Weight gain

[Mkirby1]

I have been on prednisone 5mg at the moment, for nearly 8 years and really struggle to loose any weight. Has anyone ever lost the weight gained on prednisone I would love to know how

[SnazzyD]

Hello. Yes it is very possible. What adjustments have you made to your diet so far?

Just edited this as forgot to say I didn’t put on weight even with high dose, with a very low carb and very low salt diet. That meant no pasta, potato, rice, maize, anything made with flour.

[Hidden]

Yes. Over the past couple of years following a low carb high fat diet I have lost 20kgs. Currently 4years in on 7mg pred. I used something like this link just to help understand it. I do 60 to. 80g of carbs a day. Some have to go as low as 20g to lose weight.

dietdoctor.com/low-carb

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Cut your carbs! Drastically... There are a lot on the forums who will attest to that working for them.

I gained weight due to inactivity being unable to exercise as usual because of undiagnosed PMR over a period of 5 years. When I was put on pred the weight redistributed itself and then later I was put on methyl prednisolone instead (I had moved to Italy) - and then the weight gain really went into overdrive. Some months later I was switched to a form of prednisone and at about the same time cut carbs drastically - and over 18 months lost 35lbs of that weight despite still being on 10-15mg pred .

For some people cutting processed carbs and added sugar is enough - some have to be stricter. Cut what you can easily and see if you start to lose weight - if you don't, you have to cut more. There is no easy answer, there never is, but cutting carbs and sugars (including a lot of fruit) does work and often also helps to reduce the inflammation and so the symptoms.

dietdoctor.com/

is a very useful introduction. Don't worry about keto diets - when you are on pred it is almost impossible to get into ketosis but it doesn't matter, you should still lose weight.

[Rose54]

Hi

Yes I have lost 23lb since May last year

I follow the BHF Healthy Heart Eating Plan

Most of this was while on 15 mg Preds a day

5 Years on them altogether

I always struggle with weight as have underactive thyroid as well

[bunnymom]

I'm in the U S and finally tried weight watchers. I've lost 20lbs and kept it off. I'm at 6 med wise. I'm also able to walk more. It was alot of trial and error till I found what worked. I accepted that I was going to be on predisone for the long haul and my diet had to change. I don't go to meetings but use my phone app. Good luck it can be done!