

Corticosteroids do cause trouble with using blood sugar, and that can increase the amount fat that is deposited in the body, and makes it more difficult to access the stored energy in those fat deposits.

Depakote causes a weight gain in 8-9 percent of people, but the majority of them lay the blame on increased desire for sweet foods as opposed to their previous intake.

Birth control medications come in a wide variety, but seem to fall into one of three camps. They either will increase the amount of water retained, increase appetite or cause abnormal glucose metabolism. However, sympomatic weight gain of more than 10 percent is usually indicative of an onset of insulin resistance which should be addressed with/by your doctor.

However, I am not a doctor, just a student that took a Nutrition and Metabolism course one time.

SLLRunner

Actually...

I gained about 100-140 pounds in 3-5 months.

When I went *off* birth control the last time. Since then I have been on some form of hormone control.

When my doctor put me back *on* birth control, I lost 50 pounds within 3 months. With NO diet changes.

Why you ask?

Metabolic disorder called PCOS.

So yes. Yes you can.

I think some reading is in order- some definite things in life are out of the control of other individuals.

So, it sounds like PCOS cause a reverse effect for you in that you lost weight when going on the pill. Thanks for sharing this.

kasimarie29

*Depo Provera* Shot.

meshashesha2012

some medications can also impact metabolic rate which means that at the same food intake at which you were maintaining, you are now gaining weight. Some medications also have a rather substantial impact on hormones and hormone imbalances often do cause metabolic issues for which, again, you can go from maintaining to gaining on the same calorie intake.

true but it still boils down to they were eating more than their bodies needed.

and i think what the OP means is what is exactly stated in the OP: no one wakes up overnight and finds themself 30+ pounds overweight. unless of course they were in some type of coma.

most adults dont become obese without some sort of complacency/complicity in the situation

GlutenFreeWench

However, sympomatic weight gain of more than 10 percent is usually indicative of an onset of insulin resistance which should be addressed with/by your doctor.

Yes. that insulin resistance can be the signs of a metabolic disorder. But it does happen.

And a lot of the weight that is gained, you'll lose as soon as you're off any medication.

It can be triggered by ANY medication. And as for diabetes medications- some of the new injectibles can cause metabolic imbalances that do cause issues with fat deposits. Thus why they've been pulled off the market- or have black box warnings.

I do have extensive research on the topics.

19amm82

I completed eight cycles of fertility medications for my infertility and it messed with my hormones so bad I gained nearly 30 pounds over the course of 8 months. I had no change in eating habits or anything like that. After I stopped the fertility drugs, the pounds started to come back off.

There are some medications out there that will mess with your metabolism and hormonal imbalances that also contribute to weight gain. That's what my fertility doctor told me when I asked him why my weight was going up. All of my tests came back fine so we contributed my weight increase to the fertility medications.

Sabine_Stroehm

some medications can also impact metabolic rate which means that at the same food intake at which you were maintaining, you are now gaining weight. Some medications also have a rather substantial impact on hormones and hormone imbalances often do cause metabolic issues for which, again, you can go from maintaining to gaining on the same calorie intake.

THIS

BroScience976

I dunno. I will ask my doctor why he told me one of my meds causes weight gain. Ill get back to ya.

Ask the doctor "HOW" does it cause weight gain