Can't lose weight on Risperdal?

You don't have to weigh your food, but it helps a lot for accuracy.

1. I've replaced two meals a day with a smoothie and a healthier meal option. : Smoothies can have tons of calories and so can healthier meals. What you eat, no matter how healthy or "clean", does not matter when it comes to weight loss; a calorie deficit does.
   
2. I limit snacks to one or two a day and I no longer eat after 7: Limiting snacks can help decrease calorie intake, but it depends on the snacks. Not eating after 7 doesn't help weight loss in any way.
   
3. If anything I've at least decreased my average calorie intake and when I'm eating mostly chicken and fruits and veggies I don't think I'm eating 2000 calories daily: Granted you can eat a high volume of vegetables and chicken for less calories than other foods, but eating these foods does not necessarily mean you're consuming less calories. Fruit can be high in calories depending on the type of fruit you consume.
   
4. I'm positive I've decrease my daily calorie intake.: This can't be said with 100% certainty. You said you estimated you were eating 1600 a day. That's only a rough estimate.
   
5. And even if I hadn't, my daily exercise has increased by 100%.: Are you eating back your exercise calories? MFP's calorie burns tend to be overestimated.

I have been on Risperdal and it made my breasts produce milk which caused temporary weight gain. I also retained water weight. This tapered off after a few weeks, but the milk stayed. If none of that is happening to you, especially since it has been months, then you are probably eating more than you think you are. At your weight you have a lower BMR, so room for error when calorie counting is extremely slim. I don't know your height but I'm 5'3.5" and weigh 117 pounds. I lose half a pound or so per week on 1500-2000 calories depending on my activity level for the day. However, I'm sure of my food intake since I weigh everything. What I suggest is that you decrease your calorie intake by 250 per day. If you see a loss after a few weeks or less then, yes, you were eating too much before.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1

Risperidone is known to cause weight gain (not as much as clozapine but still definitely a known side effect). Talk to your psychiatrist or prescriber about metformin to give you a helping hand to shift the weight

Weight gain is a known side effect of this medication in some people. If you are counting your calories and know for a fact you are not overeating talk to your doctor about other alternatives if the weight gain is a problem

pbandz wrote: »

Has anyone else had a lot of difficulty losing weight on Risperdal?
And I'm not just blaming the med. I was a solid 108lb when I went on the medication probably six months ago. I went up to 110 after two months and I tried to lose it but couldn't, but I didn't worry too much because it was only 2 pounds.
I'm 115-116 now and I cannot lose it. School started 2 months ago and for about the first 5 weeks I stopped getting my regular exercise but I kept eating the same I had been so I understand why I gained the weight, but for 2-3 weeks now I've been working out as much if not more than I had (running a few times a week plus walking a minimum of 6 miles daily). I also have tried to improve my diet and would estimate my average calorie intake around 1600 daily.
Is anyone else struggling too or does anyone have advice to remove this stubborn weight? This extra 6 pounds looks bad on me

I've lost weight on risperidone, i did it with a website like this in the past (and now with this website now).

I was on risperidone (generic risperidal) in 2009-2010 and in that point using a bodybugg i lost 70+ pounds. I'm now on risperidone again and with tracking here i've lost over 30 pounds.

In my experience, all antipsychotics are major tranquilizers (that's official name, also called neuroleptics - which means basically the same thing). They zap your energy so you move less and crave carbs (sources of quick energy) more. Before anyone claims i'm advocating low carb, I'm not, I'm just saying you crave sources of energy when your energy is unnaturally low so you eat more.

Use this website (or something like it) religiously, though a day off once or twice a week isn't so bad.

EvgeniZyntx wrote: »

you might check:

http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/02/02/how-risperdal-risperidone-causes-weight-gain/

"It is believed that carriers of the leptin gene -2548G/A and variants may have different responses to Risperdal, and thus may not gain as much weight."

Lest you think i have this gene variant.. I'll not before i was on antipsychotics (we're talking 1997-1998) I weighed around 165lbs. On antipsychotics (Risperidone, Zyprexa, Etc.) I've been as high as 262lbs. But with exercise and watching what you eat (again with this or a similar size) you can effective fight this.

robertwilkens wrote: »

robertwilkens wrote: »

EvgeniZyntx wrote: »

you might check:

http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2015/02/02/how-risperdal-risperidone-causes-weight-gain/

"It is believed that carriers of the leptin gene -2548G/A and variants may have different responses to Risperdal, and thus may not gain as much weight."

Lest you think i have this gene variant.. I'll not before i was on antipsychotics (we're talking 1997-1998) I weighed around 165lbs. On antipsychotics (Risperidone, Zyprexa, Etc.) I've been as high as 262lbs. But with exercise and watching what you eat (again with this or a similar size) you can effective fight this.

Corrections above:
"not"="note"
"Size"="site"

Not sure why it seems some people can edit their posts but i cannot.

You can edit your post for up to an hour. On the desktop, you do this by clicking the gear icon to the right of your post.

Medications can increase appetite, but one can still lose weight, by staying in a deficit. Averaging your calories is just guessing. Start weighing your food.

Sorry to hear, but one of the major side effects of Risperdal is weight gain. Balancing it with a diet program is very difficult. I would highly suggest consulting a doctor concerning your weight gain on this drug. Make sure your doctor is prescribing it for the correct reasons. Off label Risperdal prescriptions have been a HUGE problem that Johnson & Johnson has been Federally investigated and is still being litigated.

Be careful with Risperdal

pbandz wrote: »

I've been on antidepressants before and I gained 30 pounds. I went off of them an in 6 months I lost all 30 pounds without changing anything in my exercise regime or diet. I'm relatively convinced that this has some to do with my medication, especially when my doctor warned me up front that this was a possibility.

So then why come ask people on MFP about it?

pbandz wrote: »

All I know without weighing and everything else, is that this diet is the same diet I was eating as well as the same workout regime, when I weighed 108 pounds and maintained that. All I'm saying is that it is overly difficult to lose weight.

The Risperdal can be slowing down your heart rate and decreasing your calorie burn which causes the same diet not to work which, unfortunately, means eating less calories than you previously did to lose weight.

pbandz wrote: »

I don't think for a poor college student, trying to afford a scale is really an option right now.

If it's not an option to put aside $10 for one, then it's not. Nobody said you absolutely had to, it's just that an electronic food scale is an extremely useful tool, especially for slimmer people who cannot afford to have inaccuracies.

pbandz wrote: »

Thanks for some of the answers I guess. Wasn't really looking to be told how wrong I am when none of you personally know me and can see what I am eating but whatever

Then again, don't post on a message board where none of us know you. We know weight loss and we know science. Nobody was trying to be mean to you; we were trying to help based on the information that you provided us. You can estimate your calories, yes, but there is not one person on this earth who is 100% accurate with their calorie counting. Nobody. They'd be a statistical anomaly because it's highly improbable.

You seem offended by any post that didn't agree with every one of your original statements and simply say "Poor baby. Sorry you gained some weight." People are offering possible solutions and alternatives for you to consider to see if they help you achieve your goals. If you don't want that, then don't ask. Continue doing what you're doing and you may gain more, maintain, or maybe at some point you'll lose. If you know what's best, you don't need advice from any of us.

You asked about fellow Risperdal users and/or for advice to "remove this stubborn weight", so naturally people gave you advice about that. There is not one person here who advocated for you to become obsessive over what you eat; being accurate does not imply being obsessive. Nobody here recommended you eat 1100 calories either. You estimated you eat 1600 calories; that doesn't mean you truly eat that amount. Even if you do, if Risperdal is causing your body to not burn as many calories per day, then the only solutions are a) eat less, b) workout more so that you don't have to eat less or c) workout more and slightly cut your calories. That's not based on us telling you you're wrong, it's not based on being obsessive about food, it's based on the science of CICO. If you eat less calories than your body burns in a day you should not be gaining weight, you should be losing. If you eat the amount of calories your body burns in a day you should not be gaining weight, you should stay at a stable weight. Period. Your gain could have been water weight, but after months now it's hard to tell if that's the case. If you actually attempted to cut a small amount of calories, you'd see a change for sure and you'd know what's happening to your body.

pbandz wrote: »

I've dealt with an eating disorder in the past. Weighing everything I eat which yes does seem obsessive, could onset that again. I'm asking for other ways. Because believe it or not, you can lose weight without counting calories. Counting calories isn't the only working diet.

So what you eat now, just eat a little less and/or add a little more exercise. That is it.

I thought most uni's/colleges have scales for free. IDK seems like $10 or free I'd opt for free.

pbandz wrote: »

I've dealt with an eating disorder in the past. Weighing everything I eat which yes does seem obsessive, could onset that again. I'm asking for other ways. Because believe it or not, you can lose weight without counting calories. Counting calories isn't the only working diet.

If you dealt with an eating disorder in the past then it explains some of the defensive stance. I've said at least twice now that a food scale is optional and not a must. If you personally feel it will trigger you in some way, then just don't do it. People haven't suggested it to be obsessive, they've suggested it because it works and puts things into perspective. Of course someone doesn't have to calorie count to lose weight. Nobody said that was a given to do so. However, every single diet in the universe falls victim to CICO. You're not losing any weight if you eat more than you burn. End of story. Doing otherwise is never going to happen no matter which diet and/or exercise program you choose to do. Whether you like it or not, at 108 and 116 pounds, there is little wiggle room when it comes to calorie consumption if one is trying to watch their weight. Your height is also a factor in that. Shorter, thinner people simply cannot eat as much as their taller, heavier counterparts. That's life.

I do not know you, but based on what you said, I'm not sure you should be here with a past history of an eating disorder and being on medication for depression. Things people type can upset you, as made evident in this thread, and we both know that someone doesn't have to know you to know that's not good for your mental health. You came because the weight gain is something you're not happy with and people, including myself, have offered you feasible solutions. Believe me when I say that there is nobody who posts here that wants you to be upset and/or have a possible relapse. We're offering solutions because we know what we're talking about and we want to help. That's it.