Keeping weight off while on Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (i.e., Lexapro, Celexa, Zoloft)

There are a couple of things here: When I was on Celexa for 8 mos, I gained. And gained. And gained. It wasn't helping depression either, and my dosage was far too high to be safe. I was put on Lexapro by a different doctor.

Next, I started seeing a nutritionist and and endocrinologist, and I recommend this for anyone on SSRIs and trying to lose weight. The endocrinologist will take make sure you don't have thyroid issues, and test your hormone and a few other levels. The nutritionist will take your lifestyle into account and develop a diet plan that works to your needs. In my case, I also had high cholesterol, so she found ways of adding more fiber into my diet (which speeds up metabolism and helps you lose weight).

My endocrinologist put me on low-dose Wellbutrin. It has really helped suppress my appetite. It's in combination with the Lexapro and from different doctors, but it all appears to be working well. Report everything back to your psychiatrist so that your medication dosages are copacetic with each other.

I work out 2 days a week (I'm limited due to a huge surgery I had back in May), I have changed my eating habits to HEALTHY and high fiber. I religiously take my meds, including the Lexapro and Wellbutrin. I truly believe it's all of these things combined that have allowed me to drop from 165 on July 1 to 154 on Sept 1.

At a minimum, go talk to an endocrinologist. They'll be able to help determine if it's the meds or another problem.

One other thing, and this sounds ridiculous and I know it, is I read Skinny Girl Solutions. It really has nothing about being skinny but about having a mindset. I'm embarrassed because it was written by Bethanny, who is a Real Housewife of NYC. But it's good. She makes really great points and they're all do-able and down to earth. Basically her theory is don't diet. Eat what you want. If you want dessert, order it, but just eat a few bites. If you want a cocktail, order it, but use ice and club soda in it, with a splash of flavoring and only one shot alcohol. (The cocktails are excellent and very low-cal once you start making them!) But her theory is that you don't need to eat everything on your plate. If you order a huge plate of food, put it in the middle of the table to share, or load what you want onto your smaller bread plate and immediately box the rest. So much of this sounds so obvious, but once you start making healthy choices, and let yourself splurge just a little so you don't deprive yourself (which can contribute to depression), you'll find yourself making a full lifestyle change. I have 10 more lbs to go and I'm not rushing, but building slowly and making sure all my choices are things I can enjoy and always maintain, instead of "dieting."

Part of the problem is that because these drugs affect mood and perceived energy levels, they can change your behaviour in subtle ways - ways that result in either or both decreasing your normal daily activity and increasing how many calories you're eating. It is more than possible for the changes to be subtle enough that you don't particularly notice it. But, it's enough to start gaining or losing weight.

For example, no one really keeps track of how much they fidget during the day. But the difference between fidgeting regularly and being still can add up to a couple of hundred calories a day. Would you really notice a change in how often you take the stairs (presuming it isn't a change from all the time to never), or get up to get a drink of water at work, or get an extra hour or so of sleep? For that matter, how deeply you sleep has an effect. Consider that it often isn't one or two subtle changes. It's several. They add up.

The exact change doesn't really matter. Facts are that if you're gaining weight, you're eating more than you require. You need to eat less or move more to counteract it. Which isn't to say you shouldn't also look into changing meds. Why stay on a med that is causing you to behave in a way that encourages weight gain if you don't have to?