If you lost weight, how did you do it?

[Darkling1]

Just looking for tips. Since being prescribed Mirtazapine (I’ve been on this for over a year.) I’ve noticed that I’ve put on weight and my clothes don’t fit me anymore.

I’m 29 and I’m 5ft 2, but I don’t know how much I weigh as I haven’t got scales in the house. I’ve made an appointment with my GP to ask for a medication change as Mirtazapine makes me hungry all of the time, which isn’t helping.

Does anyone have any tips for me in order to lose some weight please?

I don’t drink alcohol or fizzy drinks at all. My issue is my constant stacking.

Exactly! It's alarming how so many people are now suggesting WLI immediately instead of exploring other options. Yes the injections can be life changing for some but they are not without risks and those risks are not worth taking if someone just needs to lose a few pounds!

OP, if you were a healthy weight before taking mirtazipine then a medication change might be enough to get back there. If not I would start by keeping a food diary, perhaps using a calorie counting app, and see exactly what you are eating and when. Evening snacks are my downfall and it makes a huge difference if I cut these out. See what small changes you can make to snacks and portion sizes and go from there.

Go back to doctor and show increase in the time since on mitrapazine and ask for mounjaro?

I ate less and moved more along with a calorie deficit (eating 1509-1700 a day) and usually not eating after 7pm). I then cut out most ultra processed foods when I’d lost 2 stone. I’m 5’3” and was 46 when I started to change my lifestyle. Many will say that eating less and moving more doesn’t work but it did for me. Having had depression for many decades on and off (since childhood) I think GPs are very quick to dish out antidepressants and I personally tried about 7 different ones and none helped. They have their place but in my own w patience of family and friends using them they haven’t helped. The answers to their problems were lifestyle changes. No medication is going to help with relationship or workplace problems. You may well need ADs, it’s not my place to say, but I’d always advise anyone to think about why they are taking them and if medication can really help with that issue, or whether the answer lies within. I’m a retired nurse and so many patients were on antidepressants it was ridiculous and GPs never seemed to attempt to get them off them.
I hope you find a solution to the weight gain that’s right for you.

Also yes to high protein, loads of veg and reduced carbs.

i would have a 100cal of carbs (rice/pasta/potato) in a meal, doesn’t look like much on its own but with loads of veg and protein it quickly becomes a plateful and is satisfying.

have carb free evening meals every other day or so if you can

IF also helps with snacking if you’re firm with it

@Darkling1 don't have snacks in the house for starters.

You need to break the snack habit. When you want to snack do something else - walk, put music on and dance, crochet, learn guitar.

If you aim to have most your food as stuff thats not processed and have to make yourself then you'll eat way less.

100% 😂

Yes this. Lots of codes on there.

I know no one believes it, it's not what people want to hear, and I only had 10 lbs to lose so maybe I'm not the target group, but it was small, sustainable changes.

Stopped using my car and walked everywhere.
Cut out refined sugar - no puddings, sweets, biscuits etc.
Ate good sized regular meals but no snacking.
Real food
Careful of the alcohol. I was never drinking loads and I haven't cut it out completely, but now it's a couple every now and again rather then several every weekend.

I didn't count anything and the weight came off quite slowly, but it was easy to do (the sugar becomes a lot easier after the first 10 days) and I actually enjoy my food much more now. I'm eating real food that nourishes me, rather than the quick fix.

Calorie deficit and exercise. The calorie deficit loses the weight and the exercise is for body conditioning and preventing lose skin. I'm 23 pounds down so far.

The mythical calories and exercise.
I am a volume eater so bulked up meals with lots of veg.
I don't like exercising much so did HIIT because it's short but effective.
Lost 45kg very comfortably without feeling hard done by. Lots of spices, flavours, textures. It's important to still enjoy food you are eating.
It could have been faster but I wanted to enjoy the usual things as well so had beer and pizza/kebab/chinese and such day off every week😁

BodySlims.

so good I posted twice 😁

You've identified the culprit: snacking. The next step is working out why you're snacking.

• Is it sensation seeking (are you bored)
• a habit associated with another habit (e.g. chocolate everytime you watch TV)
• is it emotional eating?

If you know why you're snacking then you can see whether it's something you can just stop (stop buying snack food) or something you want to replace with a healthier option etc.

Calorie counting initially and working with a weight loss coach. Moving away from calorie counting to something more ‘intuitive’ after a few months with a few ‘rules’ in place - protein target, volume eating of veg etc and exercise for enjoyment and achievement rather than ‘punishment’. Going slow and steady and not expecting a quick fix was key for me and I think why I’ve kept it off this time.

I lost 35kg in 18 months, with no drugs and no faddy diets.

The single biggest change I made was cutting out alcohol completely for the first 3 months, then only drinking 1 night per week. Booze is full of empty calories and I used to consume far too many of them.

I also made sensible changes to my diet. I ate a lot less crap (chocolate, cakes, crisps, pastries etc) and a lot less carbs. Cutting out the carbs was harder because I simply stopped buying the crap, but I love bread and there’s always some around.

I replaced it with a LOT more healthy stuff, eg lean protein, fresh veggies, salad, fruit other than bananas. For me, starving myself was never going to work so I still ate quite a lot but as long as you’re reasonably active you can eat a lot of veggies & still lose weight at a reasonable rate.

Weight loss is about basic physics. Energy in < energy out. So you need to exercise to burn calories. I did 10k+ steps per day, plus cycling & gym but others will do what works for them. The point is you just have to do it.

Mirzapine is notorious for weight gain -
switch to Prozac.

Eating 1g protein per pound body weight and resistance training.

Results are much slower than crash dieting/fasting/weight loss injections but the weight loss is fat not muscle and it stays off. And I don’t feel hungry

Calorie counting here too. Lost seven stone in 2020 by calorie counting and exercising. Literally logged every last morsel of air that went in my mouth.

However I out it all back on and was unable to get back into the discipline of it so am now taking WLI. I’m still calorie counting, but it’s much easier for me now as I’m naturally eating less and have no desire to overeat at all.

I'm very similar to you OP - I take medication for anxiety/depression, I'm the same height as you and also have a problem with compulsive snacking. I've lost weight numerous times through all the different diets but I never keep it off despite being very active.

You've got one big advantage though - you're young and that makes such a difference to your ability to lose weight. I'd suggest start to log what you're snacking on and make some replacements with 'healthy' stuff like nuts, veg sticks etc If you're feeling relatively stable with your mental health you could consult your gp about changing over to a medication less likely to cause overeating. x

Calorie counting but paying attention to eating a mainly clean diet too.

No crappy diet company branded ready meals or snacks that are full of shite.

I got diagnosed with diabetes, and scared the shit out of myself so much that I literally completely changed my diet, and ate ridiculously healthily for 6 months. Lost nearly 40 pounds.

Blood sugar is now back in a normal range though so the fear has gone a bit and I'm starting to slowly put weight back on, so need to figure out how to stick with the healthier lifestyle consistently now.

I stopped snacking. I was big into my snacking without even being aware of it. When im feeling like having a snack, i drink water and chew gum. I have also reduced portions in my meals. And do excercise at least 5 days a week.

its a daily struggle, but i feel better now! Good luck x

I got prescribed mirtazipine at the beginning of Feb and was worried about the weight gain, but am still on it and have lost quite a few pounds of fat and gained muscle through strength training and eating a high protein diet.
I bought my first ever set of bathroom scales in my 40s once I was prescribed the mirtazipine, to make sure I'm aware of what my weight is doing.
I don't know if it's made me hungrier. I've always been good at riding out feelings of hunger and it doesn't trouble me for my stomach to rumble for a couple of hours between meals, so perhaps I just override the increased appetite a bit more comfortably than some others can.

I’m no expert as I have no will power but tips I’ve gathered:

• drink 2-3L a day of water (get one of those big bottles
• most weight watchers etc are based on what PP have said, high protein / low calorie dense food but an easy way for people to follow. Chicken / steak / veg all fills you up and doesn’t actually have that many calories
• stay away from sauces, unless you can check the calories I was shocked when I found out a dominos garlic and herb small pot was 170 cal while the big pot was nearly 700!
• don’t skip foods you love as you end up binge eating and sad. If you fancy a pizza can you make a healthy version (tortilla wrap) or can you eat half a pizza with salad

Mounjaro and eating an average of 1400 calories a day. Now 1200 to get the last few pounds off. I'd had a good diet, plenty of veg, plenty of protein and fibre, low-ish and whole carbs for many years and have always exercised. I just needed to eat less, but it was very hard to eat that little to actually shift the weight without something supressing my appetite.