Vitamin D and Weight loss

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A_New_Horizon
A_New_Horizon Posts: 1,555 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone heard about Vitamin D helping with weight loss? I heard about it from a friend who has a deficiency and lost 7 lbs the first week after starting Vitamin D. Since I am stuck, I figured it can't hurt especially since it gets dark earlier now, but I wanted to get others opinion/advice. Thanks.

Replies

  • saj6
    saj6 Posts: 33 Member
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    I hadn't heard about that, I'm deficient and am supposed to take 2000 IU of vit D daily, but to be honest I forget a lot. Maybe I should start taking it more regularly and see if it helps my weight loss!
  • ivansmomma
    ivansmomma Posts: 500
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    Funny you should post this, as I was talking to a woman yesterday who said she was deficient in Vitamin D. Her doctor told her to start taking it daily, and she has lost weight. So, don't know if it really works, but check with your doctor to make sure.
  • jolinemariem
    jolinemariem Posts: 462 Member
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    if she had a diffeciency that is probably why it helped her. But can't hurt?!?!
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,239 Member
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    I have no idea on weight loss, but many people are vitamin D deficient. If is necessary for a whole bunch of body processes, so I am not surprised that being deficient, especially if a person is severely deficient, would cause weight gain. I take it for my health in general.
  • smashleymcgee
    smashleymcgee Posts: 135 Member
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    I googled this topic and it seems to be pretty legit.

    University of Minnesota study said this:

    "In a clinical study of 38 people, Sibley found that higher baseline levels of vitamin D predicted fat loss, especially in the abdominal area.

    “What is suggested here is that if you start out with an inadequate vitamin D level, it’s possible that this might inhibit or impede your ability to lose weight on a reduced caloric diet,” she says."

    I say it can't hurt :)
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,222 Member
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    I have a severe deficiency and am on doctor prescribed Vitamin D3. It's not that Vitamin D *helps* weight loss , it's that a vitamin D deficiency inhibits weight loss/can cause weight gain. I think that if your levels are fine, taking it won't help you lose, but if you are deficient it may fix a "roadblock" in your weight loss.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,222 Member
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    “What is suggested here is that if you start out with an inadequate vitamin D level, it’s possible that this might inhibit or impede your ability to lose weight on a reduced caloric diet

    Exactly
  • Tzipporah90
    Tzipporah90 Posts: 126
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    If I remember correctly,
    I think I learnt that vitamin d is toxic when taken in excess I would talk to my Dr first IMO.
  • ljscar12
    ljscar12 Posts: 24
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    There was an article published in one of this months Muscle/Workout magazines about weight loss and Vit D. Majority of the population is deficient due to the foods we eat. Vit D is vital for assisting in the absorption of calcium and other important minerals. I have now been taking 5000 iu daily. I am down about 13 lbs. over the past 6 weeks.
  • Gigi_licious
    Gigi_licious Posts: 1,185 Member
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    If I remember correctly,
    I think I learnt that vitamin d is toxic when taken in excess I would talk to my Dr first IMO.

    This. Talk with your doc first.
  • A_New_Horizon
    A_New_Horizon Posts: 1,555 Member
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    I take a multi-vitamin which has Vitamin D in it, but I don't drink milk like I used too and the sun goes down quicker now (a natural vitamin D). So, I have decided to add 1 vitamin D tablet a day for a week and see what happens. I will see how my body reacts and if it changes anything.
  • Blackthorne99
    Blackthorne99 Posts: 250 Member
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    While many people ARE deficient in Vitamin D, it actually CAN hurt to supplement it if you're not deficient. Vitamin D is one of the fat soluable vitamins, and excess amounts are stored in the liver. There is such a thing as Vitamin D toxicity.

    What I would recommend is having your doctor draw your Vitamin D levels if you think you ARE low, and then supplement based on KNOWLEDGE, not on speculation. If your doctor won't request it, you can actually do test it yourself. Vitalady sells a self-test kit that is then sent to a lab to be tested: http://www.vitalady.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=1139X001 It's $68 for the self-test kit.
  • shannonkk
    shannonkk Posts: 192 Member
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    I am low and the doctor gave me 50,000 IU a week which i took as directed for 9 weeks and gained 2 lbs. I do feel better though, my doctor said low D messes with your blood sugars too, and I am hypoglycemic. I live in the no sunshine state, Seattle, so I am not surprised.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,222 Member
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    I am low and the doctor gave me 50,000 IU a week which i took as directed for 9 weeks and gained 2 lbs. I do feel better though, my doctor said low D messes with your blood sugars too, and I am hypoglycemic. I live in the no sunshine state, Seattle, so I am not surprised.

    I'm on the 50,000 IU twice a week. I've been on a night shift for five years. I didn't notice a weight gain, but I almost completely stopped my afternoon naps and what I was beginning to worry might be lactose intolerance completely disappeared.
  • finchase
    finchase Posts: 174
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    I have no idea whether it helps weight loss, but my doctor put me on Vitamin D a few months ago. I'm sure it doesn't hurt.
  • ivansmomma
    ivansmomma Posts: 500
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    I would like to try and see if it would help the weight loss, but I will definitely talk to my doctor first. I also take a multi-vitamin supplement everyday that includes 400 IU of Vitamin D. Having a kidney transplant, I have to be very careful and I don't take anything without consultation. Best to talk to your doctor first - I agree!!
  • zepfan69
    zepfan69 Posts: 11
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    Hello! If you are still interested in adding vitamin D to MFP, visit and sign this petition: https://www.change.org/petitions/myfitnesspal-allow-myfitnesspal-users-to-track-custom-categories-such-as-the-important-vitamin-d
  • SimplyMicheleR
    SimplyMicheleR Posts: 89 Member
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    You would have to take MASSIVE amounts of D to get over optimal level - my husband finally went over after 3 years (under a doctor's advice and supervision) was up to taking 40,000 units a day. for 2 1/2 years, he was taking that and blood work still had him barely in range until this last draw.

    400 units a day (in a multi) is enough to keep you from dying from a deficiency. I take 10,000 a day and an in the low end of the acceptable range. I have friends who can do that on 800 a day. you need to get tested and work with your Dr to see how your supplements affect you!

    PS - the prescription D is D2 which is not absorbed by the body - use the OTC D3 for best results!
  • GreenIceFloes
    GreenIceFloes Posts: 1,491 Member
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    Hello! If you are still interested in adding vitamin D to MFP, visit and sign this petition: https://www.change.org/petitions/myfitnesspal-allow-myfitnesspal-users-to-track-custom-categories-such-as-the-important-vitamin-d

    Signed!

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