Zoloft - Weight gain?

j2006

I have not gained any weight on Zoloft so far. It has only been 4 weeks but with any other SSRI I have taken I gained the weight in the first couple of weeks.

Zoloft is supposed to be a weight nuetral medication.

Not everyone gains weight or loses weight from SSRIs it just depends on the medication and your body type.

Kiasmama

I didn't gain while on it. But there is no magic formula in a pill that "makes" anyone gain weight. If you eat more calories than you use, you'll gain.

sgt207

I gained about 80 pounds while on it ---

Survivor3

Not as simple as that.

Kiasmama

there are varying reasons why people may gain weight. The fact remains...if you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. If you take ADs and eat nothing....you will not gain weight. That's just to illustrate the point that they don't make you gain weight.

Gia029

They do make you gain weight. My doctor advised me to see a dietician because he said that they will make you gain weight and they did. 70 lbs later I'm wishing I never needed to take the medication. My body image was ruined because of medication. Noone can convince me otherwise.

Kiasmama

did you see a dietician? were you under their care and still gaining weight? What did the dietician say about the gaining? I'm not trying to be a *****, but there is no magic formula. If you consume 2500 calories and only burn 2400 you will gain weight. If you burn 2600 you will not. Metabolism aside.....it's in consumption and what you use. If your metabolism is slowed for whatever reason you will not burn as many calories, therefore you can not consume as many calories. That's all there is to it.

Weight gain on any medication can be monitored and probably prevented, but it's something that may take some effort. Your diet will have to be retooled, you may have to exercise or do other activities in order to use the calories you take in, but it's still the same formula. You need to burn what you take in, or you will gain.

j2006

Gaining weight on Anti dep. has absolutly nothing to do with eating extra colories with some people.

These medications can play around with your system.

I gained 30lbs, not changing my diet or work out regime and I still packed it on.

So some people will feel better and actaully gain weight because they feel better and are starting to eat, while some unfortunate people gain while not changing their eating habits at all.

Thank goodness I am not gaining on Zoloft.

Lexapro just made me pack it on. Celexa as well.

Kiasmama

You consumed more than you burned, that's why you gained weight. Whatever medication you are on...if you eat 2000 calories, it does not magically turned into 4000 calories. It's 2000 calories. Either your body will use it, or it won't. If it doesn't, then you gain weight. If you use it then you don't gain weight. If medication slows your metabolism, then you need to consume less...that's all there is to it. Sometimes you can't keep up the same eating habits. Sometimes you have to change your routine.

I can't eat the same junk I did when I was 20. My body doesn't burn as many calories as it used to. So I had to adjust my diet, in order to no gain weight. This is the same thing. You might have to adjust your diet....which might mean consuming less. Again...if you consume 1000 calories....it does not turn into 4000 because you are taking an AD. It's still 1000 and you body will use it, or it won't. Thats' just the way it works.

We put food in our mouths....it doesn't get in our bodies any other way. If we don't eat anything...we will not magically gain weight just because we are taking an AD.

Seymour93

A friend gained 75 pounds on prozac without changing his diet.

j2006

It is obvious that you do not believe any of us that the reason we gained weight is because we started taking an anti dep.

I don't stick to the same work out and I work out plenty. It is a known medical fact that some people gain weight from medications.

Let's agree to disagree

Kiasmama

Our bodies use energy to function. We get that energy from calories. When we eat too many calories our body stores them (fat). If we don't get enough calories, our body gets energy from the storage (burns fat and other stuff). It really is that simple.

it's not that I don't believe that you gained weight, but you didn't gain just from taking the AD. I"m sorry, but I"m not buying into the victim part of this. And frankly it alarms me that people use weight gain as a deciding factor of what AD to choose. To me, being mentally healthy is something of the utmost importance. I can always lose a few pounds. Putting food into our mouths is in our control (less food issues) Weight gain is something that can be managed. Sometimes you need to change you diet and activities to compensate. I don't like this "I couldn't help it, it just happened" attitude. You can help it....you just didn't. If someone is not willing to make the changes to their routine...they should not blame the AD for "causing" weight gain.

The only way on God's green earth that you can gain weight is if you put more calories in your body than your body uses. I would like to see a study that had people taking ADs, eating nothing and gaining weight. Then I will believe that ADs cause weight gain. Otherwise, no. Correlation does not equal causation.

Kiasmama

Which is what the problem is....he obviously needed to change his diet, or chage his activity level. Why is that the ADs fault? He didn't just take the pill and put on 75 pounds over night. Over a period of time, he took in more calories that his body was burning.....thus the gain. He needed to cut down the intake, or use more.....it really is that simple and something that is very manageable. A visit or two to a nutritionist or dietician is an easy remedy. Even that isn't necessary in most cases. We've just been conditioned that the weight gain is "out of our control" and is going to happen regardless of what we do. That's simply not true.You just have to put effort into counting calories, keeping food journals and having more activity in your life. It's not easy, but it's certainly in our control.

j2006

I don't think we are talking about "I couldn;t help it" here. Unfortunatly some of these meds have a side effect of gaining weight. For me it was the med and no other reason. 30 pounds in 2 months on Celexa was not me sitting on the couch eating. I was burning more cal. than taking in. Even got a personal trainer and I still packed it on. I was healthy but just gaining weight. I think for some, like me, adding extra pounds can invite additional health risks. And there is medical documentation about gaining weight on ADs. It is medical FACT.

Anyway i think we are getting away from the origianl post which was has anyone gained weight on Zoloft. My answer is no. I have only been on it for a few weeks and I have gained nothing.