While I agree with everything wildcatvet wrote, if you DO take care of your diet and exercise, your weight gain will become so insignificant, you wouldn't notice much gain, if any. Your diet is related to every working part of your body. Even those darn out of whack neurotransmitters. Food is chemicals and nutrients your body needs to function. So eating healthy and exercising will positively effect you, your body, and all of its functioning systems. The reason those who do not do so gain so much weight is because their eating habits accelerate the negative effects that antipsychotics have on your metabolism. So please do not accidentily misperceive wildcatvet's post as a reason not to take care of yourself through body and exercise. For a clearer example, if a child takes adhd medication during the school year, loses his weight, stops during the summer, then by the end of each summer the child has gained much more weight. The cause of the loss and gain is not from the medication's reaction with the child's neurotransmitters. Like antipsychotics, the child's medication is indirectly causing weight gain and loss. The real cause is the child, while not on medication, will eat like any normal child. However, the medication curves appetite, so when on the meds, he will not eat as well. This is similar to what happens to your body on antipsychotics, except instead of loss, you get gain. And gain is always harder in any situation to get rid of than loss. So if maintaining a balanced diet/exercise, you can control your body's intake of sodium and sugars. These are the direct factors to your weight gain from the indirect affects on your body through the medication.