Hi everyone. Seeing that a lot of you are possibly having AP-induced weight problems I thought I might share with you my experience with weight loss while on an AP.
Before I fell ill I was around 145 lb. I got my first psychotic episode in 2014 and began taking Olanzapine shortly after. Later after another psychotic episode in 2015 I switched to Risperidone.
As of Oct 2016 my weight had increased to around 185 lb.
First I tried a vegetarian diet and it didn’t really help with my weight loss. After a bit of research I started eating a low carb diet plus doing some intermittent fasting (OMAD) beginning at around Mar 2017.
Over the next few months on this regime my weight dropped substantially and eventually stabilized at around 150 lb. I also noticed that this diet also helped mitigate pretty much all of my negative symptoms and I no longer have brain fogs.
Now I can eat two meals a day (breakfast and dinner) and still maintain my current weight as long as I avoid carbs as much as I can.
See the image link below for a chart for my weight loss trajectory. I hope this is of some use to you and best of luck with your battle against SZ.
are you eating a lot of animal products?
if so this sort of diet makes you thin but it shortens your life
i’m on a near vegan ketogenic sugar free fast at the minute
i am committed to 100% for October
i was 181 and now at 165
I need to google if sugar free vegan is sustainable (no sugar laden fruit like dried or in syrup - limited juice)
it’s difficult. I need to know it is a sustainable and not a fad
i will not go back to sugar and i am so against animal products that i feel almost sick when i have any in my mouth (including my life long love cheese)
I’m not doing the keto / intermittent fasting diet thing properly. Do you have any guidelines / documentation about it? I’m stuck at 231 lbs, at 5 foot 10 inches. How tall are you, also?
fasting is safe for the body
your mind might take some adjusting - it’s not without stress for me as a schizophrenic anyway
I’m 5ft 4inches (162 cm)
i use vegan protein shakes (3 x a day - protein is essential because your body will go to the muscles for protein if you fast without protein)
it’s not a big science if you look at food labelling and work out that you don’t have over 20 - 25 g of carbs a day
some people can have 50g occasionally
this might even be a good idea if you exercise a lot that day (stop you from passing out!!)
this last point is a guess but it isn’t the end of the world if you have 50 occasionally for most people
it is hard to stick to 20 - 25 carbs a day but it is possible
intermittent fasting is a maintenance thing
if you really want to lose a lot of weight you don’t have to be intermittent you can just go ahead and do a longer term diet motivated fast
I would not aim to do more than 6 weeks
that is what i did on my first fast i lost 28 lbs
there are also low carb options in every food group
i have nutritional yeast pate and olives most days
i have had a half a can of alcohol free beer and a cheat of cheese 2 x
i cheated with meat !! after cooking a really tasty spaghetti bol
there is no way you can cook without tasting and this was sooo good
taste is enhanced so any bite is a danger
it is good to stick to shakes (150 kcal each)
3 a day
the closer you can get to perfection with this the more successful your fast will be
my first fast which wasn’t bulimic was a 6 week ‘lipotrim’ diet - it was pharmacy led i had to go in to be weighed
it has since proven to be scientifically safe and no longer only fasts restricted to medical supervised type needed
i lost 35 pounds by eating low fat foods and whey instead of whole milk. now i eat a variety of vegetarian food which is cheaper and more filling. not like soy ice cream more like doritos, it’s not possible where i am to get soy milk, i just stocked up on foods i already like which are compatible. vegetarians live longer than meat eaters and vegans live longer than both, vegan food is expensive though.
some people say i look like a celebrity, i wish i got paid half a million to show up at a place to party. when i am fat i am told i look like jack black when i am thin i am told i look like Joaquin phoenix
i hate hearing myself
i was vegan strict for 6 months
after that i felt weak and after 10 yrs veggie meat seemed like a good option and that lasted 10 years
it’s not easy to figure out how to eat better. it takes alot of practice, i tried it three times and lasted a week and i am now in the middle of my fourth week. i don’t know how long i can keep this up. i never ate much meat compared to other people it was never a daily habit.
Congrats. Keep in mind though you can’t make this a diet. Make it a life-style change because if you ever go back the consequences won’t be good. I regret to say that after years of yo-yo dieting I gave up myself and I no longer exclude stuff. I don’t look better but it’s less stressful.
if you dont change the types of veg
and if you dont prepare tasty food you havent tried and cook more frequently you will fail
its not just broccoli cheese and potatoes
and a meat free burger if youre lucky
pinterest is great
Put recepie and one or two words that you want to cookcwith it will come up with everything tgere is its great
Hey congrats! Don’t listen to the naysayers here who worship meds and their pdoc and dismiss anything that works or other people’s progress.
I wonder how many fakers are here. You know the ones that give people crap and claim they’re high functioning, like they got some sort of crystal ball?
I haven’t lost weight or tried keto, but I really heard keto is great. What may work for one may not work for another.
My mom lost a lot of weight and her mood improved on keto. She’s happier.
I’ve heard nothing but good things for the mentally ill and keto but I’m afraid to try it. It looks complicated and doesn’t really appeal to me, but I’m happy for you. I’m hoping to lose weight on topamax.
i eat packaged food but i got some recipes for stuff. i cook spaghetti. when the grocery opens i will try vegetarian mushroom fajitas and vegan chili, thanks though.
Basically while I was cutting I would only have a black coffee for breakfast, skip lunch, and a dinner with very little to no carb. That’s about it. It was really simple.
100% i’m a slave to the meds and docs and taking care of myself and believe there is no other way to treat a medical imbalance in the brain corrected by neuroleptics!!!
What other way is there for a schizophrenic
homelessness
institutionalised for years
hate non compliance
i have done it before and it was hell
set me back years and my condition worsened 3 fold
