Vyvanse

Dia_R

I saw the doctor today for a routine follow-up appointment. She was pleased that my weight was down 7 pounds from last month. I am officially pre-diabetic, so we discussed medications to help me with weight management. She said most insurance companies won't approve Ozempic unless you are diabetic, which would have been her first choice. She prescribed Vyvanse, which is approved for Binge Eating Disorder and tends to depress appetite and reduce impulsive eating. She wants me to stop by and weigh monthly at her office, for monitoring. And of course, she wants me to continue to log my intake and be active. It is hard to stay motivated.

AnnPT77

Seven pounds in a month is great: Congratulations!

Personally, I think "motivation" is a fickle beast, maybe something that can get us started, but it's good to think beyond motivation when it comes to how to continue.

Maybe this is just me (a hedonistic aging hippie flake whose motivation budget ebbs fast), but I think a key thing is to find some relatively easy and even fun (at least tolerable and practical) new routine habits that we can keep up almost on autopilot long term . . . habits that lead to sensibly moderate weight loss, and eventually to maintaining a healthy weight forever. Weight loss doesn't have to be a sufferfest of extreme food restrictions or punitively intense exercise.

It's the majority of our days that yield the majority of our results, so practical, healthier new habits are a power tool for success. There'll be that rare day now and then where we eat too many french fries (chips), or work out for 5 hours, but the rare days are a drop in the ocean compared to what we do in our everyday routine life.

Sure, if my motivation meter fills up, I can work on finding and integrating some new positive habit(s), but most of the time I'm just doing what I do because it's habit, and not painfully difficult to continue. (I'm in year 7+ of maintaining a healthy weight after a year of loss from obese to healthy weight at age 59-60, after 30 previous years of overweight/obesity.)

Habits are life in between bouts of motivation. I don't know about you, but I don't do the laundry/dishes or go grocery shopping because I'm "motivated". I do things like that because they need to be done, and they have results that I value. Managing my eating and activity level needs to be done, and the results of doing that - finally, in my old age! - have been a higher quality of life every day. That's a result I value!

I'm cheering for you to succeed: The results are worth it. Best wishes!

COGypsy

As always, AnnPT77 makes great points. I would add that it's also a little easier to stick with things when you don't try to change everything all at once. Not saying that's the situation, but it's pretty common.

People start out on a health kick and are going to do All The Things. Start on Monday! No carbs! Gallons of water! 10,000 steps! So much salad! Gym 5 days a week! Intermittent fasting!

Of course someone will lose motivation trying to do so much! I'm overwhelmed typing it, much less trying to do it!

My motivation sticks around a little longer with baby steps. That gives you a chance to build small successes that make the next step feel more achievable. So maybe you spend a week tracking food and exercise to get a baseline. Don't worry about changing anything, just track for that week. That was doable, so it doesn't seem too much more to look at that food diary and see where you could most easily cut back on calories and give that a shot for a week or two. Or look at what you can or need to add to your meals. Personally, vegetables are my kryptonite, I have to make a deliberate effort to add those in. For a lot of women, protein is often something that should be increased. Once that's going well, maybe add in some walks. Then water, and so on. Sure it's slower than doing it all at once, but it gets you to your goal a lot faster than doing it all, getting overwhelmed, and starting the whole thing again. Over and over and over.

Whatever approach you use, best of luck!

Dia_R

Thank you for that feedback. And as a therapist, I’ve said it myself that motivation is overrated. We make good choices and act on them, whether or not we feel motivated at the time.

I am hoping that I can overcome the poor choices though. The ones that draw me to spend all evening on the couch watching tv with a bag of chips, after a long workday.

The first day on vyvanse of course tells very little, with the placebo effect. But I drank a lot more water yesterday, and had zero impulse to overeat. It was easy to stay within my goal calories without cravings. So if that’s from the medication, I’ll count the W, placebo or not. I don’t expect a pill to make me lose weight. But I know my own good decisions will accomplish that!

PAV8888

As you lose weight, you would expect to feel more energetic even if you weren't taking the medication.

You could add some movement to your day by structuring the day to include it.

I am taking 5 to 10 minute walk around the block to start.

If crashing on the couch literally means that, which I know it does for a lot of us, consider just going for a nap in bed instead. Or going for a (short) walk before crashing...

kshama2001

Let's see if I remember correctly: I believe there was a former poster here who started Vyvanse for her ADHD and found a side effect was that it helped tremendously with her BED.

AnnPT77

PAV8888 wrote: »

As you lose weight, you would expect to feel more energetic even if you weren't taking the medication.

You could add some movement to your day by structuring the day to include it.

I am taking 5 to 10 minute walk around the block to start.

If crashing on the couch literally means that, which I know it does for a lot of us, consider just going for a nap in bed instead. Or going for a (short) walk before crashing...

Also, if electing to watch TV with a snack, I'd recommend getting out a small dish, putting a single serving of chips (or whatever) in the dish, and putting the bag of chips away in the cupboard before heading for the couch. Sure, a person could go back for a second serving . . . but they have to affirmatively decide to.

kshama2001

Dia_R wrote: »

Thank you for that feedback. And as a therapist, I’ve said it myself that motivation is overrated. We make good choices and act on them, whether or not we feel motivated at the time.

I am hoping that I can overcome the poor choices though. The ones that draw me to spend all evening on the couch watching tv with a bag of chips, after a long workday.

The first day on vyvanse of course tells very little, with the placebo effect. But I drank a lot more water yesterday, and had zero impulse to overeat. It was easy to stay within my goal calories without cravings. So if that’s from the medication, I’ll count the W, placebo or not. I don’t expect a pill to make me lose weight. But I know my own good decisions will accomplish that!

When I don't get enough protein, I can eat and eat and eat food like chips and never feel full. Try making sure you have a plan for a balanced meal when you get home. I cook on the weekends and have either leftovers or quick dishes like egg-based meals during the work week.

When you do have chips, do portion them out then put the bag out of sight:

AnnPT77 wrote: »

PAV8888 wrote: »

As you lose weight, you would expect to feel more energetic even if you weren't taking the medication.

You could add some movement to your day by structuring the day to include it.

I am taking 5 to 10 minute walk around the block to start.

If crashing on the couch literally means that, which I know it does for a lot of us, consider just going for a nap in bed instead. Or going for a (short) walk before crashing...

Also, if electing to watch TV with a snack, I'd recommend getting out a small dish, putting a single serving of chips (or whatever) in the dish, and putting the bag of chips away in the cupboard before heading for the couch. Sure, a person could go back for a second serving . . . but they have to affirmatively decide to.

nicsflyingcircus

My youngest takes Vyvanse for her ADHD and is going to be talking to her pychiatrist about changing it because it makes her forget to eat. She is a freshman college student, so loads of walking, so she really has to make sure she is eating enough.

Dia_R

In the month I’ve been taking it, I’ve gone from 269 to 263.3, which seems to me to be healthy progress. Moreover I’ve felt good, energetic and motivated.