To think finding the time to lose weight is IMPOSSIBLE?!

They also should test for diabetes (HB1AC)

OK I will link to the Nice guidance which I gave my GP- they moaned a little saying I was not on a very high dose but they would do yearly blood tests, more recently they have added an ECG and weight as well (didn't ask for this just seems to have been added on)

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/psychosis-schizophrenia/prescribing-information/monitoring/

How are your blood tests, the ones they do to monitor you while on quetiapine? (I hope they are doing these btw, I had to quote the Nice guidance at my GP to get them to start but now get them yearly)

I do have time to plan now, but I can’t get into it, previously I’ve had very limited time - I also like pretty fat food! - however, I can and have accepted the limitations real/laziness and found solutions to eat less and a bit better. Stopped eating crisps/chocolate/chips and mayo etc but always replaced it so I didn’t feel I was missing out - carrots with hummus, celery and a bit of cheese, full fat Greek yogurt with berries and prepped salads, Buddha bowls etc - all stuff I still like, and not restricted at all, but it sets me off on a better path and from there I have lost some weight and also started planning/cooking better. I will add though that I’ve had to want to do this, it’s easy in poor times not to do so, and it’s easy to revert back to habits - I do think worrying about it adds pressure, and overthinking can make it too complicated. Guess I’m saying though that if you’re ready maybe don’t think of planning, cooking, etc just start buying different easy stuff. I do tend to try and eat organic, farm stuff so it is nice (to me) and that’s not for everyone but the principle can be the same. Not everyone is ready to do mumsnet chickens or big salads!
Don't be hard on yourself- you’re doing amazingly and lots of stuff - don’t add pressure, be good to yourself.

Posting just to offer support to you OP. Weighing, measuring and logging food takes a lot of headspace when you're already frazzled and busy.

Today I wanted to cook something healthy like baked salmon and broccoli but given the heat I just don't want the oven on. So it's going to be cereal or toast as I just can't cope with the kitchen getting any hotter and we don't have any salad in. I'm not popping to the shops in this weather either, I'm peri and having hot flashes. It's all too much!

I totally get where you're coming from. Just try baby steps. Swap one food at a time for a healthier version or a smaller portion and just do what you can. Little by little the changes should add up and feel less overwhelming. Make the food swaps your goal rather than the weight loss, it will be more achievable that way.

OP I think it might be better to discuss with your doctors as I'm not sure some people on here understand about the meds etc. It's not as simple as for most people and people go by their own experiences (mostly having never taken these meds)

Yes, they tried adding metformin with me as mentioned there, but it didn't really work, only thing which really seems to have helped is adding mounjaro.

my medication causes your body to process carbs and sugar differently

I know it's popular to say on MN.
AI says is that some meds affect blood sugars, such that the medicated person might have higher or lower energy levels than they should, and then they end up with too high hunger feelings that don't match their real food intake needs.

All of Which must be a pain in trying to control appetite & energy levels but... it also means that calories in calories out works same for people on those meds as CICO does for everyone else. The solution is still about eating only as many calories as you need.

Forget the diet for the minute.

All you have to do is try to form a calorie deficit (no matter where those calories are coming from )

Easy ones to cut out : alcohol (full of sugar ) any excessively milky/sugary drink.

Eat brunch instead of breakfast and lunch. Eat tea as late as convenient for you (decreases likelihood of snacking in evening )

Walk, walk , walk. Don't bother doing all this slimming world/keto/running/gym fads (you'll do it for 3 weeks then give up )

Initially, all you need is the calorie deficit. So start eating less not different and take up moving instead of fitness. Lift your heels up and down whilst stationary. Do a few stretches.

Then you build on it, and then you look at your overall diet. Fads and "diets" and complicated exercise regime's are there for one purpose: they make people rich. Eat less, move more , you will lose weight (it'll be slow) . Work up gradually.

Losing weight is really really difficult, but time is not the big issue

This .Kind comments make a big difference 🙏

OP I really understand how hard it is working long shifts and having to find healthy food. I now make up a salad with cheese and cooked chicken and a Quaker porridge for breakfast /late morning.Protein really is a filler and I take nuts in for late pm X

I haven’t read the full thread for everyone else’s comments so apologies if repeating. It sounds to me like you don’t have the energy to lose weight, rather than don’t have the time. Technically, you could do an exercise video and cook a healthy meal and a healthy packed lunch after your toddler goes to bed, but you’re probably totally knackered at that point in the day.

if it were me I would focus on the food side of things not the exercise. Maybe think about exercise when the toddler starts sleeping better. From the food side of things, try batch cooking a few recipes that you’ll get to know and will be able to whip up without thinking. Then just repeat those recipes. I find thinking about what to shop for / cook etc is another task in itself so you need to make it as simple as possible by repeating the same recipes.

if you can afford it, the weight loss injections coupled with healthy eating is probably your best bet.

But overall, be kind to yourself. It’s so exhausting trying to lose weight and it’s so difficult.

Can you talk to the GP/psychiatrist about changing medication? Some are a lot more weight neutral than others. For example, my pal was on olanzapine and gained a lot of weight. Switched to aripiprazole and the majority of the weight fell off without even trying.

This was interesting also

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-11/queensland-schizophrenia-weight-loss-drugs/105398508

I discussed it with the GP who monitors me yearly for blood tests for the olanzapine, they were ok with it, I was quite overweight though and blood tests showed high cholesterol and high blood pressure- which they thought might be linked with taking olanzapine.

A couple of months into mounjaro I had those sets again and things were better

Oh, also when you get the mounjaro prescribed online you have to tell them all your meds and they check to see if it is suitable for you, and I have always done this and it has been fine.

Hope the psychiatrist is helpful. Mine just told me to 'eat smart' when they put me on it, and it's really not that simple with these meds. They cause cravings for carbs, and mounjaro takes that away making it much easier.

Exercise has loads of benefits: mental health, physical health, energy etc - but yeah studies haven't shown that it helps weight loss. Google research if you're interested - it's a bit of a myth that exercise helps weight loss.

By all means exercise if you want to improve your life, but if you want to lose weight and have limited time, I would just diet. And the most time efficient diet is probably to just fast/skip a meal, as that'll actually save you meal prep time.

Exercise has loads of benefits:

• increases your metabolism (slightly, but anything is better than nothing)
• improves your posture
• boosts mood
• toned muscle looks leaner, stronger, better so clothes will fit better.

but you have to do an absolute crap tonne of it to make up for excess calories. As they say “You can’t outrun a bad diet”, and exercise makes you hungry so more likely to eat above your calorie needs.

Like everything it’s about balance, increasing your exercise in moderation would be a great thing to do, weight exercises will do more for muscle tone and metabolism than aerobic exercises but the ideal situations would be a bit of both. Alongside that you need to eat a good mix of all food groups and stick to eating less than you use.