Weight Gain Freaking Me Out

[Anelize]

I have gained a couple of pounds recently and I think it's from the carb cravings I'm having from the Risperdal. I don't want to go down this road again, and am interested in what kind of strategies others have used to keep their weight under control while taking AAPs.

[gizmo]

All I can say is "100 Calorie Packs". They seem to have a small size of everything at the store these days, from chips to cookies to popcorn (my personal favorite) to crackers.

Also, drink LOTS of water. It helps you feel full. Waterlogged, but full. Thanks to my lithium, I drink about 175 oz of fluid a day. It helps curb the appetite, though I still have the cravings. My personal zyprexa craving is bacon. All the time. And, no, turkey bacon is not the same as pork bacon!

[OscillateWildly]

Eating a diet that controls blood glucose can help counteract antipsychotic weight gain. Most of the weight gain comes from abnormal glucose metabolism secondary to the drug. Therefore, one is best served to eat a diabetic diet - low gi, low carb. I lost 160 pounds and have maintained that loss (reasonable ups and downs) for 6 years.

Nuts are a good thing to snack on, even though they are high calories they are high in protein, fiber, and fat which keeps blood sugar stable. I eat my bodyweight in nuts, lol.

Little changes help. Instead of special k for breakfast, have special k protein instead (9 carbs). Measure out the serving, and use low carbohydrate fruits like strawberries to bulk it up. Enjoy everything you eat. Make all meals feel special so that psychologically you feel satisfied.

Avoid diet food, like the 100 calorie packs. Avoid low calorie foods (vegetables excluded of course, vegetables are low in carbohydrate and high in fiber and very good for you). In general low calorie foods are low in fat and high in carbohydrates and sugars which trigger that out of control "I am going to eat everything zombie-like" feeling. Everyone does different things but for me if I focus on low calorie foods I just wind up eating even more because the macronutrient ratios (fat/protein/carb) are all screwed up. Go with fat/protein dense foods, avoid carbohydrate, and eat small servings instead. 1 sugar free cookie is better than 2 low fat/high sugar cookies even if calories are the same.

I was on abilify for a month and didn't have any problems with blood sugar or weight because of my diet. Granted risperidal > abilify when it comes to weight gain but not by a significant deal. [link=http://www.australianprescriber.com/upload/issue_files/2706_t2_anti.gif" target="_blank]According to this graph[/link] abilify causes mild weight gain (other studies say about 1.6 kg avg) whereas with risperidol it is moderate (like 2-3 kgs) so the difference isn't that tremendous (not like zyprexa/seroquel which cause more). I am very vulnerable to weight gain and blood sugar/insulin problems so FWIW I think eating a diabetic diet is the reason I was okayish. I did have some problems with weight control but it wasn't anything I couldn't have handled if I wanted to.