Seroquel XR and weight gain

I’ve been on Seroquel for about 2 years and have always gained weight while on the medication. My weight has gradually gone up about 30 pounds over what it should be, especially since my psychiatrist raised my 600mg dose to 700mg. It’s gone back down again which was only a few days ago, but I’m still concerned about losing the weight as I haven’t been successful before. Seroquel works very well for me, but I hate the weight gain. Has anyone figured out a good method to lose weight? Or do I just have to get off seroquel? Thank you in advance for any help! :slight_smile:

1 Like

I’ve been reading all the healthy nutrition books that my sis gets sent home with and that has given me idea on how to substitute other foods for my sweet tooth and how to cut down on the salt.

YMCA has scholarships for memberships and I remember the one my family went to did have personal trainers for motivation and simple exercise. There were also nutrition classes.

A physical hobby like gardening helps. lifting, digging, planting, weeding, can all work up a sweat. I’m a gardner for my job. It’s pretty physical.

Swimming brought me mental calm so I would swim a lot…

I’m hesitant to mention this… but…

Due to the many years of Seroquel my blood sugar has been creeping upward to finally I was put on Metformin.

I’ve read a lot of articles about metformin and weight loss. If you google metformin and weight loss there is a lot of info out there. I’m not saying you should just go on this pill… but you might want to start the conversation with your doc about blood sugar and seroquel and weight loss.

Good luck and I’m rooting for you.

From what I know, the drug itself doesn’t cause weight gain - it causes increased appetite (especially for carbs). If you can control what you eat and how much you eat, you can limit the weight gain. Easier said than done, I know. I was on an anti-depressant for a while and all I wanted to do was eat - all day. I even dreamt about food.

First step - make your kitchen a safe zone. Once you get through whatever you have, start restocking minus the refined carbs (white bread, pasta, white rice like Jasmine) and start restocking it with proteins, vegetables, fruits, lean ham, cottage cheese, eggs, tinned tuna, brown rice, yoghurt and so forth. I find this method works best for me - if it gets to my usual snack-hour and I go to the fridge, it helps not to have a big bucket of ice-cream staring back at me. If I have no other option but, say, some yoghurt and almonds, then that’s what I’ll have. Start pinpointing what your weaknesses are food wise and avoid buying whatever you tend to over-eat.

For weight loss to occur, you need to eat less than your body consumes as fuel - for the average male, that would be under 1500 calories daily. You could do, say, 1700 calories but weight loss will be slow, especially if you’re inactive.

I replace breakfast with a protein shake - it’s easy and quick and a lot more beneficial than a bowl of sugary cereal or toast.

Ultimately, weight loss is an ■■■■■■■ but it’s doable - you just have to keep count of what goes in and in what quantities.

2 Likes

Good advice @Louisa84 - you seem to be right on track when it comes to your nutritional needs

1 Like