Weight Gain and Vitamin D Deficiency

2

Replies

  • Sreneesa
    Sreneesa Posts: 1,170 Member
    I was diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency as well. lol... Kind of funny considering where I live.

    But also the reason why I have no wrinkles at my age. Don't partake in sun activities even though I live in southern CA. lololol

    Anyhoo, my last check up, which was a week ago doc said I was deficient. Wrote a prescription for Vitamin D supplement. Didn't even know she prescribed it until yesterday's call from pharmacy. Told me to come get the supplement tomorrow.

    Thought I'd share. lol

    Edit: No, haven't gained any weight due to a vitamin D deficiency. Do not think that has anything to do with it... at least not this way.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    you can take as many vitamin d supplements as you want, but it isn't absorbed / activated unless you get daily sun exposure..

    False. However one important thing to note when taking Vitamin D supplements is that Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and to get good absorption you should take it along with a meal that has at least a little fat in it.
  • Mich4871
    Mich4871 Posts: 143 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 completely accurate...I have small kids who always want to be outside, I'm active outside (running, etc...), and it didn't make a difference one way or the other.

    Mine was depleted...there was no measurable counts. My Endo put me on 2x week 50,000 units, plus 5,000 units on the other 5 days. Within 3 months, I was back to a "normal" level of 50 and now I range in the 70-80.

    I was having issues with weight gain even on a good diet, daily excercise, once my D levels returned, the weight started to slowly come off again. I'm having other metabolic issues, but the extreme fatigue and overall blah feelings disapated.
  • janel814
    janel814 Posts: 88
    At least now I really know that I am not alone in this Vit D deficiency issue. I was just diagnosed and now my doc has me on a once a week 50,000IU for the next 12 wks. Then I will retest to see if my levels have come up. I will say that it is not just simply about getting more sun because that is all I heard from friends and family once I got the diagnoses.

    About 2 years ago I lost 70 pounds and then my living circumstances changed to the point that I couldn't get in my normal routine and even when I found time I just didn't have the motivation to get it done so needless to say I gained that weight back. The extra problems that went along with the Vit D deficiency (for me) are that I get really tired ALL day long, no motivation, mild depression, weight gain, loss of appitite and a few other things but the doc says that the deficiency can closely tie into these other problems.

    Something that I didn't catch in the discussion was that if you think that this is an issue for you not to just start taking Vit D consult your doctor first. I say that because my doctor stated that to much Vit D can cause just as many problems as the deficiency. They have to watch your kidneys, liver and thyroid balances as well especially if you are placed in the high dose Vit D.

    Good luck!
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    you can take as many vitamin d supplements as you want, but it isn't absorbed / activated unless you get daily sun exposure..

    Nope not true
  • Stephanie_skinny
    Stephanie_skinny Posts: 106 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.

    From what I have learned in biochemistry, vitamin D helps the body to absorb calcium. The body makes Vitamin D when the skin is exposed to the sun, there is a chemical reaction with the body fat cells exposed to the sun's rays synthesizing it. But this is not the only source, also food, supplements and others can contribute to our Vitamin D levels.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 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.

    From what I have learned in biochemistry, vitamin D helps the body to absorb calcium. The body makes Vitamin D when the skin is exposed to the sun, there is a chemical reaction with the body fat cells exposed to the sun's rays synthesizing it. But this is not the only source, also food, supplements and others can contribute to our Vitamin D levels.

    That is true
  • mschrissie
    mschrissie Posts: 2
    I, too, was just diagnosed with low vitamin D. I am grateful for a doctor who listens! I complained of not having energy and gaining weight despite not eating much. I had others say its my age and I should just accept it but she decided to check me. I assumed it would be low B and my anemia acting up but it was D. Now that I have done some reading it makes more sense. It's also helpful to see others here dealing with the same issues. I wouldn't blame my weight gain only on the D deficiency but it is a factor. I hope to return to my normal hyper active self soon!!

    Best to all!
    Chrissie!
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 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.

    Quite wrong.
    June 25, 2012 -- Older women with low blood levels of vitamin D may be more prone to pack on the pounds, when compared with women who have adequate vitamin D levels.

    Of more than 4,600 women aged 65 and older, those with insufficient levels of vitamin D in their blood gained about two pounds more than those who had adequate levels of the vitamin during a five-year study.

    The women with insufficient levels of vitamin D also weighed more when the study began than women with normal vitamin D levels.

    "Lower vitamin D levels are associated with more weight gain in older women, but the weight gain was relatively small," says researcher Erin LeBlanc, MD. She is an endocrinologist and researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore.

    The findings appear in the Journal of Women's Health.
  • PaleoPath4Lyfe
    PaleoPath4Lyfe Posts: 3,161 Member
    I, too, was just diagnosed with low vitamin D. I am grateful for a doctor who listens! I complained of not having energy and gaining weight despite not eating much. I had others say its my age and I should just accept it but she decided to check me. I assumed it would be low B and my anemia acting up but it was D. Now that I have done some reading it makes more sense. It's also helpful to see others here dealing with the same issues. I wouldn't blame my weight gain only on the D deficiency but it is a factor. I hope to return to my normal hyper active self soon!!

    Best to all!
    Chrissie!

    Vitamin D isn't the sole factor of your weight gain, but it is sure a contributing factor.

    I suffer from low Vitamin D also and find when I did a combination of Light therapy (tanning bed) and the Oral Vitamin D I am able to lose weight with the way I eat effortlessly.

    I did only the oral Vitamin D supplement this past winter and have bounced the same 10 pounds back and forth for months, pretty much stuck.

    My endocrinologist has stated this to many many times.
  • jennk5309
    jennk5309 Posts: 206 Member
    I'm pretty sure that Vitamin D deficiency can cause depression and anxiety, which can lead to seeking serotonin through eating excess carbs, leading to weight gain. Overeating is still the cause, but it's a coping response to a chemical problem in your body. My vitamin D levels were close to zero a few years ago, and adding some sunlight and 2,000 IU a day shot it up to almost perfect levels and made a huge difference in my disposition and health. I lost weight as well, but I was working really hard for that also, it didn't just fly off on its own. I walk in the sun for 30 minutes a day without sunscreen.
  • Leannie1211
    Leannie1211 Posts: 1
    Very interested in this thread. I have been feeling tired, gaining weight etc so thyroid was tested. Now been on medication for 3 months but still having symptoms. At a routine check up nurse noticed that I had a pulse of 38 so I was referred to a cardiologist. All heart tests (ECGs etc) were fine so they checked my bloods which showed I was vitamin D deficient. Cardiologist has said that Vitamin D deficiency can cause slow pulse rate and this has a knock on effect on your metabolism (and makes you feel tired etc). So even though I am only eating 1400 calories a day, with a pulse rate in its 30's (cause by the Vitamin D deficiency) I am no where near burning that many calories off.

    So I am very much hoping by taking the vitamin d, my pulse will raise and inturn my metabolism will increase and losing weight will be easier.
  • rupajoshi01
    rupajoshi01 Posts: 25
    Hi Everyone

    Kinda newbie so please excuse me if this has already been mentioned.

    I am vitamin D deficient and have been for a long time....the drs put me on vit d supplements and then take me off, and then a few months later im deficient again. So I have been advised to have regular blood tests, spend time in the sun, and not to stop taking over the counter vit d supplements. If they find that the vit d is still low after taking supplements the dr will put me on prescription strenth supplements for some time and then take me off them again.

    Now I dont know how that relates to weight gain or loss, as I have just re started my weight loss journey, but i do find that when my levels become low, I am less likely to exercise and my mood is crappy...

    xx
  • GretaGirl8
    GretaGirl8 Posts: 274 Member
    I have been on a weekly dose of 10,000 iu per week. I, too, was severly deficient. to be honest, i don't think vit D deficiency has a direct impact on weight...but among other things, low vit D is linked to depression (which can add to weight loss issues).
  • donnawap
    donnawap Posts: 1
    I recently was diagnosed with low Vit D (11). My endochronologist had ruled out thyroid issues and tested for D. He presently has me on a dosage of 100,000 iu per week for 3 months to boost it, followed by at least 2,000 to 5,000 iu per day to maintain. According to the literature he gave me, Vit D slows the metabolism, promotes insulin resistance, contributes to high blood pressure, causes fatigue, can trigger your lipids to be out of whack, and can be a severe deficiency. I am reasonably "in shape" (5'7 and around 155-160 lbs). I just felt "off" and realized that a low calorie diet (700-800 per day) coupled with riding a bike 4 times a week should actually be losing weight. All thyroid tests all came back within normal ranges. The Vitamin D fortified in our foods is not enough to support a healthy Vitamin D level, and while sunshine is the best, your body does not absorb any Vit D if it is covered in clothing or sunscreen.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    I thought that most vitamin D comes from sunlight.....
  • gert1985
    gert1985 Posts: 53 Member
    A friend was taking medication for Fibromyalgia. After many years of not getting any real results from that medication, they found her to be very low in Vitamin D. She is now off most if not all Fibromyalgia medications. I have not talked to her to see if she's lost any weight, but found that to be interesting.
  • momasox
    momasox Posts: 158 Member
    I was recently found to be Vit D deficient (19). This is very a very interesting topic.
  • JaneLane33
    JaneLane33 Posts: 80 Member
    I thought that most vitamin D comes from sunlight.....
    It can but with a combination of lifestyle and location you or anyone may not get enough. The farther your location is for the equator the more time out of the year the angle of the sun will be wrong plentiful Vitamin D production. It's okay but it's not enough. Mix in that most people work in offices and inside building instead of working outdoors and the use of sunscreen. Most of us simply do not get out in the sun enough to produce enough to store for those longer winter months and for year after year of that.

    On the general topic I think the weight loss seen after starting vitamin D is from the energy one feels. It's like a light switch is turned on and you can do things again.
  • 1FitBabe
    1FitBabe Posts: 111 Member
    Interested to learn how those of you who have been supplementing with Vit D for a while are now doing?
  • poonamjagtap
    poonamjagtap Posts: 1
    Hi, I hv sever pain in my right ribs, stabbing like.... even my joints started paining.... back of my right knee also started paining same time. I was so restless n feeling llike old woman where I m just 32 so I went to doctor, with bunch of test I m diagnosed with severe vitamin deficiency (10). I would like to know does anyone experience the same pain? frm last 3 weeks I m on 60K iu (tayo)
    every week but still my pain is on. is this pain associated with vit d deficiency or smthing else??
  • xixshaiyaxix
    xixshaiyaxix Posts: 83 Member
    I have Hypothyroidism, Insulin Resistance (Pre-Diabetes) and PCOS. I have taken many tests and came out with being Vit. D deficient along with Iron deficiency. My nutritionist recommended an over the counter supplement, I am now taking 2000IU Vit. D in gummy form. I have only been on this new regime for a few days. I hope that this helps. I barely get out in the sun, and I have suffered with clinical depression since adolescence, I hope that this supplement is some sort of help. I am also taking a Multivitamin with Iron in it which she recommended by brand. I hope to feel some sort of relief or change especially in my chronic fatigue.. I am interested in reading everyone's situation with Vitamin D. I never thought that it could all be possibly connected.
  • SlimMe37
    SlimMe37 Posts: 133 Member
    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?

    I was severely deficient earlier his year. I am on vitamin D daily (prescribed). I didn't gain weight from it. I gained a few pounds because I kept stuffing my face.
  • SlimMe37
    SlimMe37 Posts: 133 Member
    Hi, I hv sever pain in my right ribs, stabbing like.... even my joints started paining.... back of my right knee also started paining same time. I was so restless n feeling llike old woman where I m just 32 so I went to doctor, with bunch of test I m diagnosed with severe vitamin deficiency (10). I would like to know does anyone experience the same pain? frm last 3 weeks I m on 60K iu (tayo)
    every week but still my pain is on. is this pain associated with vit d deficiency or smthing else??

    Look up the symptoms of fibromyalgia. I was diagnosed this year with it. We are known to be deficient in vitamin D and this was confirmed by my rheumatologist.
  • SlimMe37
    SlimMe37 Posts: 133 Member
    Interested to learn how those of you who have been supplementing with Vit D for a while are now doing?
    I feel better than I was but I do have fibromyalgia which means I will always have pain and tiredness but to varying degrees. I'm sure the vitamin D has helped me feel less achy though. I take gem everyday since Feb this year.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    Hi, I hv sever pain in my right ribs, stabbing like.... even my joints started paining.... back of my right knee also started paining same time. I was so restless n feeling llike old woman where I m just 32 so I went to doctor, with bunch of test I m diagnosed with severe vitamin deficiency (10). I would like to know does anyone experience the same pain? frm last 3 weeks I m on 60K iu (tayo)
    every week but still my pain is on. is this pain associated with vit d deficiency or smthing else??

    I'd heard that joint pain can be symptom of low vitamin D, but I've also been told that low vitamin D can make some autoimmune diseases worse and that is usually underlying source of the joint pain. I didn't experience joint pain myself, but I was severely low as well (8). My doc had me do 50K per day for 2 weeks to bring my levels back up and then 10K per day going forward. After 3 months, my level was solid at 78.
  • lindsey1979
    lindsey1979 Posts: 2,395 Member
    I have Hypothyroidism, Insulin Resistance (Pre-Diabetes) and PCOS. I have taken many tests and came out with being Vit. D deficient along with Iron deficiency. My nutritionist recommended an over the counter supplement, I am now taking 2000IU Vit. D in gummy form. I have only been on this new regime for a few days. I hope that this helps. I barely get out in the sun, and I have suffered with clinical depression since adolescence, I hope that this supplement is some sort of help. I am also taking a Multivitamin with Iron in it which she recommended by brand. I hope to feel some sort of relief or change especially in my chronic fatigue.. I am interested in reading everyone's situation with Vitamin D. I never thought that it could all be possibly connected.

    I've got Hashi's and IR as well (no PCOS though). I also had really low vitamin D. My doc said low vitamin D can cause all sorts of problems, including fatigue and difficulty losing weight (or unexplained gaining). When taking the vitamin D make sure you have some fat in your stomach -- it's a fat soluble vitamin so if you don't have any fat in your stomach from food, it won't be absorbed. My doc had me on much higher levels (my maintenance dose is 10K per day) and my levels are good again. The fatigue greatly lessened/disappeared, but this may have also been due to the thyroid drugs (I opt for Naturethroid) as I started for treatment for both at the same time. Good luck!
  • shellypaints
    shellypaints Posts: 49 Member
    Hi, I hv sever pain in my right ribs, stabbing like.... even my joints started paining.... back of my right knee also started paining same time. I was so restless n feeling llike old woman where I m just 32 so I went to doctor, with bunch of test I m diagnosed with severe vitamin deficiency (10). I would like to know does anyone experience the same pain? frm last 3 weeks I m on 60K iu (tayo)
    every week but still my pain is on. is this pain associated with vit d deficiency or smthing else??

    Extremely low levels of vitamin D will cause bone and joint pain. It is from the calcium leaching out of your bones. Eventually your bones will soften to the point you get adult onset rickets. My level was 12 when I was Dx. I am on a maintenance dose of 8K iu daily along with 1000mg calcium. I was Dx 2010. This was after having full panels and MRI's for rheumatoid arthritis done. Most of the studies stating the correlation with weight gain have NOT determined the deficiency as a causation. That will require more studies.

    Most of what was stated about the sun, and eating fat, and calcium is unsubstantiated so take those comments with a large grain of salt.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I swallow tons of it and sit outside all the time to keep my D somewhere that can at least register when they test, lol. I have special problems with D and never have enough. I actually had to relocate just so I could be in the sun all the time because the supplements weren't cutting it. I've been losing.

    So, I know that, at least for me, losing weight with low D is totally possible.

    For most people, low D is no big whup. You take the supplements and over time, it goes up. Good luck. :)
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    Hi, I hv sever pain in my right ribs, stabbing like.... even my joints started paining.... back of my right knee also started paining same time. I was so restless n feeling llike old woman where I m just 32 so I went to doctor, with bunch of test I m diagnosed with severe vitamin deficiency (10). I would like to know does anyone experience the same pain? frm last 3 weeks I m on 60K iu (tayo)
    every week but still my pain is on. is this pain associated with vit d deficiency or smthing else??

    I'd heard that joint pain can be symptom of low vitamin D, but I've also been told that low vitamin D can make some autoimmune diseases worse and that is usually underlying source of the joint pain. I didn't experience joint pain myself, but I was severely low as well (8). My doc had me do 50K per day for 2 weeks to bring my levels back up and then 10K per day going forward. After 3 months, my level was solid at 78.
    The joint pain is generally more an issue of calcium deposits that the D itself.

    If your D is low and you can't absorb your calcium, the body freaks out because it needs calcium. So the bones start breaking down to release some. Then the body freaks out again, because too much got released, so it crystallizes the extra calcium and sticks it into your joints. Sometimes it hurts a little. Sometimes it can have you writhing in pain, wishing you were dead.

    It's especially an issue if your body can't regulate calcium and there is no D. That gets to be a vicious and unhealthy cycle...and is why I left the bitter northern climate and relocated to the Sunshine State. :D I was tired of being hospitalized and have only had to do it twice since the relocation. :)

    Don't ever doubt people about that "pseudo-gout" pain. I'm not supposed to take pain pills and usually don't, but there have been times it hurt so much that I was like, "I don't care if the pills kill me. At least I'll be out of this pain!" It can hurt a LOT. :(

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