Iron supplements made me gain 14 lbs in a week!
I started in November 2010 and have lost 133 lbs. It took about 6 and a half months to lose the first 100, and the 30 soon after, then from about February to now I've kind of just maintained my weight with no real weight loss. Then recently I decided its time to drop about 10 more pounds. I began getting strict and began losing again. Then that's when I had a major set back....
Last month around Easter I had all the signs of anemia so I decided to take an iron supplement. Since it was found in the vitamin isle I believed it was safe, with no major side effects. I figured it could only help. Well, after I had started my strict way of eating again (I refuse to call it a diet because its not a diet, this is how I will live my life now eating healthy) I had quickly lost 4-5 lbs. I was at my lowest weight yet and very excited.
About a week after taking the iron supplement I stepped on the scale to find I had gained 11 pounds, and a total of 14 total while on the iron. This wasn't possible. I weigh myself daily besides every other weekend, and this was one of those weekends were I hadn't. There is no way to gain 11 lbs from Friday to Monday. I hadn't cheated, and I had done everything that I did before to lose the 133 lbs. Over the weekend I had seen pictures of myself and for the first time in a year and a half didnt like them. I thought I looked heavier than normal in them but brushed it off since I was standing next to two ridiculously skinny girls. Monday morning I woke up with a tightness in my upper stomach, pain, and bloating right behind my rib cage. I figured I was sore from all the dancing I did over the weekend. I went ahead and stayed on my strict healthy eating and when I woke up the next morning I thought well at least the scale will be less today. I stepped on the scale and I gained a pound! I called my Mom and she laughed saying the scale must be broken. I took the battery out, put it back in, reset it, but still I had gained a pound! I got extremely crabby because I was eating healthy, eating less even, yet still gaining? I went to bed thinking ok, maybe it is taking a few days so I may lose like 3 pounds when I step on the scale. I weighed myself in the morning and another pound gained! Something wasn't right. It was now Wednesday, I still had stomach pain, tightness and upper bloating, and sudden unexplained weight gain. By this point I felt miserable, crabby, confused and straight up mad! Looking back I feel so bad for everyone around me that week lol. Finally Wednesday night I was laying on the couch watching tv and thinking what it could be. Finally realizing the only change in my body was the iron and decided to look up iron supplements. BAM! I looked up weight gain and iron supplements and it answered all of my questions! Immediately I stopped taking iron. There were other side effects such as a sore throat for two weeks also that all had stopped, and within a few days the stomach pain and tightness all went away. I felt relieved that I figured out the problem, but was still crabby for a few days unhappy with how I looked. Even though it wasn't blatantly obvious that I gained, it was to me. I could tell in pictures that were taken the following weekend, and felt like a cow. Its funny I didn't even feel that heavy or insecure when I was at my heaviest a year and a half ago at 277 lbs.
Now I'm back at my lowest weight and so relieved! I reached my mini goal two days ago, and set my next goal which is 5 lbs. away! Oh what a nightmare that was.
Last edited by GypsyQueen; 05-08-2012 at 07:41 PM.
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