Adderall
dee2go
Posts: 5
So I've been taking Adderall for about 4 months for ADHD (for mental stamina) since I work full time and am currently studying for an exam to get one more degree. I just yesterday decided to get off of Adderall cold turkey after I noticed major changes in my facial structure (eyes sunk in, extremely prominent cheekbones, face started looking aged/malnourished, etc.) so I weighed myself and to my shock I was 94.8 lbs (I'm 5'3") and honestly hadn't realized how few calories I consume daily - as the ADHD med kills your appetite- until I started monitoring my food intake on this app, I'm pretty sure I weighed more when I was in 5th grade.
So anyway I'm looking for ways to gain healthy weight - not even sure if I should be working out in the process? I used to do a LOT of aerobics in the past, but haven't worked out since getting on the ADHD med. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to gain healthy weight?
Anyway suggestions/tips of any sort would be greatly appreciated.
So anyway I'm looking for ways to gain healthy weight - not even sure if I should be working out in the process? I used to do a LOT of aerobics in the past, but haven't worked out since getting on the ADHD med. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to gain healthy weight?
Anyway suggestions/tips of any sort would be greatly appreciated.
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ED...?
Have you seen the doctor who prescribed it or seen a new one?
Caffeine has always helped me get hungry. A big thermos of coffee and an hour or two later I gotta eat. Also, weed. But...that probably won't help your mental stamina and focus ha. Otherwise, look for stuff with lots of fats and carbs. Not always unhealthy...olive oil is high fat and calorie but considered healthy. Dunno if it's healthy to just drink it though. I'd look for high calorie foods and not worry so much if it's all healthy. Get a good multivitamin, eat or drink your greens and those will keep you balanced enough for now. You could drink a lot of 2% or whole milk. Drinking stuff is helpful if you don't feel like eating so much.0 -
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It's probably a good first step to calculate maintenance calories and be tracking your intake. You will need to find higher calorie options but it may help get some measure of where you are now as far as intake.
If you are concerned about "healthy" weight you can do some lifting while eating in surplus to gain more muscle.0 -
To regain weight slowly, eat slightly over maintenance.
Being 115 lb would make your BMI 20.4, which is in the lower end of healthy, but you're currently very underweight at 16.9.
If you're active 30 min per day, maintenance calories would be 15 / lb.
115 x 15 = 1725.
Just eat slightly more of healthy foods.
Here's a calculator which will tell you not only your BMI, and calories for different levels of activity, but how many servings of the various food groups.
https://www.bcm.edu/cnrc-apps/healthyeatingcalculator/eatingCal.html
Be sure to include things like full-fat dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese), eggs, fatty fish, avocados, nuts, fruit, beans/lentils.
Yes, you should exercise because it's good for your health. But don't go overboard.
Do weightlifting to build muscle, light cardio for your heart, lungs, cholesterol, blood sugar ...
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I actually just posted my story, it's titled 'how weightlifting and gaining weight changed my life.' Part of my story is about how I was on Vyvanse (very similar to Adderall) and how taking it resulted in me dropping down to 97 pounds. I would highly suggest weightlifting- start off slow and work your way up. Also, find out your maintenance requirements as was suggested above, and go from there. You may be surprised at how much you have to eat in order to gain weight. Also, don't do any cardio (or minimal cardio).
Also, btw I'm 30 years old and it was about 3 years ago that I was at my lowest weight ever- 97 pounds. In high school I weighed around 120 lbs. So yeah, these meds can really do a number on your body and metabolism....0 -
SilentDrapeRunners wrote: »I actually just posted my story, it's titled 'how weightlifting and gaining weight changed my life.' Part of my story is about how I was on Vyvanse (very similar to Adderall) and how taking it resulted in me dropping down to 97 pounds. I would highly suggest weightlifting- start off slow and work your way up. Also, find out your maintenance requirements as was suggested above, and go from there. You may be surprised at how much you have to eat in order to gain weight. Also, don't do any cardio (or minimal cardio).
Also, btw I'm 30 years old and it was about 3 years ago that I was at my lowest weight ever- 97 pounds. In high school I weighed around 120 lbs. So yeah, these meds can really do a number on your body and metabolism....
I'm currently 28 - this is definitely the lightest I've weighed since going through puberty so this is really weird to me. On average in high school I weighed around 120 lbs also. Before taking the Adderall I was 110 lbs so dropping 15 lbs in 4-6 months is shocking to me since I stopped working out altogether since I started taking it.
I'm going to go with your suggestions. I looked up the calorie intake to gain a pound a week as I live a sedentary lifestyle for the most part looks like it's 2000 and will definitely check out weightlifting. Thanks for your advice, it's much appreciated!
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SilentDrapeRunners wrote: »I actually just posted my story, it's titled 'how weightlifting and gaining weight changed my life.' Part of my story is about how I was on Vyvanse (very similar to Adderall) and how taking it resulted in me dropping down to 97 pounds. I would highly suggest weightlifting- start off slow and work your way up. Also, find out your maintenance requirements as was suggested above, and go from there. You may be surprised at how much you have to eat in order to gain weight. Also, don't do any cardio (or minimal cardio).
Also, btw I'm 30 years old and it was about 3 years ago that I was at my lowest weight ever- 97 pounds. In high school I weighed around 120 lbs. So yeah, these meds can really do a number on your body and metabolism....
Also good to know I'm not the only one who felt those same effects on Adderall or Vyvanese, will definitely check out your story0 -
SilentDrapeRunners wrote: »I actually just posted my story, it's titled 'how weightlifting and gaining weight changed my life.' Part of my story is about how I was on Vyvanse (very similar to Adderall) and how taking it resulted in me dropping down to 97 pounds. I would highly suggest weightlifting- start off slow and work your way up. Also, find out your maintenance requirements as was suggested above, and go from there. You may be surprised at how much you have to eat in order to gain weight. Also, don't do any cardio (or minimal cardio).
Also, btw I'm 30 years old and it was about 3 years ago that I was at my lowest weight ever- 97 pounds. In high school I weighed around 120 lbs. So yeah, these meds can really do a number on your body and metabolism....
I am in the same situation but I'm in your process of gaining back the weight. I stopped the aderall the first time and started trying to bulk. I never weighed a pound over 120 but when I went for 4 months I got up to 130 and I was so proud and happy about it. I went back on the medicine and now I'm back and I've got to start all over and I've been working out and eating like a beast for a week and actually lost a pound. Idk if that's normal or what but it's hard to eat ALL day. Theory is if your hungry at any point in the day your not eating enough if you want to bulk
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Appetite is tricky. I was never hungry while on the Vyvanse and I lost weight (because I wasn't eating enough and metabolism was raised a bit). Now, I'm off the Vyvanse and starving most of the time. But I'm sticking to 1900 cals a day because I want to gain slowly- a lb per month. Although I am going to raise cals again since my gains are tapering off.0
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Hey guys I'm a nurse so this is a great post for me to respond to. Unfortunately as most of us know, Adderall lowers your appetite because it is basically an amphetamine. Caffeine does the same for most people anyways, though that say they have increased appetite from caffeine, well that's strange but okay everyone is different, but for majority this will drop weight due to appetite loss. There is no way around this unless you somehow can get medical marijuana (THC) to increase your appetite.
What I recommend is that you limit your cardio exercises or "aerobic" exercises as this will only add to burning calories and make you lose weight or difficult to gain any weight. Because you probably have a crappy appetite from this medication, the best advice I have for nutrition is supplements. These are liquids, drinks that taste pretty good and can be bought anywhere, even on amazon.
Nestle makes a product called Boost Plus, you can get this in vanilla or chocolate flavor and to me they're great and patients who have problems keeping weight up drink them all the time, one container is 360 calories loaded with Fat, Carbs, and protein. You don't really need much of an appetite to drink these. I would drink 3 a day and spread those three out. In between each drink I'd get yourself some other powders and eat small meals throughout the day. There is a powder out there called Karbolic and it's 50 g of Carbs per scoop, NO SUGAR. So it's good carbs. All Starch. I'd eat more carbs than anything else.
Reason why Carbs are best to eat more than fat or protein because while they are filling in the short term, in the long term they are not filling, so after you eat say a cup of oats or a cup of rice I garauntee in 2 hours at max you'll have somewhat of an appetite again.
I know I said a lot, but I hope this was helpful. Also, for anyone that thinks my information is no good, please let me know, I'm not an expert, but I do have experience with this issue.
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Hey guys I'm a nurse so this is a great post for me to respond to. Unfortunately as most of us know, Adderall lowers your appetite because it is basically an amphetamine. Caffeine does the same for most people anyways, though that say they have increased appetite from caffeine, well that's strange but okay everyone is different, but for majority this will drop weight due to appetite loss. There is no way around this unless you somehow can get medical marijuana (THC) to increase your appetite.
What I recommend is that you limit your cardio exercises or "aerobic" exercises as this will only add to burning calories and make you lose weight or difficult to gain any weight. Because you probably have a crappy appetite from this medication, the best advice I have for nutrition is supplements. These are liquids, drinks that taste pretty good and can be bought anywhere, even on amazon.
Nestle makes a product called Boost Plus, you can get this in vanilla or chocolate flavor and to me they're great and patients who have problems keeping weight up drink them all the time, one container is 360 calories loaded with Fat, Carbs, and protein. You don't really need much of an appetite to drink these. I would drink 3 a day and spread those three out. In between each drink I'd get yourself some other powders and eat small meals throughout the day. There is a powder out there called Karbolic and it's 50 g of Carbs per scoop, NO SUGAR. So it's good carbs. All Starch. I'd eat more carbs than anything else.
Reason why Carbs are best to eat more than fat or protein because while they are filling in the short term, in the long term they are not filling, so after you eat say a cup of oats or a cup of rice I garauntee in 2 hours at max you'll have somewhat of an appetite again.
I know I said a lot, but I hope this was helpful. Also, for anyone that thinks my information is no good, please let me know, I'm not an expert, but I do have experience with this issue.
Ya caffeine definitely kills my appetite unless it's strictly from Folgers. Anyway definitely going to check out Boost Plus.
Thanks for the input, definitely appreciated.
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My pleasure if you have any other questions or issues don't hesitate to send me a message and I'll do my best to answer them!0
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My son has ADHD and was on Adderall. It worked well to treat his ADHD, but we had to take him off of it because of his dramatic weight loss. His doctor switched him to Concerta, and everything is going well for now. However, please note that I am some random dude on the Internet and I am not qualified to give medical advice.0
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This is like me to a "T". Can't keep weight on me...and I can't even take my medication because it decreases my appetitie. This app has helped me keep it at 125.0
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I'm suprised the Doctor didn't explain the weight loss side effect before prescribing the drug. Adderall/ Concerta/ Ritalin - are amphetamine based- what diet pills are made of.
The role of the amphetamine is to wake up the part of the brain that stops random activity- the kind of distraction that prevents concentration. It makes the person calm down. It seems counter-intuitive but the brain of someone with ADHD is different. Caffine actually has a sedative effect.
As a teacher i delt with this many times over and also my ex husband had ADHA, so i have some experience on it. I did a lot of research on the condition. (It's most common in Scandinavian populations)
Side note: When my ex took his med he totally chilled out. I 'experimented' with one and bounced off the walls! (long story- but he incorrectly thought his pills were placebos)
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My Son is on Vyvanse and it is a constant struggle with weight but has been wonderful for his self esteem and academics. We do a night shake recommended by the Dr. Whenever he is hungry I allow him to eat (even if it is midnight) and do have to gently push at all times to "remind him" that he has to eat. High calorie drinks are a great thing because he is still thirsty even if not hungry. He has gained 3 pounds in 2 months which is great!
High calorie shake - blended
Carnation instant breakfast
Fage yogurt (1/4 -1/2 cup)
Ice cream (atleast a cup) full fat
half and half or full fat whipping cream - to desired consistency
banana or any fruit he will tolerate.
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