antidepressants and antipsychotics slow metalbolism?

[forgood]

Do antidepressants and antipsychotics slow metabolism?
I was told by one doctor that it would be impossible for me to lose weight on these unless I starve myself because it slows the metabolism.(he was very old and overweight so I don't think he probably eats the most healthy diet himself) I have been maintaining weight but not doing this diet perfect more like 60-70%, and I am obese 100 lbs overweight. So I can't say but my acne is almost gone most days. But would like to do this diet at least 90 -100% but get feel like nothing will help as long as I'm on these meds but afraid to get off them, because I have a schizophrenic family, Mom, Dad, grandfather, brother schizophrenic, and my sister is autistic, I have mild schizophrenia schizoaffective disorder, so I really think I have a genetic disposition to it ( I know a lot of people get over diagnosed and put on these meds who don't need it, but mental illness obviously runs in the family) and the medications seem to help with little noticeable side effects, people notice I do bad off them, so I am afraid to stop them.

Do I have to adjust this diet for a slower metabolism because of these medications? Do I need to eat less starch and more greens and totally avoid fats to try to keep the calories lower?

I would like to be medication free but every time I tried to go off even slowly, my symptoms come back and people notice and it's hard to function. So I am focused now more on just getting my diet right.

[Atheria]

At this point, your mental health should be your priority...but yes...antidepressants, etc. are known to cause weight gain. You will need to be very diligent regarding fat and calorie intake. Not everyone has the luck to be able to eat as much as they want, even of healthy food. If I did that, I'd be much heavier. I certainly wish you the best. Focus on health right now, both mental and physical, not numbers on a scale.

Peace,
Atheria

[forgood]

At this point, your mental health should be your priority...but yes...antidepressants, etc. are known to cause weight gain. You will need to be very diligent regarding fat and calorie intake. Not everyone has the luck to be able to eat as much as they want, even of healthy food. If I did that, I'd be much heavier. I certainly wish you the best. Focus on health right now, both mental and physical, not numbers on a scale.

Peace,
Atheria

Thanks, I am focusing on just eating this diet right and not worrying too much about the weight loss right now. I am still just maintaining, but at least i'm not gaining weight. Still adjusting. Processed foods are starting to to taste bad now, and I am starting to crave this diet more and more and feel better when I eat this way.

[GeoffreyLevens]

Definitely mental health takes priority and those drugs can make weight loss a bit more problematic BUT they can not stop you if you want to lose some weight. Below are a couple links to blog posts by Jeff Novick (same info is on his forums but easier for me to find via Google with links I posted)--these are on the easy, no counting, no measuring, still eat until satisfied way to go. I don't take any pharma drugs except thyroid hormone at this point but my metabolism is very slow (slower than anyone I know really) and I need to pay close attention to what is in the below posts. And it works.

http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/Entries/2012/5/20_A_Common_Sense_Approach_To_Sound_Nutrition.html
http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/Entries/2012/5/30_Maximizing_Weight_Loss__How_To_Fine_Tune_Calorie_Density.html

[forgood]

my primary care doctor said I will have to work extra hard to lose weight on these medications, I walk everywhere, but will go to the gym too, I keep gaining and losing the same 5 or 10 lbs, cause of slipping up brings me right back to the start. Working on getting it right.

[forgood]

good news, at least i"m not pre diabetic anymore, my bloodwork is normal except for low vitamin D levels.

[PotatoPotahto]

Just thought I'd chime in on this. I'm on an anti-depressant (Lexapro) and am still losing quite a bit of weight. When the weight loss slowed, I started to track every calorie I ate with an app called Chronometer and it turns out I was simply eating too many calories.

Once I got that properly adjusted (I set my goal to losing 1 pound per week) I lost about TEN POUNDS in the next month. That was too much so I backed off a bit and am losing about a pound a week now.

I'm not working that hard. I walk 3-5 times a week if I feel like it. But I am pretty strict about staying within my caloric goals. It's super easy to go way over even when eating WFPB so I think careful tracking of calories or some type of portion control when it comes to certain foods is crucial if one is struggling with losing weight.

[Willijan]

I have been on antidepressants for about 33 years.Since about 2012, I have faithfully followed the McDougall diet.

For the first 5 years of antiepressants, I was on a tricyclic--amitriptyline. It did make it easy to gain weight. Then for 28 years I was on an SSRI--Prozac. My experience on Prozac is that it makes it easier to keep weight off, on or off this diet.

At this time, I am on a super low dose of Prozac. But I can't do any formal exercise due to a non-diet related health problem. And I am keeping my weight down--BMI about 19.1. All I had to change was to cut out the few nuts I was eating. I eat plenty to keep me satisfied.


Also, years ago several of my teen nieces tried an SSRI. They had to stop that, because they were losing too much weight.

So my experience says that an SSRI is not a problem. My husband was on an SSNR (or whatever they are called), Nexium, for 15 years or so. He was easily able to lose weight on this diet.

[forgood]

I'll just try this diet again. My blood work was good with my doctor, after having been eating more plant based, but it was my doctor who said normal dieting would be hard on the medications I'm on, maybe that is true if you eat standard fare and not true with this diet, so I'll try and find out.