WEIGHT GAIN WITH ZOLOFT AND LOSING IT..

Hi, This is my first post and just joined today.  I have been on Serlatine for about 3 years, taking it somewhat sporatically for anxiety as prescribed from my doctor.  Recently been reading some forums on gaining weight while on Zoloft.. (serlatine).  I am a 5'11" male and have always been "big boned" as they say and usually weight around 225 - 235 lbs depending on my weight lifting and muscle gain or being a complete bum and gaining fat.  I never have been over 250lbs which i reached about 15 years ago and have been down to 195lbs about 10 years ago.  My weight fluctuates due to the fact that I have a drinking problem(in remission as they say) and gain when i drink and get healthy when I don't .. Doctor asked why i start to drink again after a period of sobriety and I told him sometimes I get an anxiety feeling and try to quell it with alcohol.. so here came the meds..

I recently went up to 265lbs!.. Yikes.. i hate it...I was reading post about gaining weight on Zoloft and thought that might have something to do with my over the top weight gain.  Started a diet 2 weeks ago and have lost 7 lbs so far.  I'm tracking body fat percentage and lean mass loss/gain.  So far Im doing well.. I was terrified that I would not lose weight(quit meds 3 days ago) due to some of the stories but it's slowly coming off.. I workout(walk up and down hills) for 30 minutes 3 to 5 days a week.. and am on a 1500 calorie/day diet.. low carbohydrates but not no carb.. Lean protien and not much fat.. My BMR plus daily exercise puts me at 3000 cals/day to maintain 260 lbs.  So I cut that in half.  So far.. down 1.8% body fat and gained .8lbs lean mass... that is very good if you keep up with stats like I do.  Ideally you want to lose body fat and retain lean mass...but to gain some is outstanding for me!.. I only lost 2 lbs. on the scale this week but almost 3lbs body fat and gained .9 lbs lean mass... The scale is the worst predictor of how your diet is working.. it can defeat you mentally in so many ways... If you want a true eval. of your body fat/lean mass situation.. search "body fat calculators" and you will find simple ways to figure yours out.. so if the scale is agonizingly creeping lower.. don't fret.. you may be doing more than you think!!!  I will post my results once a week as I measure and weigh every Monday... 

Today: Monday 4/29.  Body fat %= 33.51% (-1.84% 4/15) Lean mass = 168.9 (+.8lbs) Body fat lbs. =85.4(-6.8 lbs from 4/15) scale weight = 254 lbs..  !! 

Post Edited (Joneb2) : 4/29/2013 8:38:18 AM (GMT-6)

The easiest way is to let this calculator figure it out for you at this url: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/body_fat_calculator.htm

But some calculators don't give you all this info.   So if you plug in your measurements and weight and you get a percentage of Body fat... Say 150lbs and your BF% is 25%... Multiple 150x.25(25%) and it will tell you the Body fat in pounds.. which in this case is 37.5 pounds.. then subtract your total weight(150) from body fat pounds 37.5 and that is your lean mass.. Lean mass is everything except fat on your body.. so skeleton, organs, muscle.. and whatever else.. so 150lbs - 37.5lbs of fat =112.5 lbs lean mass. 

Womens measurement are a little different than mens.. on this calculator above.. men input their age, weight and inches or cm's at their naval.  Women do just a few more measurements.. like hips, wrist and waist and weight... so it's pretty easy.. These calculators have a +/- error factor of about 1% to 3%, but that's ok.. it's the trend that I'm looking for .. as long as body fat is going down, and weight is either the same or going down.. I'm good.  If your weight is going down but you body fat % or fat pounds isn't going down.. you are doing it very wrong.. your losing lean mass and not body fat!  So you have to change your diet and exercise to get things going in the right direction.. Usually when people starve themselves they loss as much muscle as fat.. which is NOT GOOD because muscle rev's up your metabolism and as you lose mucsle you have to eat less and less calories just to stay the same weight.. now that's depressing!.. lol 

Post Edited (Joneb2) : 4/30/2013 10:37:50 AM (GMT-6)

Sure no problem.. I use this site.. Caloriesperhour.com  It has a lot of useful information on dieting and different calculators in order to figure out how many calories you burn a day depending on you weight, sex, age and activities.. it's a good starting point to see how many calories you need just to maintain your weight.. then reduce your intake based on that.. I cut mine in half.. which may not be the best method.. but I get impatient with dieting so we'll see how this works.. Done it before and have lost 40lbs about 3 times in my life.. Exercise is obviously good for your weight and your depression.. if you have that.. Doing something positive about yourself will make you feel better.. especially when the pounds start dropping off!.. I still remember an old Jenny Craig commercial where the girl says...:  "Nothing tastes as good as feeling thin feels!"  I think about that when I want to binge on junk..

Post Edited (Joneb2) : 4/30/2013 6:51:29 AM (GMT-6)

I have been on Zoloft for about one year now and have gained at least 15 lbs. I am a small framed 25 year old female and went from 115 lbs and as recently as today I am 135. My highest weight of my life. I wouldn't call myself FAT but that weight on my frame shows. I have tried everything...I work out all the time (weights and cardio) and am an extremely healthy eater. I have eliminated EVERYTHING...refined sugars, gluten, etc. and it has had no effect. When I just kept gaining I could only conclude that it was the Zoloft. I have been off for about a week now. I am also going through a break up so its not the best timing when it comes to my depression, but gaining weight and not fitting into my shorts from last year was making me more upset. I live in a beach town and with summer less than a month away I am wondering how long with my intense workouts and clean diet, will it take for me to get back to my "normal" weight? I already have self image issues and the stress of getting into a bikini is not something I want or need. I would really like to have a relatively care free summer. I know there are a lot of things that are out o my control that contribute to my depression, but my body should not be one of them. Anyone know how long it takes?? Also, any good advice on holistic treatment?? Meds scare me now...