Possible to lose weight on Mirtazapine?

[Bonnibelle]

I have been on Mirtazapine 15mg since last December, I had been on 7.5mg from last May. I hate being on meds but for now they are needed, I hope to withdraw in time though. I have gained around 30lbs being on them, which was much needed as I was painfully underweight all my adult life. I am now a health weight but I hate how I have a thick middle area. I workout 5 times a week, I eat healthy and still this tyre won't shift. I did slim down a bit compared to how big I felt but this tyre really is stubborn. I am 5ft tall and 8 stone 11lbs which for me feels big as I was always under 6 and half stone.

I don't give into cravings, I eat healthy, workout and have a healthy lifestyle. Am I fighting a losing battle with meds and weightloss?

[lpngpl]

I did.

I started on 30mg and put on a stone in the first month, I was just hungry constantly, no amount of eating would stop me feeling hungry, it would just vary the intensity. I could eat until I was in physical pain and still feel hungry, once I ate to the point that I threw up from eating too much but I still felt 'hungry'.

After that I tried cutting down, but the hunger was just terrible, I managed another month or so without adding to the weight gain but being constantly hungry and failing at attempts to diet because I didn't have the self control not to binge, meanwhile my mirtazapine dose went up to 45mg.

I then went on a ketogenic diet - high fat/very low carb (similar to atkins) because when I've done that in the past it has completely banished all feelings of hunger and while the first week was hard I did stop feeling hungry and lost the weight I'd put on. I stopped because there were lots of events with cake and keto is hard when you like cake and chocolate, it's really an all or nothing diet, you can't half ass it, Since stopping the hunger hasn't been so bad, maybe a bit higher than normal but nowhere near the constant, insatiable feeling it was when I started.

So yes, I did lose weight, but couldn't get anywhere calorie counting because I wasn't able to cope with the constant hunger, a more extreme diet worked for me because a side effect of keto adaptation is that you stop feeling hunger but I tend to believe that different people are suited to different diets so what worked for me may not work for other people.

[Cherryade]

Could it be that it has nothing to do with the meds and that this is your natural body shape? If you have been underweight all your adult life, you may not be aware of your natural body shape. Just a thought!

[Bonnibelle]

Thank you. I've always been very slim, just naturally underweight. I'm 35 and nothing changed until I went on mirtazapine. It's notorious for weightgain so my gp said its the meds causing it.

I only gained weight going on them which I liked but I hate how I eat healthy and workout yet still can't lose some weight. I hate how I can't enjoy treats from time to time as I gain weight very fast. It's not like me. I used to eat what I like and stay slim, all my family are the same.

[hanshan]

I lost 11 kg while taking mirtazapine by closely counting calories and aiming for around 1650 kCal per day, with no special workouts (though I didn't own a car at the time, and had to walk to shops and bus stops, etc). I also worked out my daily metabolic need in kCal based on age, weight, height and moderate exercise using various calculators on the internet. When I calculated my weekly deficit in kCal and converted that to grams of fat, I found that my weight over time went down very closely to what was predicted - nothing spectacular, but the physics worked fine for me.

My main problem was accurately calculating my calorie input, since literally a cheese sandwich either way can be all the difference between a calorie surplus or deficit for the day. I do recall seeing a study which found most people underestimated their calorie input each day, often quite significantly.

[Aleks1]

Hi there,

I started back on Mirtazapine a year ago and promptly put on 10kg.

I'm on a very low carb diet since 5 weeks ago and I've largely cut out alcohol. I've lost 4.5kg in that time. I don't snack anymore, and avoid crisps, chocolate and especially bread, potatoes and rice. I eat a lot more vegetables and proteins. I do allow myself a weekly takeaway treat and may be a beer or two.

I often have HUEL for breakfast. Its a complete food source, providing all the nutrients etc for the day.

The key to all diets is patience, 0.5 or 1kg a week weight loss is healthy and considered a normal pattern of losing weight. Don't try the miracle diet approach, they are just gimmicks.

Find a way that works for you. I find it much harder when I'm working as I'm away from home for long periods and not 100% in control of what I eat. Often at the mercy of whatever hotel I'm staying in.

[NOMOREMIRT]

I'm surprised how similar many of these responses are to my experience. I too gradually gained 20 pounds on mirt but problems started to surface. In addition to the discomfort from being overweight, my blood glucose was rising and I started to pass sugar in my urine. Then I heard about the keto-genic diet and things started to happen fast. In addition to the diet, I counted 1500 cals on My Fitness Pal and began cycling. In 5 months I lost 22 pounds and all is back to normal with a BMI of 25. I have recently stopped the mirt and hopefully will be done with the withdrawal. I had a rough mess to deal with and the mirt really helped me.

[hanshan]

Hi Nomoremirt,

It sounds like you hit it on all fronts, and have had some success. Good luck with health and weight goals in the future.