Weight gain with hormone therapy

Hello MountPeter 

Weight gain is one of the side effects of Hormone therapy - that's why we always say try and keep as fit as possible.

I am 30 months into a 36 month journey on HT. for the first 18 months my weight was fine - I did grow a magnificent pair of "moobs" (thanks NHS!) but in the last 12 months I have piled on almost 3 stone - so much so that I am now at "fat club" once a week trying to lose weight.

I changed my diet when I started HT and I have now increased my exercise - more walking and the weight has started to go down again!

Earlier in my journey I did get the fatigue but I worked through it and resisted the afternoon nap!

Best wishes - Brian.

 MountPeter , it is great that you have recognised the weight gain so early.  Diet and exercise are the only answers.  Remember that it is easy to gain but on HT extremely difficult to lose weight.  I was a fit 67 year old at the start and have gained 8 pounds in 7 years.  The problem is that it is all in two areas around my middle and moobs and I don’t think you can avoid some of that happening.  On the other side of the diet and exercise equation are fatigue and enjoying living.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting you keep to a strict regime, but just balance good and bad days eating.  Exercise but don’t over exercise - listen to your body.  Good luck, David

Hi MountPeter,

I've been on HT for 4 years now and have finally got used to it!! Initially I was shocked at the weight gain around my waist, in fact I had to discard all my trousers and go up a size. Also, I've developed "moobs" but that doesn't really bother me as no one sees them except my wife! We're all different in our reactions to HT but I've learnt to accept things and just get on with life. So try not to worry too much.

Best wishes

Bas

It's good to hear that other people have problems with weight gain when on HT
I've been on it since August last year and I've managed to lose 1 lb ;-)
I walk the dog 5 miles a day, do karate twice a week and Tae Kwon-Do once a week and I've lost 1 lb - Big deal ;-)
I also eat salads and very little else.
The big kicker for me is the fatigue.  When it hits it's like all your energy has gone.

It depends how your body reacts to the drugs. I don't think Lupron alone added much weight on me but it did make me lose muscle and brought pain in my joints. My regular "thin" weight is around 165 lbs (74Kg) and my "more muscular" weight is around 175 lbs (79Kg).

But once I added Abiraterone and Prednisone, then I ballooned up even though I had been training as much as usual which is still a few hours each week. Over the course of 2.5 years, I went up to 212 lbs (96Kg). That is because those drugs were making me insulin resistant.

After going on ADT vacation, I was able to bring my weight back down to 175 (79Kg). 

I started ADT again (Relugolix) earlier this month. My weight has not moved yet but I've already lost some muscle definition despite training and eating as usual.