Weight Gain and Vitamin D Deficiency

I was recently diagnosised as severely vitamin D deficient and have just started week 2 of a 50,000 iu per week therapy treatment to get back to normal.

I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced a weight gain from a vitamin D deficiency?
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Replies

  • dellaquilaa
    dellaquilaa Posts: 230 Member
    Nope - Vitamin D deficiency doesn't cause weight gain. The vitamin really doesn't have any metabolic function to it at all. It's primary function is to help calcium get in to your bones, and it also aids in coronary health. A deficiency can change your mood (slightly) which may make you more predisposed to binge eating, or making unhealthy choices, though.

    I've been taking 5,000 IUs per day for about 6 months (finally getting my levels checked this summer so I can stop). It's more a correlation, than a causative relationship. Like...I got fat because I was eating crappy food with very low nutrient density - which also happened to cause a Vitamin D deficiency. But I didn't get fat BECAUSE of that deficiency, they just went hand-in-hand.
  • rklein71
    rklein71 Posts: 112 Member
    Actually, if you google something like "weight gain associated with vitamin d deficiency" there are several articles and studies that low vitamin d may have an effect on weight gain. I was just diagnosed with vitamin d deficiency syndrome as well and have been trying to do a ton of research. While I also thought it just had an effect on bones, it appears it is far more important than that, and having low vitamin d is associated with heart disease, some cancers, autoimmune diseases, etc.
  • sa11yjane
    sa11yjane Posts: 491 Member
    I will watch this thread with interest as, despite logging my food and exercise daily for over a year, my weight has still increased gradually. An underactive thyroid was diagnosed and I am now on thyoxine which I thought would turn my life around. However, the joint pains and chronic fatigue continue and I have now been diagnosed as being severely deficient in vitamin D . I, too, have googled this and have seen suggestions that it might be responsible for weight gain.......
  • stefi2107
    stefi2107 Posts: 52 Member
    My friend had a severe vitamin d deficiency for years and it helped with her weight gain. Once it was diagnosed she was able to lose almost 70 pounds with the help of exercise once she started feeling better. Good luck!!
  • fluffykitsune
    fluffykitsune Posts: 236 Member
    you can take as many vitamin d supplements as you want, but it isn't absorbed / activated unless you get daily sun exposure..
  • s123k
    s123k Posts: 2
    Thyroid, diabetes and all the genetic and chronic diseases are the outcome of lack of exposure to sun. Lethargy leads to mal function of the organs.

    I have been severely deficient for almost 6 years.. did not know about it then.. but my thyroid started acting up. bordering arthritis and did not have strength to do anything in life.

    VItamin D gave my life back. Please read up in detail and do not under estimate this life source.

    Plants cannot live without sunlight.. how do you think humans can survive. Think about it.

    Good luck...
  • s123k
    s123k Posts: 2
    Also Target brand UP&up vitamin D3 helped me. Others did not. I gained 12 pounds in 2 weeks with others. But not this one. I lost

    10 pounds. Make sure whatever you take suits you. If you are gaining weight and it is not helping.. that is not the right brand for you.

    Get something that is oil based. My suggestion: DO NOT MIX IT WITH CALCIUM.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    Actually, if you google something like "weight gain associated with vitamin d deficiency" there are several articles and studies that low vitamin d may have an effect on weight gain. I was just diagnosed with vitamin d deficiency syndrome as well and have been trying to do a ton of research. While I also thought it just had an effect on bones, it appears it is far more important than that, and having low vitamin d is associated with heart disease, some cancers, autoimmune diseases, etc.

    You are right--it is so important to the prevention of cancer that the Canadian Cancer Society now recommends that every Canadian get a minimum of 2,000 units per day during the winter. They also warn against using sun screen during every exposure to the sun in the summer as sun screen blocks the making of Vitamin D in the skin during sun exposure. Make sure the Vitamin D supplement you are taking is D3, which is bio-identical to the Vitamin D your body makes during sun exposure. D2 is the synthetic form and it binds up magnesium in the body---no,no, no--magnesium is another very important nutrient to proper metabolic function.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,455 Member
    you can take as many vitamin d supplements as you want, but it isn't absorbed / activated unless you get daily sun exposure..

    Not true.
  • Just wanted to chime in as a data point and say I too had a Vit. D deficiency when I was checked earlier in the year. After supplementation I just FEEL better and more motivated, which definitely helps weight loss/exercise efforts. I wouldn't say it's a magic bullet but through different reasons (energy level, mood, "motivation") it does have a huge effect how you're losing/gaining weight.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    There are full-body sunlamps available now (not cheap) that you can use to get your Vitamin D naturally. But beware tanning parlors as the type of lamps that they typically use put out ultraviolet A rather than ultraviolet B (the one you need in order to manufacture Vitamin D).

    Also, if you are going to go the supplement route, understand that, if you don't eat your greens (spinach, kale, etc.) you will need to take a K2 supplement. But if you eat a greens product and one serving of some kind of a source of K2 (pumpkin seeds are a great source), you should have no worries. Also, you need to know that when you cut back on your Vitamin D supplementation in anticipation of the spring or on a sunny vacation, your levels of Vitamin D can drop like a stone if you don't cut back gradually.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    you can take as many vitamin d supplements as you want, but it isn't absorbed / activated unless you get daily sun exposure..

    Not true.

    I agree, it is not true that you won't utilize Vitamin D supplements unless you get daily sun exposure. I get little to no sun exposure for six months of the year and yet my doc says my levels are just fine (I take a minimum of 2,500 units year round).
  • bentobee
    bentobee Posts: 321 Member
    Just wanted to chime in as a data point and say I too had a Vit. D deficiency when I was checked earlier in the year. After supplementation I just FEEL better and more motivated, which definitely helps weight loss/exercise efforts. I wouldn't say it's a magic bullet but through different reasons (energy level, mood, "motivation") it does have a huge effect how you're losing/gaining weight.

    This is my experience also.

    I am on prescription Vitamin D3, for what it's worth. After a period of taking 5,ooo IUI a day for a month (to pull me out of the deficiency pit) I am on 12,000 a week for maintenance. I begin feeling very rundown and just "off" if I slack off on taking it.
  • That answer is completely wrong and your doctor should watch your thyroid as well. A lot of GPS miss the connection. Vitamin D is soon to be reclassified as a hormone, and most endocrinologists already refer to it as one. It is directly connected to thyroid function. It affects the function of the liver and kidneys as well, and extreme vitamin d deficiencies can also be signs of several autoimmune diseases that would definitely affect weight gain.
  • twixlepennie
    twixlepennie Posts: 1,074 Member
    I've been deficient for years (number stubbornly at a 21), and I was thin while deficient, overweight while deficient and thin again, while still deficient. For me it doesn't seem to have any effect on my weight.
  • br0co1ii
    br0co1ii Posts: 4 Member
    I'm not sure if it's the vitamin d deficiency causing the weight gain, or the reason that your'e deficient that's causing the weight gain. Or bot, or neither... But I was just diagnosed with celiac disease which is likely the cause of my own vitamin d deficiency. Getting that straightened out is making me feel better. I'm also pretty much forced to eat better due to the celiac. I'd get to the bottom of any deficiencies if you have them and make sure you don't have another underlying problem.
  • noneya2010
    noneya2010 Posts: 446 Member
    Thyroid, diabetes and all the genetic and chronic diseases are the outcome of lack of exposure to sun. Lethargy leads to mal function of the organs.

    I have been borderline deficient for several years and now officially severely deficient. However, I disagree with the exposure to sun causing the deficiency. In the summer, I spend several hours a day in the sun -- sometimes all day long at the water park, etc.. In the evenings during the winter, I spend time in the sun each evenign doing yard work, going for walks, before the sun sets. Research indicates for many, the primary source of Vit. D is through sunlight exposure, but deficiencies for many, are not due to lack of exposure. I am also fair skinned and a redhead - so the dark skin (more prone to deficiencies) does not apply either. According to my dr., I'm probably dealing with an absorption issue plus the fact I am overweight.

    I do believe, however, that lethargy and laying around, not being active, etc, does lead to malfunction of our bodies - through lack of activity.
  • noneya2010
    noneya2010 Posts: 446 Member
    you can take as many vitamin d supplements as you want, but it isn't absorbed / activated unless you get daily sun exposure..

    Not true.

    I agree, it is not true that you won't utilize Vitamin D supplements unless you get daily sun exposure. I get little to no sun exposure for six months of the year and yet my doc says my levels are just fine (I take a minimum of 2,500 units year round).

    I agree also. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and in order for it to be absorbed correctly, it needs to be taken with a meal containing fat - research indicates it is best to take it with your highest fat meal in order that is gets absorbed correctly. Absorption of this vitamin has nothing to do with the sun.
  • sa11yjane
    sa11yjane Posts: 491 Member
    There are actually lots of articles associating Vit D deficiency with weight gain. After being put on thyroxine for an underactive thyroid I still didn't feel right and was still very slowly gaining weight and after my bloods were retested for auto-immune illnesses they came back with a massive Vit D deficiency. I now take prescribed supplements daily and, interestingly, even though I still eat the same diet as before my weight is very slowly decreasing. This obviously isn't hard evidence but it's interesting.....PS I am also outside for about 3 hours a day throughout all seasons dog walking so get lots of natural daylight.
  • mbanister1
    mbanister1 Posts: 29 Member
    Don't mix with calcium?? In order for calcium to be absorbed you must also take vitamin d.
  • aprilyankee
    aprilyankee Posts: 345 Member
    I was diagnosed as vitamin D deficient by an endocrinologist. I thought I was fine because I was taking a multi vitamin and thought my hypothyroidism was causing my symptoms. My doc told me this:

    1. For the vitamin D to be absorbed by the body in the over the counter vitamin form, take it with food and no other vitamins. Something about it bonds with the vitamin calcium and the body is unable to use it. Any sort of multi vitamin or something that also has calcium, the D will not be absorbed by the body. However I can take my vitamin D with milk or yogurt with no issues. I use 5000 iu of D3 in cholecalciferol form.
    2. While a D deficiency does not cause weight gain, it will prevent weight loss even though all the proper weight loss steps have been taken.
    3. The normal D range is wide, I would have to take 50,000 iu daily for 5 years to get "too" much D.
    4. I will have to take my D for several months before I start feeling better. Even longer to start losing weight.

    I take my D3 every morn with breakfast and still take my multi vitamin every eve. I think my deficiency is related to my thyroid as I have noticed many people with thyroid issues have similar D problems. I have been taking it for 6 months now and started losing weight about 3 months ago. Very slow and steady, but progress.
  • Skinny_Mocha
    Skinny_Mocha Posts: 208 Member
    I just started taking 4,000 IU of Vitamin D, and am finding myself endlessly SLEEPY.

    Has anyone else experienced initial fatigue? If so, does it go away after awhile, or am I broken? Thanks!
  • I just found out my vitamin d level is excessively low. I have gained weight over the last few months despite the fact that I have been exercising and some what eating right (had real bad sugar cravings). I have started taking 2000IU a day for the last two weeks along with getting outside in the sun and I have started feeling better. I am no where near 100% but I no longer have to force myself to work out nor am I aching and tired all the time. I am hoping that as my levels become normal then I will begin to lose weight again.
  • I have actually read a few studies (actual medical studies) suggesting that it may be linked - not necessarily to weight gain, but difficulty with weight loss. I am not a doctor and don't pretend to be, but how it was explained to me was that vitamin D is what tells your body to store fat or get rid of it. If you don't have enough, then it doesn't know to get rid of it. Again, I don't pretend to be an expert, but it is interesting nonetheless. I have found that I am severely deficient in vitamin D and have been prescribed a pretty hefty dose, so I guess we will see. Good luck!
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    When I was diagnosed with a thyroid condition (Hashi's) and insulin resistance, my doctor also found severe deficiencies in vitamin D and magnesium. He told me that both could have contributed to the difficulty I was having losing weight (as well as Hashi's and insulin resistance). I got both my deficiencies on track along with medication for Hashi's and insulin resistance (Nature-throid and metformin), and I've finally been able to lose weight like a "normal" person. I can't say what part the vitamin D specifically played in my issues, but it was definitely part of the overall equation.
  • nerual13
    nerual13 Posts: 39 Member
    posting to keep track of this thread, I'm on week 6 of an 8 week Vitamin D regimen and will then be on a daily supplement. I will say that I have felt so much better and more energized since I started talking it. BUT, this was exactly the same time that I started eating good food and walking more, so hard to say! Still, if its helping, I'm all about it!
  • ALNoog
    ALNoog Posts: 413 Member
    I have a major deficiency so I take supplements and have to spend a considerable amount of time outside when ether permits or moderate time in a tanning bed to supplement.
  • wozkaa
    wozkaa Posts: 224 Member
    This is a really interesting post to read through.
    My husband was diagnosed with very very low D last year aroud May. He has been taking supplements as advised and in 6mths the number barely moved up on his bllod test. 2nd doctor said he should be taking Magnesium with it to help absorption.
    He was also complaining of joint pains, fatigue, dizziness, insomnia etc. He also had a blood test come up with excessive iron and was tested for Haemochromatosis.
    Most recently, he has been referred to a Rheumatologist as his Dr suspects Rheumatoid Arthritis. To date his Vit D remains low, and the Rheumy has no idea why (but it's early days yet with a swag more tests to be had.)
    He has always been out on in the sun for periods during the day.
  • I do not know much about this. All I do know is that about a year ago I started getting very tired, muscle cramps and aces in joints. gained 25 lbs in a year. I am now to the point that it is keeping me from enjoying life! I am always extremely fatigue and want to sleep when ever I can. I feel like my legs have weights on them when I am at work. I have been through cardiac tests, sleep study everything. finally they found the my vitamin D is very low. I do not know it the fatigue cancause your high sex drive to come to an hault, but i have no sex drive anymore. I am only 36yrs old. i am to take 50,000 a week for 12 weeks then take 2,000 a day after.
  • I was diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency in 2009. Was probably earlier than that had they checked it. I just kind of blew it off thinking it wasn't a big deal. I gained 70 lbs, had so much pain in my legs that I couldn't straighten them out, my feet felt like I was walking on rocks, and so much fatigue and depression I couldn't smile if you paid me. I used to be in the sun everyday until I started going to college and then retained employment afterward. I went from athletic and resilient to weak and sensitive. My level as of this moment is 8.9.....I'm taking 50,000 units a week. I don't know if low D is the cause of my problems but I've been on everything from chemo to Tylenol and none of it worked,,,,praying the supplement helps...so fed up...