Why don’t I lose weight like before?

netastone

Hi everyone
So when I started university I took Prozac to help me with anxiety

It helped a lot though it made me gain a lot of weight, it practically changed my metabolism because I do workout and count calories

Now after I finished my first year in college I feel like I don’t need the pill anymore, my doctor agrees.

My question is, has anyone lost the weight they gained because of the pill after stop taking it? Did your metabolism went back to normal? Or I’m just stuck with this slow metabolism now? Because losing weight became harder than ever

Thanks

AnnPT77

It's possible that some (maybe most) of the effect was not on metabolism but on behavior. That might be eating behavior; but it might be daily-life activity behavior. Sometimes, drugs can cause subtle dragginess that makes us move a little less in daily life, which lowers our daily calorie burn. That slowed-down daily life gradually becomes a habit, so when we stop the drugs, the habits can remain. (Believe it or not, even fidgeting can burn a meaningful number of calories in a day, let alone things like simplified household chores, more sedentary social life or hobbies, more rest/sleep, etc.).

There's no real way to change metabolism as such. But behavior can change, as can things like exercise and exercise activity. This might also be a good time to review your food logging, making sure nothing is missed, that your portion sizes are spot-on (food scale if possible, at least for a checkpoint period), that the food database entries you use are as accurate as you can make them, that exercise calorie estimates are as realistic as possible, etc.

Some thoughts on daily-life behavior here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

missiontofitness

I'm not losing weight like before; I'm also not smoking a pack every 2-3 days like I was when I did my most successful weight loss journey. When I smoked, my appetite was surpressed, and it was easier for me to keep within my goals.

Our bodies and minds can react to the substances we put in to them; for some people, their appetite is supressed on certain medications or substanecs. For others, their appetite increases. A lot of people eat more than they think they do as well, because food isn't being weighed.

I would try to weigh your food, to see if that is the culprit. If you don't notice a change over a few weeks, it may be worth it to reach out to a dietician or nutritionist to see if there are other changes you can make to help you create a deficit.