Gained a LOT of Weight on Psychiatric Meds

SlowCat1960
SlowCat1960 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss

Got up to 208 lbs. and I'm 5 ft 8.5 in. and female. Then, I switched psychiatric meds and lost 60 lbs. over one year with seemingly little effort. Then, I switched back to the psychiatric med that I originally gained weight on and since 2021, I've been slowly regaining the weight. I've regained 23 lbs. so far. I'm now up to 171.4 lbs.

I was trying to lose about 10 lbs. No more. I'm older now and don't think I'd look too good anymore with that much weight loss. Plus, it's not healthy for those of us over 65 to be that thin. A BMI of 25 to 29 is perfect for us, according to medical science. So, I'm right where I should be.

I've weighed around 168 to 172 lbs. for the last six to seven months or so, so my weight is generally stable although the overall trend is definitely upward according to the MyFitnessPal.com graphs. I don't know whether that's cause for joy or sorrow.

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Replies

  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 15,214 Member
    edited May 29

    Well generally stable is better than increasing fast, right? I don't see why weight changes have to EITHER be a cause for joy or a cause for sorrow. They just are. The meaning gets assigned by us.

    In general it sounds like you have had a fairly slow but persistent increase in weight. Is it lower activity levels? Is it increased appetite? Is some of it water weight? I don't know. And, it doesn't really matter :)

    Based on what you've said, it sounds to me like you've been on a fairly slow regain train running at about 6lbs a year. That's 0.5 lbs a month. About 100 Cal a day!

    What can you do? You don't actually have to do anything if you're happy enough with your weight. You're at BMI 25.6 or so. At 65, you're correct that the BMI range of 23 to 27 is considered to be the "cat's meow" for longevity. There is some subtext to the word longevity which doesn't make it necessarily optimal for everyone. But precise definitions of what we would like to achieve aside, the low overweight range is not a weight range that creates health concerns, by itself, for most older adults *subject of course to individual medical history. And assuming future relative weight stability.

    That said. You don't have to go on a kick kittens diet! Have you been logging your food? Is that something you've ever tried to do before? Why not just log exactly what you're eating right now without making any changes for the next few weeks. You can then better see where you're at and make decisions! :)

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