The main side effect for me of being on antipsychotics is weight gain. The weight gain has occurred gradually ie 6 stone over about 8 years. I confess that i am a comfort eater/eat out of boredom/ probably mistake emotional hunger for physical hunger and have increased appetite. I did try losing weight at the beginning of last year by cutting out takeaways(which i am partial to) and cutting out sugar, but gave up discouraged when i had only lost 6lbs in 12 weeks.
I would be most grateful to hear from those who have managed to lose weight on atypicals and how they did it/managed to curb the hunger pangs.
I have the opposite problem.
I can’t seem to gain any weight lol. Some people have mistaken me for being semi-anorexic. 
I lost some weight by limiting sugars and carbs
when I eat a meal I eat the protein first - then the veggies - then other carbs if there is room
I buy sugar free popsicles - and if I am hungry outside of a meal I eat some of them
switching from regular to diet pop I dropped 6lbs - then when I gave up pop completely and switched to water or crystal light I dropped another 3lbs
I keep track of what I eat on myfitnesspal and it gives goals of what you need to do to lose x a week
healthy weight loss ccan be slow - but I find rapid loss in crash diets are more likely to be gained plus some in a hurry
6lbs in 12 weeks is pretty good for just cutting out sugar. Just think if you added more veggies or started walking once a day. You might lose a lb a week. To maintain my weight and i’ve lost 5lbs i don’t eat out. My plate is 75% veggies 25% protein. I cut out most carbs and sugars. I don’t have the energy to exercise right now but try to get out and walk a mile or 2 every day.
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I did lose some weight over some time - a period of 6 months or so. I do not eat sugar, or white flour - bread or pasta. I go as low carb as I can - and eat a lot of fish and spinach - I still have got a long way to go, but pretty happy with my current results
I have been using myfitnesspal for over a year too and think it’s great. Do you use the mobile app too? I really like the nutrition summary on the mobile app since it helps me choose foods to balance out my diet during the day.
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I have lost almost 3 stone at one point
At the moment I am maintaining weight I have stayed the same weight over last few months I eat very healthy lots of fruit and veg chicken very little red meat
I do not strictly diet I always have bread and butter every day however I can maintain weight and hope to loose most the time
Also I walk 40 minutes every morning
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That’s great… Yeah I think I am going to start doing things more by rule of thumb like eating 5 servings of fruit and veggies a day and restricting meats. It’s a lot of work putting all the data into the app but I am glad it pretty much showed me what I was doing wrong. I walk a lot more than I used to and do about 3 miles a day.
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I was drinking a LOT of diet soda. It didn’t make me gain weight but it sure was expensive. I was drinking a couple of 2 liters of Coke PER DAY. At about $1.50 per bottle that was $3.00 per day. But I switched to Crystal light too. I can buy one container which costs (on sale) $2.50. It makes 6-2 liter pitchers. Instead of drinking up $3.00 per day which is $90.00 a month, I now drink about $24.00 worth of Crystal Light per month. Which is still too much. But I just discovered that Walmart sells their own version of Crystal Light for $1.86.
I am noticing that with Risperdal, I have to basically starve myself and go on a very strict low carb diet in order for me to lose some weight, like 5 lbs - It is not realistic for me to eat this way - its unhealthy.
I really want to either go off of any antipsychotic (for health reasons) or if I become symptomatic go with a less harsh antipsychotic like Latuda? I have been on psych meds since I was a kid, this takes a toll on my body - I am really concerned about my liver health. I mean you cannot function well with a sick liver. These meds go straight to the liver.
I will probably stay on Lamictal for my depression - because this is my primary symptom now and Klonopin, because my anxiety is pretty bad. I am not anti meds, its just that I am trying to save my physical health - I have diabetes also
Have u tried abilify it doesn’t cause weight gain
Hey @shellys12 was on Abilify for years - it was way too activating for me - Latuda is supposed to be weight neutral and is indicated for Bipolar Depression - what I suffer from
yeah don’t diet just try to eat more healthily bulk your meals out with vegetables that you like I love asparagus and avacados. I make smothies in the morning with natural yoghurt apple juice frozen blueberries and bananas in the belnder the you get 3 of your 5 a day straight away. protein and veg and a LITTLE carbohydrate like crazyfrog said. it sucks I love food and want to eat loads aswell lol
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I use the app Lose It, which is a pretty good calorie tracker. I’ve lost 11 lbs so far, though my goal is still almost 70 lbs away. I’m mostly just restricting caloric intake, which has led me to pay better attention to what I eat and opt for healthier options. It works for me, because I’m a very mathematical thinker and having specific numbers to follow helps me keep everything in check.
I’m also on Abilify, though, which can cause weight loss, so I’m cheating a little… Still, I feel good about eating more healthily!
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