Endo and weight gain

[chezachuck]

Just wanted to understand if anyone else has suffered with unexplained weight gain with their endometriosis? I was diagnosed a couple of weeks ago having had a hell of a battle with the docs to believe me that something was wrong.

Since my endo has been getting worse so has my inability to manage and maintain my weight and I feel I am fighting a losing battle with it having tried numerous ways to lose weight even attending a personal trainer 3 times a week for 12 weeks equaling me still putting on weight!!!

Having googled the problem I have read that it can sometimes influence insulin resistance which impacts weight but has anyone else had any experience with this and if so have you found a way of addressing this positively???

Thank you all xxxxx

[Dee11]

I’m massively struggling with my weight right now. I’ve never been his big before in my life. Literally nothing is working to lose it, even things that worked amazingly in the past, and it’s making me feel so horrible. I haven’t found a way of getting round it yet so have no advice on that front, but just wanted you to know you’re not alone! x

[Rebeccasalt]

Are you on any hormonal medication to help with the symptoms? I made a change to mine to the implant and this massively impacted my weight and ability to lose it- no matter what I did I just couldn't lose it and felt rubbish all the time. Have made a change to the mirena coil now and that has had an impact - feel much more myself and have dropped back to normal weight.

[luthien]

I have had unexpected weight gain about 6 years ago which coincided with symptoms for endo but I didn't know at the time as I hadn't seen a doc about that bit. I have seen a doc about the weight gain, and because of my ethnicity (Iranian) I get put on the "alert" watch which basically means they assume I have diabetes. So I've been tested for that and comes up borderline prediabetic and normal, so to me there's no concern. I got embarrassingly sent to a round of healthy eating courses and exercise classes for people with confirmed diabetes that need help managing it. I was so annoyed as I already do sports, am active, I eat healthy (could be better!) and the letter was "now I have diabetes, what to do next". To top it off they keep taking my bmi and saying I'm overweight, 5'7" and have muscle, with a waist of uk size 16. I haven't gained any more over the past two years and my weight seems to have found it's "happy place", no matter how much exercise i do. Sorry rambling.

It's interesting because even with the previous weight gain and the switching to eating healthily I haven't lost it. I regularly measure my blood sugar and yes it has peaks but on average it's actually quite low. Bear in mind muscle is denser than fat so if you exercise and gain muscle while losing fat you may appear to gain weight. Something only my krav maga instructor told me when I got upset as I wasn't losing weight. I work on the idea of what feels "fat" so the wobbly bits of me; if they wobble less, that's good A personal trainer won't tell you that as they want you to keep going and keep paying them until you reach what you wanted as your end goal!

You may also find that quick dietary switches may not work;

try removing dairy products or reducing them (that can aggravate endo anyway),

I added more proteins (lean meats, beans and pulses),

opt for low sugar options for foods (sugar alternatives are listed as poylols and can be found under the carbohydrates - of which polyols) they are digested differently and so don't affect blood sugar levels as much. Make foods yourself because if you get the "diet" options in supermarkets they contain less fat and more sugar. its the good fats that we need (omega oils, coconut oils and vegetable oils) the sugar is what makes us put on weight with how its stored.

keep all the above up for a few months, but see how you feel energy wise and fit of clothes rather than actual weight

Perhaps you should get a blood sugar monitor, I have found the best one is from amazon called codefree. then check it regularly but at times that you think its good to check, I check before breakfast, just after I get home from work and two hours after eating (the latter has a peak obviously).

As for the endo and weight gain I'm not sure if there's a direct link; but women whom have endo can have diabetes and the reverse.

I'm not a super health freak just your average woman that likes chocolate and an occasional drink

Not sure if I'm helping!

[chezachuck]

Totally helping thank u so much.

I have struggled with my weight all my life and have probably lived off “low fat” products for most of this as well so makes sense!!!!

Going to look at an endo friendly diet to see if that helps me going forward.