There is nothing wrong with gaining a little extra weight, but if it happened suddenly and accompanied by other negative symptoms, you should pay attention to your health. In many cases, it is necessary to consult a general practitioner in order to exclude some serious complications. We collected several diseases and conditions that may be signaled by sudden weight gain.
Medical Reasons for Weight Gain
1. Disruption of intestinal flora
Our whole immunity depends on the stomach, so if an imbalance occurs there, it affects the whole body. Harmful bacteria can begin to multiply inside your intestines, which can cause bloating, weight gain, and slow digestion.
It is also affected by things as a lack of fiber, dehydration, taking some kind of medication, or simply eating unhealthy food. To cope with the problem, you can use probiotics, as well as consult a gastroenterologist for advice.
2. Taking contraceptives
Contraceptives can cause additional fluid retention in the body, which also leads to a breakdown of your metabolism. Specialists claim that the body needs several cycles in order to adapt to the drug, so it is worth being patient if you have recently started taking pills. At the same time, if you have other symptoms, you can talk to the best gynecologist Queens about replacing the drug with another method of contraception.
3. Thyroid disease
Sudden weight gain is a common symptom of thyroid problems, such as hypothyroidism or Hashimoto disease. Edema of the neck, fatigue, slowed metabolism, galloping temperature – all this can be very harmful to your health, so you should immediately seek advice from an endocrinologist.
4. Depression
Depression can cause metabolic disorders and changes in appetite, which also leads to weight gain, due to the growth of cortisol – a stress hormone that enhances the formation of glucose through muscle breakdown. As a result: your muscles are destroyed and visceral fat begins to form.
It is not very difficult to understand whether you really have a depressive syndrome, and if you notice that your mood remains bad for a long time, it makes sense to consult a specialist.
5. Nutrient shortage
If your body does not absorb nutrients well, or you eat an unbalanced diet in general, it can also disturb your metabolism. For example, vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble and should be consumed along with healthy fats. Add to your regular dishes a few products that contain them: slices of avocado, salmon, olive oil and nuts.
6. Schedule violation
In the case when you recently moved, changed your work schedule, or started to go to bed at absolutely a different time, this can also worsen your sleep cycles and cause weight gain. The less you sleep, the worse the leptin is, which suppresses appetite. In addition, you will probably begin to make less effort to cook healthy food, and move a little less – and this all affects your metabolism.
7. Insulin resistance
Insulin resistance most often is the result of chronic inflammation. In this state, fat cells grow and draw out immune cells, which strengthens the anti-inflammatory signals. To understand whether you are confronted with something similar, try to refuse any products that can cause micro-inflammations in the body.
8. Excessive training
If you training regularly, you feel how workouts increase the level of endorphins and make you happier and more productive. If your workouts are too intensive, it can lead to an accumulation of body fat, as well as an increase in cortisol.
9. Electrolyte imbalance
When you forget to drink enough fluids throughout the day or eat too much salty food, it can lead to water retention and even bloating. To correct this imbalance is enough, so if you think that your excess weight is the result of dehydration, just develop a good habit of drinking water regularly.
10. Tumors
If your excess weight is deposited solely on the lower abdomen, it can signal a really big problem. Sometimes this can indicate a tumor, such as ovarian cancer. To exclude such diagnoses, you should consult a doctor, especially if you feel pain in this area.