Gained Weight Because of Medication

build_them_skyward

Hi, I hope someone can give me some tips.

I used to be very underweight and when I was put on a medication for depression I gained a little weight. Then I was put on an antipsychotic injection and had to be taken off it because I was gaining a lot of weight really quickly. The meds also increased my appetite for junk food and I feel like eating junk has become a habit and I feel like i'm addicted to it as I crave things like chocolate all the time.

I'm looking for some advice on how to conquer this. I'm trying to cut down on how much chocolate I eat, which I am managing to do, but i'm worried that i'm just replacing it with other sugary food. Also, because I have mental health problems I find it very difficult to motivate myself to get out of bed so I lose out on exercise time. I usually manage to go to the gym twice a week though and I walk a little most days.

I've been on MFP for over a month and i've lost nothing. Feeling a bit hopeless.

LKArgh

build_them_skyward wrote: »

Hi, I hope someone can give me some tips.

I used to be very underweight and when I was put on a medication for depression I gained a little weight. Then I was put on an antipsychotic injection and had to be taken off it because I was gaining a lot of weight really quickly. The meds also increased my appetite for junk food and I feel like eating junk has become a habit and I feel like i'm addicted to it as I crave things like chocolate all the time.

I'm looking for some advice on how to conquer this. I'm trying to cut down on how much chocolate I eat, which I am managing to do, but i'm worried that i'm just replacing it with other sugary food. Also, because I have mental health problems I find it very difficult to motivate myself to get out of bed so I lose out on exercise time. I usually manage to go to the gym twice a week though and I walk a little most days.

I've been on MFP for over a month and i've lost nothing. Feeling a bit hopeless.

Talk to your therapist. You are not alone, and what you have been going through is very common. Do not follow advice on the internet, it can be dangerous because of your health issues and medication. Talk to your therapist, he/she has seen this before. It is really not at all unusual. And ask if counting calories is ok, or making things worse. Maybe a dietician would also help.

ndj1979

aggelikik wrote: »

build_them_skyward wrote: »

Hi, I hope someone can give me some tips.

I used to be very underweight and when I was put on a medication for depression I gained a little weight. Then I was put on an antipsychotic injection and had to be taken off it because I was gaining a lot of weight really quickly. The meds also increased my appetite for junk food and I feel like eating junk has become a habit and I feel like i'm addicted to it as I crave things like chocolate all the time.

I'm looking for some advice on how to conquer this. I'm trying to cut down on how much chocolate I eat, which I am managing to do, but i'm worried that i'm just replacing it with other sugary food. Also, because I have mental health problems I find it very difficult to motivate myself to get out of bed so I lose out on exercise time. I usually manage to go to the gym twice a week though and I walk a little most days.

I've been on MFP for over a month and i've lost nothing. Feeling a bit hopeless.

Talk to your therapist. You are not alone, and what you have been going through is very common. Do not follow advice on the internet, it can be dangerous because of your health issues and medication. Talk to your therapist, he/she has seen this before. It is really not at all unusual. And ask if counting calories is ok, or making things worse. Maybe a dietician would also help.

this…

my only advice would be get a food scale and weigh all your solid foods and log everything into MFP.

other that that, talk to your health professionals….

bpetrosky

A couple things, and you'll hear more of it from others here.

I did a quick scan of your diary for the past few days, and it seems you're probably not weighing the food you log. If you're going by package serving sizes and volume measurements, you are probably underestimating your intake.

Also, are you logging snacks between your meals? Those add up quick, and you could be significantly higher in calories than you think.

Take a couple weeks and really log everything by weight. Read at the sticky "Food Logging 101" thread at the top of the list in this forum, if you need pointers.

Lastly, antidepressants do seem mess with your "calories out", and the mechanisms for that are debated endlessly. You may have to adjust your activity level down in MFP to set a calorie target that better reflects your situation.

Good luck!

LBeet

I've been on antipsychotics, antidepressants, lithium, sleeping pills... lots of meds that have contributed to me gaining a huge amount of weight. So I can relate to you there. I find not having a routine makes me depressed and makes my life more disordered (I have a tendency to become pretty much nocturnal), which makes weight gain almost inevitable. I am seriously the worst about getting out of bed. If I'm not doing well mentally I'll just stay in bed literally all day on my laptop. Look up "sleep hygiene" and try to follow some of the advice about it. Make rules for yourself that you're not allowed to be in bed other than between a predetermined time you chose to go to bed and the time you set your alarm to in the morning. Even if that means sitting in an armchair watching TV it's a start. If you're only in bed when you need to be then when you actually go to bed you'll sleep better, be better rested and not feel as lethargic the next day.

It helps for me to have some commitment to force me out of bed. I used to have a friend come pick me up once a week at 8 am to go to yoga class. If it wasn't for that I would have probably slept until like 2pm those days. Can you join a morning yoga class or some other class you find interesting to get you out of bed? My mental health clinic has resources that can fund a patient's lessons or classes if it would be beneficial for their mental health. You could ask about that. Sometimes I tell myself I can treat myself to a Starbucks skinny latte if I get out of bed in the morning and walk there. Now that I'm tracking calories I look forward to weighing myself in the morning and having a nice breakfast, which gets me out of bed as soon as I wake up. Having a more rigid daily routine will make staying healthy easier, and staying healthy will make keeping a routine easier.

Also, you can still eat chocolate. Try using it as a reward, e.g. if I go to the gym today I can have half a chocolate bar. I find if I'm craving something and try to deny myself it I end up eating the equivalent amount of calories in unsatisfying alternatives and then I end up eating the original "bad" food anyway.