How to lose SSRI weight?

[Anonymous]

Hi, all, anti-depressants brought on major weight gain for me. I stopped taking them, and found they weren't doing much for me, actually. The weight has been REALLY hard to lose. Do any of you have any insights as to what about SSRI's brings on weight gain for some people? Any ideas of how to take the weight off? Eating way less and exercising more usually bring slow and steady results for me, but this seems different, and more stubborn. Thank you for any experience or insights. This is really the pits.

[Anonymous]

I gained 30 lbs on 5 mg of Lexapro in 5 months. The weight is stuck on.

[Anonymous]

13:47, I'm so sorry. My set point went up by 45 pounds! I have gotten about 20 of that off. But , like you, the weight seem stuck. This potential for extreme weight gain should be factored in to the prescription of these drugs.

[Anonymous]

You calorie count and increase your exercise. Its the only way.

[Anonymous]

I really don't believe there's a trick.

You cut calories until you start losing. It will come off--maybe you've simply forgotten what your baseline calorie needs are, and maybe you also need to be exercising to increase your muscle mass.

This actually happened to me, so I speak from experience. Because I had read so much about weight not coming off while on (or after stopping) SSRIs, I believed it was "stuck" on (somehow) and all hope was lost.

But, alas, I ended up losing weight very easily once I went down to 1500 calories a day and was consistently very careful about what I was eating. Once I did that, I went from 145 to 115 in a matter of months. I actually didn't even mean to lose that much, or that much so quickly--at that point I had to increase the calories to put weight back on. It can be hard to find that sweet spot if you don't know what it is.

But I learned a lesson: it is calories in, calories out. Not magic. I do think SSRIs can mess with feelings of satiety, and that just eating a little more than you need each day = weight gain.

[Anonymous]

It is not stuck. If you went on one of those weight loss drugs, you would lose the weight just like everyone else. You need to eat less and exercise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You calorie count and increase your exercise. Its the only way.

Not if you are peri menopausal.

[Anonymous]

I'm doing keto and the weight is coming off very slowly. It would probably go faster if I restricted calories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You calorie count and increase your exercise. Its the only way.

Not if you are peri menopausal.

Ha. I'm a 55 yr old who has had success with this, peri or mid menopause, it makes zero difference

[Anonymous]

Stop taking the SSRI asap.

[Anonymous]

I seem to have gained weight from an SSRI but it’s hard to tell because I often gain weight between Thanksgiving and New Years. I’m also perimenopausal. I’ve lost slowly by upping my protein intake, watching my calories, and increasing strength training. I’ve also cut out sugar and alcohol except for special occasions. I’m almost where I want to be, but I’ve also accepted that at 48, that’s a little higher than when I was 35.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is not stuck. If you went on one of those weight loss drugs, you would lose the weight just like everyone else. You need to eat less and exercise.

Just stop. You know nothing about me or what I can or can’t do medically.

[Anonymous]

I have lost it twice on WW. I think 60lbs the first time and about 80 the second time. Gained it all back both times. The last time I started fainting and losing my hair when I got down around goal -- it was the sustained calorie deficit that did it, even though I'd been losing at a supposedly "safe rate" of 1-2lbs per week (for about a year and a half).

Read Brain Energy by Christopher Palmer; these drugs are likely altering our metabolism significantly which is causing weight gain. I still take my meds because I need them (and have done so for well over 10 years), but ... I'm obese ... again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have lost it twice on WW. I think 60lbs the first time and about 80 the second time. Gained it all back both times. The last time I started fainting and losing my hair when I got down around goal -- it was the sustained calorie deficit that did it, even though I'd been losing at a supposedly "safe rate" of 1-2lbs per week (for about a year and a half).

Read Brain Energy by Christopher Palmer; these drugs are likely altering our metabolism significantly which is causing weight gain. I still take my meds because I need them (and have done so for well over 10 years), but ... I'm obese ... again.

PP ^^. Oh, and fwiw, before I started psych meds in my early thirties I was quite thin. Always had been my whole life. Probably 10-20th percentile weight-wise for my height.

[Anonymous]

There is so much evidence out there that many of these drugs cause insulin resistance. Lots of docs are prescribing metformin along side the SSRIs etc to mitigate this.

Worked for me after gaining 30 pounds with zero change in my diet and exercise routine.