No Progress & Dispondent

[kickinthehead]

Hello to everyone. I have been a vegan for many years and have reached critical mass(!). I have dabbled with this (McDougall) eating style before but have stuck to it steadfastly for the past 6 weeks and have trained daily during that time (kettlebells, a new program by Pavel Tsatsouline called Simple & Sinister - I would recommend it). It has been hard to find the discipline & motivation at times to train but I have stuck to it.

I weighed myself today. I am the same weight as I was 6 weeks ago. The machine also calculates body fat. I still have 34kg(!!!) of body fat, same as when I started.

My family say they have seen a difference (and I did think I had lost some fat) but this 'weigh-in' left me dispondent and feeling a little helpless.

I am on venlafaxine and quietiapine for anxiety & OCD (Ven for 12 years, Q for 7 months) and these can lead to weight gain so I suppose they can impede weight loss?

I am hungry a lot so eat a lotr. To try and cut down on cal intake, I am thinking of just having 2-3 baked potatoes and a green vegetable for dinner. Boring, yes, but I suppose at this weight I have done more than enough 'fun' eating.

I also eat corn cakes (like rice cakes) as a snack, or a can of mixed pulses (no added ingredients except water to soak in).

Has anyone else lost weight while being on medication that can cause weight gain? How did you do it? What did you snack on?

Thank-you for reading and best wishes to you all.

PS - my name is from the Dean Martin song, rather than a propensity to use violence!

[ajhondrngal]

I know it's frustrating when you don't see progress.

Post some of your menus so we can see what you've been eating. Maybe someone will see something you're missing.

We are supposed to eat until we are full, but what we choose to eat can play a big role in our progress. Calorie density vs nutrient density helps with that. These threads talk about it.
viewtopic.php?t=6032
viewtopic.php?t=6916

Good luck.

[eXtremE]

Hang in there kickinthehead. I have been on a bunch of different psych meds most of my adult like. I got off them all again but recently had to go back on a small dose of celexa and valium PRN. I don't think some ppl can ever quit these meds after long-term use and feel normal. Years ago, I got off them all for a solid year and never felt better. The good thing is that these meds never caused me to overeat and gain much weight either like they do some people.

You may just need a little more time and patience on the diet to get things jump started. You may wanna try posting on the Maximum Weight Loss and Ask Fitness Expert Lani Muelrath, M.A. boards to get some good ideas. I don't really post to or read those boards bc I don't have a problem with either. I have exercised all my life and I actually have been trying to gain some weight, not lose like what you are trying to do.

[colonyofcells]

If can share details of daily food, people can look at the diet to give advice. 6 weeks is not a long time.

[Lesliec1]

Sorry I don't know about those meds.

I have to do the MWL version to lose weight. When i eat the regular plan, I stay the same which is great because I'm a big eater. To lose, I must do the MWL.

[plants-and-carbs]

I don't know anything about the meds issue, so I wont speak on that, but on the weight loss thing, I will agree with Leslie. You may want to really master the Max Weight Loss Principles. I advise getting the book called "Maximum Weight Loss " by Dr Mcdougall and really get that down. That helped me a lot and works tons better than just regular plan, for me. The reg plan is awesome for maintenance because I just dont seem to gain anything on it (something that has never happened for me before on any diet) but I don't lose too much unless a)I do tons of cardio or b) strictly follow MWL principles.

Onto the meds thing, I will say this much. I would look into trying to safely wean off those meds, as much as you can.
Try and look into alternative approaches outside psychiatry. Anxiety issues can be resolved but conventional methods are quite sucky at helping. They are near worthless actually. If the idea of being meds free, of those issues seems good, look into things like an anxiety healing technique called EFT and perhaps also hypnosis. These things are 100% legit and work. I use EFT on people and I get kick ass results and I mean with serious mental anxieties. These things can go deeper into the brain and help a person release such things. With the right techniques and persistence, you can be free of those meds.

[shell-belle]

what type of exercise are you getting? walking? anything? you need to move.

[KatherineUK]

Hi K,


My reason for commenting on this topic is due to having a partner (and now friend) for 23 years who went on medication for depression about 8 years into the relationship. My ex-husband was trying to come off his meds as soon as he went on them and in his case it led to several very bad crises. Hard though it is my advice would be to put that issue to one side and just concentrate on activity. You are obviously eating all the right things, maybe too much of them at times but when you become more active you may very well find that your apetite becomes more controlled. Better to eat a bit too much of the right stuff than even a little bit of the wrong stuff IMHO.

Some of the tricks I use to get myself to exercise more are:

incorporate a bit more exercise into the working day. Walk up and down stairs slowly. Hey its as if the company is paying me to exercise!

Walk a little bit of the journey to or from work. I get off the bus a couple of stops early in the morning and have a 20 minute walk - nice and slow if I feel sluggish - but I'm out enjoying the fresh air (well as fresh as London gets anyway)

Do something with other people that is REALLY fun. I'm quite lonely on occasion so going to Aquafit with other women is amazing. I walk out on such a high. I feel like I've just been to a party for an hour - its so silly and such fun.

Once a week I go to the pool and just swim 20 lengths. Usually quite slowly but I got cross on Saturday on the way there and swam it quicker than I ever have - for ages at least. I could swim more than 20 but I like to leave before I get bored so that next time I think of going I don't have the memory of a negative experience.


Of all of the above I think aquafit is the best - if you find a pool and group you like who knows maybe you could go more than once a week.


Big hugs and very best wishes

Katherine