Unable to lose weight gained on Zoloft

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starsybyll
starsybyll Posts: 32
in Health and Weight Loss
I started taking Zoloft, Clonezapam and Inderal in November of last year. By April I had gained 20lbs with no change to my diet or exercise. I had a ton of other symptoms that were all attributed to my medications. I quit taking all of these medicines cold turkey about a month ago and I have been on a 200-800 calorie a day diet since April with light exercise. I haven't lost a pound. I am scheduled to get lipo next week but I need to continue dieting after that and I want to know if anyone else had problems losing weight after gaining it as a side effect of beta blockers and anti-depressants and what I should do to mitigate this effect. My doctor was not very helpful and even wanted me to ween off the meds, which once i found out were responsible for the weight gain I quit immediately.

I am about to try a new workout of just running for 2 hours every day and eating 800-1000 calories instead of 200, but I want to know if its even possible to lose weight right now or if I'm just wasting my time suffering for something I cant change until the meds are completely out of my system.

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  • moondazed
    moondazed Posts: 73 Member
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    You are eating way too little hun! 200 calories should be a snack, not a full day. You are just hurting your body and your mind by eating too little. Especially the fact that you stopped them cold turkey... that is some heavy medication and your body is going through some serious changes and withdraws. You need to nurture it and help it restore itself.

    I gained about 10 pounds on lexapro, but the weight came did come off! It just took eating a balanced diet (and not restricting calories!!) and exercising. Please stop "suffering" and restricting yourself! Just give your body time and soon you will start to see some results! :flowerforyou:
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    I started taking Zoloft, Clonezapam and Inderal in November of last year. By April I had gained 20lbs with no change to my diet or exercise. I had a ton of other symptoms that were all attributed to my medications. I quit taking all of these medicines cold turkey about a month ago and I have been on a 200-800 calorie a day diet since April with light exercise. I haven't lost a pound. I am scheduled to get lipo next week but I need to continue dieting after that and I want to know if anyone else had problems losing weight after gaining it as a side effect of beta blockers and anti-depressants and what I should do to mitigate this effect. My doctor was not very helpful and even wanted me to ween off the meds, which once i found out were responsible for the weight gain I quit immediately.

    I am about to try a new workout of just running for 2 hours every day and eating 800-1000 calories instead of 200, but I want to know if its even possible to lose weight right now or if I'm just wasting my time suffering for something I cant change until the meds are completely out of my system.

    You will not see long term results, or results at all with your plan. You will be netting far few calories to be fueling your body properly.

    Punch in your information into the website, follow what it tells you, and properly weigh/log your food, and eat back enough exercise calories to net a healthy amount at or above 1,200 per day.
  • starsybyll
    starsybyll Posts: 32
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    1,200 is what I was eating when I gained 20lbs in 3 months so that is not an option. The medicine is still in my system and is preventing me from losing. If I eat at that level, I will gain another 20lbs. I just am asking how long it takes for Zoloft, Inderal, and Clonopin to completely wear off.

    And I don't even get hungry anymore so it's not so bad, it's mostly just running for 2 hours ontop of that that makes it difficult. This site tells me I need 1,400. That is far too much considering the side effects of the medication.
    I have had a BMI of 17 all my life which is considered unhealthy, so I don't always buy that. Also my doctor did not disagree with my diet. I eat between 200 and 800, not 200 every day.

    And I do catalog everything I do, just on my Samsung which has a built-in app for that that I like more than mfp.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    1,200 is what I was eating when I gained 20lbs in 3 months so that is not an option. The medicine is still in my system and is preventing me from losing. If I eat at that level, I will gain another 20lbs. I just am asking how long it takes for Zoloft, Inderal, and Clonopin to completely wear off.

    And I don't even get hungry anymore so it's not so bad, it's mostly just running for 2 hours ontop of that that makes it difficult. This site tells me I need 1,400. That is far too much considering the side effects of the medication.
    I have had a BMI of 17 all my life which is considered unhealthy, so I don't always buy that. Also my doctor did not disagree with my diet. I eat between 200 and 800, not 200 every day.

    And I do catalog everything I do, just on my Samsung which has a built-in app for that that I like more than mfp.

    What you are doing is dangerous and inadvisable, and not many people are going to support this.
    If your doctor is condoning 200-800 calories a day for a 20lb loss, he/she should lose their license to practice medicine.
  • starsybyll
    starsybyll Posts: 32
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    800 is only 400 less than you are recommending and I am not recommending that diet for others. If I eat that much, I will go back to gaining 5-10lbs a month, which is the opposite of what I want. My doctor specifically told me that. Im sorry.

    I am asking about experiences with weight loss after extreme reactions to anti-depressants and beta blockers. How long it takes to start having an effect and anything else that can help get the medication out of my system faster.
  • starsybyll
    starsybyll Posts: 32
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    I would really appreciate actually help/experience rather than judgements that dont apply to the unique situation. 1400 is fibe for people not suffering from extreme side effects of medications but has nothing to do with whats going on with me.

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