Weighting Line

Weight Gain and Hormones, Part One

by Diane Penna on November 6th, 2008

You have likely read that weight gain and loss is as simple as calories in versus calories out. You have also probably read that your weight gain was purely a consequence of your lack of self-control, and that you have access to as much self-control as everyone else. I’ve had doctors say there’s no way medications can cause weight gain, though studies have shown they have. I’ve also heard people say that whether you’re fat or not is determined from the day you’re born — you have either the fat gene or the skinny gene.No wonder overweight people get frustrated and confused, because how do you fix a problem if you don’t know what caused it?

I’ve already shared that my problem with weight gain began when I was in 5^th grade and finally allowed to spend hours alone after school. One could say that lack of supervision and the fact that I came home to read books instead of going bike riding led to my extreme and sudden weight gain. While those things did have a lot to do with it, I believe something else played a part — hormones.

I’m not a medical professional and I haven’t done all the research there is on the relationship between weight gain and hormones. I do know one thing though — for me, hormones has been a very real part of my weight gain and loss cycles. You too may have noticed a correlation between your weight and the medicines you were taking, any physical conditions you were going through, or life changes you were making. I have, and I truly believe it is not a coincidence.

When I began having trouble with weight, I was in the midst of huge hormonal changes happening within my body. Puberty hit me like a ton of bricks, having gone from nothing to everything (including menstruation) in a year’s time — with my 5^th grade year smack in the middle of it. Coincidence? Maybe.

Ten years and a lot of up-and-down of the scale later, I was 19 and relatively healthy and fit. Away at college, I started gaining weight at an alarming rate, once again. Sure, many girls put on the famous “freshman fifteen,” but how many of them gain that 15 pounds every month for almost six months? Yikes!

In short time I was the fattest I had ever been, so far, and it was hard. Everyone thought I had totally lost all self-control, and I did too. I couldn’t figure out why my hunger was never-ending and insatiable. Then something weird happened. I completely stopped menstruating. I was young and really didn’t think much of it, until almost a year without a period had passed. Not long after that, an Endocrine Specialist diagnosed me with a form of Hypothyroidism. Coincidence this time? Not likely.

To be continued…

Join me next Thursday for Weight Gain and Hormones, Part Two, when I’ll further explain why excessive hunger can be more than a lack of self-control.

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POSTED IN: Basics of Weight Loss, Diane's Journey