Anyone else experience Weight Gain with long COVID?

Posted by RMS @rinadbq, Oct 8, 2021

I have had ~30 pound weight gain since November 2020 when I initially had COVID. It seems disproportionate to my calorie intake. Any one else with this?

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Yep 30+#s in about 2.5 months. All around my mid section. It’s very gross and won’t move. Currently the holistic doctor advised eliminating: dairy, gluten, pork, refined sugars and to add 2 servings of veggies per meal. To include breakfast. I’ve lost approximately 10# but the gross fat lumps are still around my middle. About all I have energy for is some walking for exercise

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Start out with a short walk, maybe 3-5 minutes for a few days. If/when you feel comfortable increase the time by another few minutes. I've done this while recovering from Covid, and am now up to 35 minutes. Walking should be good for you and will certainly help in reducing the problem area around the belly. All the best to you.

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I have gained 35 pounds Can’t seem to lose it

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Were you on any steroids during ur treatment for covid? That is always my culprit after treated with steroid for my asthma.

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I gained 25 pounds after the Covid shot, Everyone laughs at me because I blame the Covid shot for my weight gain. Glad to see I'm not the only one. And I can't get it off. I am 61 and have health problems so its hard for me to exercise. I just don't know what to do. I have tried all kinds of diets. Nothing is working.

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Swam laps in pool for an hour a day along with treadmill, rowing machine, for the last year, I'm not loosing ant weight either just the opposite.

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@colleenyoung

Welcome @rmfe. What other long COVID symptoms have you experienced? What has your recovery experience been? Anything different in your life that coincides with the weight gain?

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Breathing problems lung scarring. Leg swelling some days muscle fatigue.

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@welchllb

Thank you for taking the time to make suggestions for me. I have tried about every probiotic, including refrigerated one from the health food store. My issue is too much stool or nothing.
I've been so busy looking at Saturated Fat grams in foods, due to a sudden elevation in my LDL levels that I've forgotten sugar. Thanks for the reminder. I am working with a Gastroenterologist and am considering a nutritionist - I've always been my own nutritionist. Onward and upward. Sometimes I wonder if I should just stop eating. I won't. 🙂

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I would suggest looking at complex carbohydrates, like sugars and starches, for elimination. Also, another big inflammation problem is seed oils, such as canola, margarine, flaxseed, sunflower seed, etc. You might consider going keto, or at least low-carb, for a while to see if that works.

I've read a couple of studies on this. Basically, if you were prone to metabolic disease before COVID, it will activate it. Unfortunately, I'm not a medical professional (nor do I play one on TV), so I can't really interpret the science as much as a doctor can.

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I am actually searching my weight due to the Covid vaccine
Putting the puzzle together
I have never had covid
Had two vaccine doses
My daughter had a thyroid condition that straight after the vaccine cause heart pains and stop her thyroid working and had to go on emergency medication. The same weekend her bosses daughter who was having hypothyroidism had just had the covid vaccine had her thyroid collapse and had to have emergency thyroid removal
I searched and there is a link around the world of this side effect from the vaccines
I am a very healthy female and amazingly have not had covid But since having the vaccines have gained an unexplained 15.4 pounds and hard bloating stomach
I take mo medication - eat very healthy and do moderate exercise
My blood work is all good
It leads me to think there is a link between the vaccine - thyroid and weight gain or sudden weight loss

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Jan 2022, 167 lbs & a size 8/10. I was 54 years old & am a female. I had 3 different variants within 24 days. Triple Pfizer vaxxed at that point.
Cold like symptoms 1/22/22. Got tested & was positive. Got test 2 because I needed a negative result for a European trip I was going on for my 55 birthday at the end of Jan. Test was negative. France changed entry protocols so I got another test. Positive. Then a 4th. Undefined. Not undetermined but undefined. State health dept went back and tested my PCR tests as I was now a subject of interest.
I wanted to explain first how I knew that I had 3 variants as I had no symptoms except the cold like ones with variant 1, which was Omicron. No symptoms after that.
Needless to say the trip was cancelled and within a month the long COVID symptoms were in full effect. By March 16, 2022, I had gained almost 40 lbs & 3 full dress sizes. Nothing about my eating, diet or exercise had changed.
Today, almost a year later the weight still hasn’t come off. In fact I’ve gained another 18 lbs. The fog lifted after about month 5 but it still happens from time to time. The joint pain is terrible and every minor health issue I had prior to COVID has gotten way worse.
I’ve seen countless Drs, been monitored by NIH (they’ve been no help), and no one can tell me why I can’t get rid of the weight I gained much less why I gained it to begin with.
I lost my global consulting job in May because of the fog. I rarely leave the house now because I have no clothes that fit and losing a very lucrative job has contributed to not wanting to spend money on new clothes to fit my now size 18 body. The depression is terrible.
So anyone else who has had the weight gain with no answer as to why it happened or why you can’t lose it, you’re not alone. The whole thing is torture.

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