Weight loss and prednisone

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gwcharley
gwcharley Posts: 5
in Introduce Yourself
Hello everyone. I am new to the site; aged 54 years, 5'4" and 155lbs. Two years ago I gave up smoking and my weight increased somewhat, but a year ago I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and prescribed prednisone and promptly gained about 20lbs. My doctor said prednisone CAN cause weight gain but it also redistributes the weight to around the middle and also causes weight retention. I joined Weight Watchers and lost 5.5lbs the first week and then.......nothing. I have stuck to the diet religiously and walk 40 minutes a day which I didn't do before. I am at my wits end and found this site by accident and now tracking my food consumption and exercise with myfitnesspal.
Does anyone have any tips or recommendations of what to do to lose weight while taking prednisone. I would be grateful for anything,

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  • ivanaaaaaaaaa
    ivanaaaaaaaaa Posts: 87
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    welcome! congrats on not giving up on diet and exercise, even though you haven't seen any results lately. it really takes a great deal of will power to do that and you should be proud of yourself.

    i'm sorry i can't offer any advice on prednisone, but i'm sure you'll be able to find plenty support here. i just did a search for prednisone and got 27 pages worth of results with posts mentioning it. give it a try! :happy:
  • gwcharley
    gwcharley Posts: 5
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    Thank you for the moral support ivanaaaaaaaaa. I won't give up :) I do feel like something is happening; my clothes seem to be looser and i don't feel as bulky. It just isn't showing on the scales. I have looked up the side effects of prednisone and it's scary really (and depressing) and I also ordered a book on living with prednisone which apparently teaches about diet as well. Really looking forward to that coming in the mail.
    I will definitely keep at it and congratulations on your 25lb lost. Well done!!
  • ivanaaaaaaaaa
    ivanaaaaaaaaa Posts: 87
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    oh, don't let your scale get the best of you. your clothes and the way you feel will be the best indicators of how well you're doing. i weigh myself every day but i mostly do it because my diet is pretty basic and i want to see how different things affect my ups and downs. for example, i always notice a greater loss after days when i drink a lot of fluids and that makes me happy. :wink:

    being on this website will be great help because the more you read and communicate with people, the more you'll be excited about your goals and different ways you can get there.

    i'm going to send you a friend request so if you need anything or could use some encouragement, i'll be just a click away, we're all so different, we can learn so much from each other. :smile:
  • gwcharley
    gwcharley Posts: 5
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    Thanks a bunch
  • ccnjc4e
    ccnjc4e Posts: 142 Member
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    I believe the medication you are on makes your body retain water like crazy. That is probably most of the 20lbs weight gain.
  • xchinad0ll
    xchinad0ll Posts: 101 Member
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    I took pres. and the reason why it makes you gain is because it makes you think your hungry ALL the time.
  • garnislitton
    garnislitton Posts: 12
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    I wanna buck up for not giving up. But continue doing meditation and exercise too. I am very happy to see that you have left the smoking totally. Consult your doctor continue with the schedule and you will get the positive results early or late for sure.
  • cazyll
    cazyll Posts: 184
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    I've took pred in the past, which why I put on so much weight too. How much are you taking? If it's a high dose, like over 20mg a day I would say it would be hard to loose, but if your on a low maintainence then the side affects should be a lot less and maybe even gone. I'm not a doc, just going on what I experienced and I took it for over a year.

    Good luck

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