How does a bipolar person stay fit and thin?

I’m doing Noom too!! It has helped me a lot. I’ve had to go back up on meds (which have caused weight gain in the past) but with Noom I have been able to maintain the weight loss.
Best wishes to you YIba!! You got this!! 🙌

I weigh 176. Last year I was about 150. Then I messed up my birth control. I look 20 pounds less then I actually am because I gained muscle so I look about the same. I don’t really eat healthy but I do usually eat to maintain my weight. I’m hoping to start exercising as soon as possible.

I was naturally thin - until I went on Seroquel. Over a couple of years I gained over 100lbs. So far, the best I can do is keep myself from gaining more. The Seroquel has really damaged my metabolism.

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Originally Posted by lightly toasted Does keeping the med dose low help? Has anyone experienced a reduction in weight gain if they kept their dose of which ever weight gain med they were taking at the lowest therapeutic dose possible?

It didn't help for me (Seroquel).

Its going to sound like I have an easy time of it @MusicLover82 but I didnt. I was overweight my whole life by some, then kids and 60lbs later than 30lbs more. I had my last child when I was 28 and ended up in the hospital for 4 days and they doped me up with seroquel. 20 more lbs. At my heaviest I was 310lbs. I began the process of getting approved for gastric bypass. I wasn't food addicted but I huge portion issues and personally believe I had a sugar tolerance. I was pre-diabetic and had fatty liver disease. The process took 6 months of monthly visits and I had to lose 20lbs before the surgery. I had the roux-n-y and they weren't doing sleeves then. I lost 127lbs but it was a tool. I have a low tolerance for sugar and my digestive tract is completely different now. I crept a bit off and on over the years but thats usually when I wasnt eating junk. I gained about 20 covid lbs. My doctor had wanted me to take a certain dose of geodon and I wasnt compliant putting my family through hell. On top of that I am such a rapid metabolizer that I developed an alcohol addiction. (sober 8 years). I know a lot of people that were not successful with GB because they did not follow the food guidelines and take their vitamins. Some even had revisions. It truly is a tool. I am not trying to say there is no other way for you or even if you need it I am just sharing how it worked for me. The roux-n-y doesnt just reduce the size of your stomach, it changes the way you digest which I think is more helpful than the sleeve. I am not trying to brag. I'd share before and after with you but I dont want to seem like an asshole bragging;

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Originally Posted by sarahsweets Its going to sound like I have an easy time of it @MusicLover82 but I didnt. I was overweight my whole life by some, then kids and 60lbs later than 30lbs more. I had my last child when I was 28 and ended up in the hospital for 4 days and they doped me up with seroquel. 20 more lbs. At my heaviest I was 310lbs. I began the process of getting approved for gastric bypass. I wasn't food addicted but I huge portion issues and personally believe I had a sugar tolerance. I was pre-diabetic and had fatty liver disease. The process took 6 months of monthly visits and I had to lose 20lbs before the surgery. I had the roux-n-y and they weren't doing sleeves then. I lost 127lbs but it was a tool. I have a low tolerance for sugar and my digestive tract is completely different now. I crept a bit off and on over the years but thats usually when I wasnt eating junk. I gained about 20 covid lbs. My doctor had wanted me to take a certain dose of geodon and I wasnt compliant putting my family through hell. On top of that I am such a rapid metabolizer that I developed an alcohol addiction. (sober 8 years). I know a lot of people that were not successful with GB because they did not follow the food guidelines and take their vitamins. Some even had revisions. It truly is a tool. I am not trying to say there is no other way for you or even if you need it I am just sharing how it worked for me. The roux-n-y doesnt just reduce the size of your stomach, it changes the way you digest which I think is more helpful than the sleeve. I am not trying to brag. I'd share before and after with you but I dont want to seem like an asshole bragging;

I'm not getting why you think you're bragging? You've just explained your situation in a realistic way. I'd like to hear about your before and after.

Thank you. Yes, Seroquel is what I take.

I can't exactly say that I'm fit and thin, because I'm about 12 lbs overweight. Also, I have high cholesterol and blood pressure, but I know that my weight could be much higher than it is. Many of my female ancestors (and some male ancestors) have been/were heavier than me, with even worse health issues, so I guess I've done something a little right. Physical activity of some form is likely part of my secret. Even if I'm not doing formal exercise, I'm a fast moving sort. Not lethargic. I also love to cook and know what healthful food is all about. Not that I don't eat high fat/calorie stuff too often, but I eat low calorie/fat, as well. I can give myself credit that I can plan very satisfying low fat/calorie meals. Such meals need not only be lettuce, and other raw veggies, with lemon juice on it.

I fully acknowledge that some bipolar medications can be nasty weight-gainers, but not all. Of my current medications, only Seroquel XR is a challenge for me, but even that is a lesser evil than some others I have taken. I have found some medications weight neutral that others have not. For example, Lithium was weight neutral for me. The only positive about that medication I experienced.

A stable mood certainly helps to keep my weight down. It allows me the motivation needed to stick to a diet and plan meals effectively. Depression makes things very difficult. Hypomania/mania could go either way, when it comes to losing/gaining weight, for me.

I have good muscle tone, and always have. Stems a bit from my ballet years and perhaps genes (mother's side). That and being large-boned make my extra 12 lbs seem like less than many other women's at my same weight. IOWs, many people think I weigh less than I do.

I gained weight from SSRI's, SSNI's, all AP's (especially Seroquel), and a number of other psych meds...mirtazipine was a major weight-gainer for me. I have wondered if, because I started out under weight, my body overcompensates by easily gaining.

A few years ago I sold my car, bought a bike, and rode to/from work and everywhere I needed to go. So I was riding every day. I was eating normally, and (as always) with good health in mind. I thought surely I'd lose a decent amount of weight, riding as much as I was.

Well, I never lost a single lb. I didn't gain any weight, but not losing any while exercising like I was every day...it was discouraging, to say the least.

I've never been a junk food junkie, I've always been very conscious of healthy eating. Metformin has kept my blood sugar low, but that's all. I love water and drink a lot, every day.

At this point I am working on walking more and more (post achilles tendon surgery). I figure I might lose maybe 25lbs., but I don't have high hopes for losing much more than that. I seem to be someone whose weight is affected by nearly every psych med.

I'm losing weight with a vegan diet. I was 167 Yesterday 157 in two weeks. I exercise on my stair stepper at least 20 minutes every other day. I am 5' and I know I need to lose a lot more lbs. I wan to get down to 135.lbs.

Water, lots of water. When I was first on psych meds I did not drink as much water. Two meds I was on caused massive weight gain.

Another doctor wanted to prescribe mirtazapine (sp) for me. Grrr. I did not use the script. (I probably ''should'' not say this... the doctor was very overweight and also horrible with her words )

I've lost the weight now though. I think some meds are weight neutral (?) although I have not experienced that (aside from benzos) I also do not snack at night if I find myself putting on some weight again.

I'm relatively thin. Portioning my food has been key for me. Also, I stick to a vegetarian diet. I try to exercise at least 3 days per week, sometimes more, sometimes less.

I workout three times a week, try to take a walk every day, and minimize carbs like bread and pasta. Exercise is a twofer - it also helps manage mood swings. And if you drink alcohol, minimizing that intake helps alot.

I hope you find a solution that works!

@MusicLover82

I think it is very difficult. A lot of the tips mentioed so far in this thread, while well meaning, are either tips that apply to anyone trying to lose weight. Or they come from people who aren't mostly depressed, aren't on weight gain medication or people who've not been very fat in the first place.

I used to be a pro at getting and keeping the weight off too, but I experienced a lot of hypomania back then, I was younger, and I wasn't taking weight gain medication.

Now I do take seroquel, and I've not seen more than a few minutes of hypomania or the absence of depression in several years.

The real questions are, how does one lose weight when you can work out everyday and still be depressed. How does one eat within their calorie range when they can't sleep because their meds make us so damn hungry. We get up have a yogurt or a piece of fruit, still hungry, still can't sleep...then half a peanut butter sandwhich a glass of milk. Great now we can sleep, but we've eaten too much to lose weight...and this happens every night.

How do we work out regularly, when depression or meds cause every cell in our bodies to cry out to lay down 5 minutes in. We push through and work out anyway, feel the accomplishment. But now we're too exhausted to do anything else. After weeks of doing this we still don't have any extra energy, we're still depressed and our home is becoming a dump, because we choose to workout with our only crumbs of energy. Oh great, now here's two weeks worth of insomnia to make working out even harder. We keep working out, hoping it will help us sleep, but it doesn't. And now we're in constant pain because we're not getting the sleep need to repair our muscles. The pain causes us to become more sedentary for a couple of weeks before we started our sensible workout routine 6 weeks ago. And then we're back at it, but the cycle repeats itself.

How do we stop eating the crap food, or just overeating even healthy food when it's the only damn thing in our lives at the moment that stops up from SI. We've quit drinking, we don't use drugs, don't smoke, but we do turn the drug of choice for "good bipolar boys and girls" - food.

We're not making excuses, we keep hammering away at it, making several attempts each year. Each time telling ourselves, "this time i'll stay stable long enough, or I'll keep going despite how ill I feel , how hungry I feel" or we taper off the weigh gain meds, maybe try something weight neutral, maybe we lose a few pounds before going completly off the rails and begging to go back on the weight gain med once again. Because after all what's the point of being thin if we're dead.

We know what to do- eat less, eat healthier, move more in ways that we like. The illness and meds themselves do create many obsticales.

this one doesn't

fit and thin?

does not describe me at all