Trying to lose weight from medication weight gain

I would like to hear from anyone who has experience losing medication induced weight. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I would like to give support and receive support on this venture.

I am currently on an Abilify taper. I have gained a lot of weight from it. I lost some of the weight I had put on from depakote previously while on topamax. When I was on topamax I lost 13 lbs. I gained that back plus more on the Abilify.

Oh and I had to get off topamax due to an itchy allergic rash diagnosed by my primary care doctor.

this isn't specifically about medication induced weight gain, but I found the best way for me to lose weight, I've always been overweight - was to go to a registered dietician. We talked about what foods I like to eat, and she put together a menu planner for me, showing me how many servings of carbs, oils, and protein to eat each day to lose weight. She also told me about a lot of tricks like switching to brown rice from white, whole grain pastas etc. Following her plan I lost 20 lbs in 2 months, which I unfortunately regained when I relapsed and started drinking again.

I'm now in a position to start cooking for myself again, so I'm going to go back on her plan and try to start loosing weight again.

registered dieticians are expensive but if your insurance would cover it, or you could afford it, it's really worthwhile.

splitimage

I lost 40 pounds over the summer and I think the combo of meds and depression has caused me to slap 40 of it back on. I am interested to see what advice others have on this issue too.

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Thanks for responding split image. I appreciate the reminders of healthy eating. Angel I hope we find some ideas.

For me most of the psychotric meds make me hungry...except Latuda, Lamictal, Lexapro, Aplenzin, and Cymbalta. I find too, when I'm depressed I carve carbs which are like poison to me. For me, eating a low carb diet is key to losing and keeping weight off! Also, I know of a lot of people who have done great on the HCG diet and have kept the weight off! Best of luck!

Thanks Vans

I eat a ton of coconut oil and cook with it. I as well have a dietician that when we first meet we went over my vitamins, medications, foods, drinks etc. She could not tell me much because I was already doing everything I had known how. She told me to just throw all dairy and gluten out of my mind, limit my love for caffeine to one glass a day with real cane sugar (I drink 8+ glasses of water a day)and increase my coconut oil.

I have felt sooooo much better and some days I fall into a candy bar or a sweet cinnamon roll and my body does not like. I will be hurting for about half a day. So ya I stay away.

I'm reading these posts with interest. I gained 125 pounds from risperidone and I'm having a bear of a time trying to drop it. The only success I've had was going cold turkey off my meds. I completely lost interest in food.

Thanks for posting 1776.

Hi Tapering,
This topic resonates with me because I gained 60 pounds when I was on Abilify in just 3 months. That med made me obsessed with food 24/7. I have had Drs since insist that Abilify is "weight neutral" and I just laugh. It's weight neutral for the person prescribing it.

Anyway, in terms of losing the weight the best advice I have is to watch your carb intake carefully and increase your protein. My naturopath told me to eat 60 grams of protein and 20 grams of carbs each day. I kept a food diary and wrote down everything I ate and it's protein and carb content. I was shocked at how much effort it took to get in 60 grams of protein and how easy it was to gobble down 20 grams of carbs in a few seconds. My favorite Amy's bean and cheese burritos had to go. :-(
Also fat is not bad. Eat lots of healthy fats from fish, avocado, pistachios, olive oil, coconut oil ect...
It has worked for me. Best of luck to you.

Bobkatt thank you I will up the protein. I crave protein and have all my life. Weight neutral is a joke with Abilify. It says the side effects on the website. My doctor still thinks it is weight neutral despite of my experiences and the product website info. She keeps going back to one study a long time ago.

A low carb diet but high in protein and veggies is probably a good start. Hard to get used to since we all have high carb diets usually. Once started though it is actually easy to maintain. In fact, you end up skipping almost the entire grocery store because all you go to is the produce for veggies (not fruit, too much sugar) and to the meat/fish counter. Also make sure you watch what you drink. Lots of drinks are loaded with sugar which affects your metabolism and also adds useless calories.

Starting some sort of exercise, even just a short walk will also boost your metabolism. I'm trying to do that myself and also using weights to tone up, but it is hard because I'm depressed. So go easy on yourself. It is a difficult process for anyone to do.

Good point about the drinks Archipelago. Even diet sodas will oppose weight loss and aspartame is also not good for depression. Plain old water is best but it can get boring. I bought a Sodastream home carbonator and now "spice up" my water with lemon or lime juice, grated ginger and crushed fruit. I don't put in all those things at once but I could!

Exercise also helps the mood. It can be a challenge to get moving when we are depressed. But you don't have to run a marathon. Even a short walk around the block is helpful and I often find that once I make (literally force) myself to get out there I want to walk farther than I originally intended.

I have a soda stream too and love it! I use some just cranberry. It is full of good things and helps dilate the blood vessels so you just feel better.

Thanks everyone sounds good.

I've gained about 90 lbs from a combination of psych meds and I can't get it off. However, I got a referral and will be seeing a dietician soon to help work on it. Part of the problem is my family buys junk and if junk is in the house, I'll eat it. Plus they're offering me food so often it's ridiculous and with these meds (and I can't get off of it either) any offer of food and I'm suddenly hungry. No one seems to care about my weight either. They're so happy I'm stable (for the most part) they'd rather me be obese. But I certainly can't take it anymore.

I am going to the doc and asking for a diuretic. I've put on 40 lbs. I can't stand how I look.

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Medication and depression might have contributed, but you could have regained without them, because regaining lost pounds happens in the overwhelming majority of dieters due to the natural mechanisms which are virtually foolproof.

You better start appreciating how you look now, because taking diuretics will lead to a superficial temporary weight loss, but then you will regain and possibly gain more. If you dislike how you look now, you won't like your body when it is 5-10 lbs heavier than now.

Better be reasonable, eat and do a combo or cardio and resistance to make the body look and feel better at the current weight. It is a much safer approach, in terms of reducing the risk of gaining more and yet more.

The way it was finally explained to me:
AP's interrupt the nerve impulses going from your stomach to your brain. Therefore, your brain does not get the signal that you are full so you are hungry all the time.
Now that we know this, how can reverse it amd still stay on medication? I have no idea.
BUT....metformin taken daily has proved to open up that line of communication between the brain and stomach pretty well in some individuals. My daughter took it for a while and it worked very well. She lost most of the 40 lbs she gained. Then medicaid denied her coverage of metformin because there was not enough proof yet of this helping. Now she is putting the weight back on again.

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Metformin has not helped me, but if it helped your D, she can buy it for cash. Metformin was invented in 1920s and thus is cheap. It is not some kind of new brand name invention (think Topamax, Abilify, Zyprexa...).

How much coconut oil a day?

I was taken of metformin at the same time I started Abilify. I never did lose weight with metformin when I was on it for PCOS.... will have to start checking my sugar levels again

Sad to say, It seems to work on only some people or maybe it dependa on the AP. She tried it a few times with no response, then a change to her current meds and it worked right away so I dont know. It either works for an individual or not.
I wish there were a simple answer for the weight gain....
And yes, I am going to find out how much it costs out of pocket. If its working for her on her current meds then she needs to be on it.

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