Everyone will be a lot healthier physically and mentally if you get outside and do a little exercise (even walking for 40 minutes a day is great).
CONCLUSIONS:
Overweight and obese adults with Schizophrenia and Schizo-affective Disorder were extremely sedentary; engaged in unstructured, intermittent, low-intensity physical activity; and significantly less active than nonusers of UK Mental Health System.
This sedentary lifestyle is significantly lower than those of other inactive US populations, is costly for the individual and community, and highlights the need for physical activity promotion and interventions in this high risk population.
I weigh 300 pounds, Some of it is muscle but also a lot, and I mean a lot of fat. Some 6 feet bodybuilders weigh above 300 pounds. I’ve lost 20 pounds in the past two months just eating a bit better and doing 20 min. stationary bike most days. But as mentioned in the article, it is low intensity, and intermittent. I need to get back to a normal weight because I don’t feel comfortable at all in my own skin. Yesterday a student was drawing a Wolverine on the board and shouted: “Yeah, it is a very FAT Wolverine” like 3 times. I felt targeted and stared at my phone the next 20 minutes with headphones on. Luckily the course was cancelled.
Being severely overweight is one of the big issues in my life, and it mixes with other problems because since I’m being taken advantage of by my neighbor I don’t like coming and going from my place or showering early, so can’t really go to the gym. I have a home gym at home but no longer use it because he used to bang on my walls when I would train at night and let the stack of weight drop without controlling my movement. I’m finding excuses, but I’m not safe and sound mentally which makes it hard to have a structured exercise regimen. I know I will thin out eventually but it’ll be a long process and I’m gonna need some better living arrangements before I’m able to tackle this challenge seriously. Although IT IS an emergency!
I remember mentioning it to him a couple of years ago after having done some research, I will bring it up again in January when I see him if the weight loss stalls! Thanks!
Are you on a low carb diet? Have you cut out simple carbs like pasta, bread (especially white bread), potatoes, drinks with sugar in them / juice, (drink water), avoid processed foods, more vegetables and low sugar fruits like apples.?
I more or less try to follow the Canadian food pyramid. 6-8 servings of bread/rice/cereal, 2-4 servings of dairy product, 2-3 servings of protein (meat/eggs/fish etc.) and 6-8 servings of fruits and veggies. I haven’t thought about cutting out carbs because I wasn’t sure if they hurt my diet; but I guess they do so I will diminish my intake of carbs! I really like juice and fizzy drinks and can’t go too long without them, I drink Perrier for the bubbles, it has zero calories.
I usually eat outside at sandwich shops or restaurants, and always have salad or soup with my meals. I avoid senseless choices and try the more healthy alternatives available on the menu. I don’t make time to go grocery shopping even though it would be beneficial. Sorry for the late reply, @SzAdmin. I’m soon to be sub-300 pounds, not very consistent with exercise but I try to walk more. Hopefully I can shed some more pounds, it is a great feeling to see the numbers on the scale go down!
Carbs are not necessarily bad, but low carb diet does work for a lot of people. Rice is still healthy to eat, even though it’s mostly carbs. And they eat a lot of white bread and pasta in areas around the Mediterranean where people live exceptionally long. And in areas of Asia where they eat a lot of rice people tend to live longer too.
My son also gained about 60 pounds because of meds and no motivation.
But he is going to gym more and trying to eat better.
Keep up the exercise and you’ll feel better.
i gained 25 kilos on zyprexa when i first tried it. i always had bad appetite and it doesnt give me a much apetite like for other schizos but i was eating more than normal. now i eat just 2 times per day and i tried to watch what i am eating… i dont have a big apetite though. i smoke a lot also,dont take ever breakfast etc… but i am living quite sedentary,yes… now i increased my dosage of zyprexa - 10 mg and i didnt put kilos still but i am afraid of it… i still dont care a lot for my body, i have problems with my image etc(derealization and dysmorphophobia)… can metformine decrease the weight or its just decreases the apetite? my mom is on it and cant lose weight but she hasnt anymore her thyroide so she s messed out hormonally…
The newer research suggests you’ll be more likely to lose weight and control you blood sugar (and lower your risk of diabetes) if you avoid more of the carbs - bread, rice, cereal.
Here is a good book on the topic - and a description of their fndings:
the consumption of carbohydrates drives the body to release insulin, which in turn can lead to insulin resistance (and diabetes) over time. Taubes also asserts that the consumption of carbohydrates leads the body to store excess energy in fat cells, but that reducing dietary intake of carbohydrates results in the body entering ketosis. In this state, the body breaks down fat (triglycerides) in order to fuel the brain.
“In a world without carbohydrate-rich diets, obesity would be a rare condition as well.”
They aren’t all taking antipsychotic medications in the Mediterranean and Asian areas - so that helps. Also - around the mediterranean area you see a lot of overweight middle aged people - because of all the and breads and wine. And they actually do have a quite a bit of diabetes in Asia due to the high levels of white rice consumption:
and
“Eating white rice on a regular basis may increase the risk for type 2 diabetes, according to new Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) research.”
I think moderation is the key here. Clearly a lot of people in these areas have healthy diets with healthy amounts of carbs. But I’m not saying we should eat more carbs, I know it is bad for you in excessive amounts (especially simple carbs).
OK - I think thats true for the average person, but I think that if you are on medication that causes you to gain weight and you want to lose weight, you’ll do a lot better if you cut out the rice, potatoes, pasta, bread, cereal and other sweet / sugar / fruit juice types of foods and focus more on vegetables and protein (chicken, fish, etc.).
