What you need to know:

Much as many women who are about to reach or those who have reached menopause may experience some symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, mood changes and weight gain, among other, some women may not suffer any symptoms

You’re following a weight-loss eating plan. You’re exercising almost every day. You’re proud of the new healthy habits you’ve learned. Yet week after week, the scale barely seems to budge. What gives?

Chances are your food portion sizes have crept up (time to get out the scales and measuring cups again). Or your workouts may not be quite as intense as you think (start checking that heart rate).

But if you know you’ve followed your reducing plan religiously, there’s another possibility: A medical condition — or medication — may be to blame.

“If you haven’t been able to lose weight and you can’t understand why, you need to determine whether there’s a medical condition underlying your weight problem,” says Peter LePort, MD, director of the Smart Dimensions Bariatric Program at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in California. “You need to cure that problem first before you can address the weight issue.”

Medical Reasons for Weight Gain

Several conditions can cause weight gain or hinder weight loss, says Rebecca Kurth, MD, director of PrimeCare at Columbia-Presbyterian Eastside and associate professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University.