Unexplained weight gain can be frustrating and concerning. There are many potential causes, ranging from lifestyle factors like diet and exercise to underlying health conditions. Getting to the root cause is important.
Some common causes of sudden weight gain include:
- Hormonal imbalances - Issues with hormones like cortisol, estrogen, testosterone, and thyroid can lead to putting on extra pounds. Vitality Hormone Center offers comprehensive hormone testing and treatment to help patients identify and address hormonal causes of weight gain.
- Medications - Some prescription drugs like corticosteroids, antidepressants, and seizure medications list weight gain as a common side effect.
- Stress - High stress levels raise cortisol and can disrupt other hormones, metabolism, sleep, and healthy behaviors that lead to unexpected weight gain.
- Poor diet - Eating more calories, sugars, refined carbs, and inflammatory foods than your body needs leads to weight gain over time. Focusing on a balanced, whole foods diet is key.
- Lack of exercise - Without regular physical activity, metabolism slows down and the body is more prone to pack on excess fat storage and weight.
- Medical conditions - Issues like hypothyroidism, Cushing's disease, chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, PCOS, sleep apnea and more can contribute to difficulty losing weight.
"If you're experiencing sudden, unexplained weight gain, don't ignore it - talk to your doctor and get the right testing done to determine the cause," says Dr. Sarah Kim of Vitality Hormone Center.
The first steps are tracking your symptoms, diet, activity levels, and timeline of weight changes. From there, comprehensive
lab testing of hormone levels, blood sugar regulation, inflammation markers and other indicators can shed light on what's causing weight gain. Adjustments to diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, medication or hormone therapy may be needed to get back on track.
At
Vitality Hormone Center, we specialize in getting to the root causes of stubborn weight gain through cutting-edge hormone, gut health, genetics and other lab testing paired with personalized treatment plans. Reach out today to start investigating your unexplained weight gain.
We're here to help!