So I know what most of you are going to say CICO, intermittent fasting, exercise, keto… Except I’ve done all that and lost nothing and still gained weight on Olanzapine, Lithium, Lamictal. I used to be at 85kg and now during a period I didn’t look after what I ate I am at 100kg which I hoped I never reached. I still exercise because I do a sport I love and enjoy and it’s so good for my mental health and my body to move. But I swear I’ve been eating reasonably, there’s no added sugar in my diet, I stopped ordering take out, I stopped fast food. My meals are usually whole grains, legumes or vegetables or both, yogurt and fruit as desserts. I used to be on Metformin and it didn’t help me lose weight at all. My psychiatrist doesn’t want to hear anything I told her I was unhappy with the weight I gained and she said to me “would you prefer being overweight or in depression? We tried other meds they didn’t work”. But like okay we could still look into other meds we didn’t try at all like Latuda, Depakote? I can’t even change psychiatrist. It’s tiring.
I am seeing a nutritionist on December 9th. I hope he’ll understand my struggle.
I don’t have personal experience, but have a family member that suffers from schizophrenia, so I’d still call that first hand experience.
I’m neither a nutritionist nor a psychiatrist, but let me say, your struggles are valid. Weight gain on meds is absolutely a thing and yes, it’s a lot harder to lose the weight.
I’m sure it can be done, but it will take more out of you and will require a lot more discipline - it’s okay if you can’t push through that all the time, but it’s also absolutely valid if your weight and personal image matters enough for you to try.