Need some advice about my (non) weight loss
 

Hi, I am new here ;) have joined hoping this will help with better weight loss. I am really struggling to lose weight I want to lose 40lbs but after spending a month and a half of going to the gym 3/4 times a week and eating healthier I have only lost about 3 pounds and am feeling very down about it (and the weight loss seems to have stopped now also). I take mirtazipine and propanalol but when I asked my Dr whether this could be causing issues with weight loss but he just said that the tablets have no calories. I do emotional binge eat very occasionally but I dont really realize I am doing it and I dont think that food is enough to explain not losing more. Any tips or advise would be really appreciated thankyou :) :)

Its hard to give any feedback without knowing any specifics. Are you following any specific plan? Do you write down the food you eat, and the quantities? Do you weigh the food? From my own experience, if I don't have a plan to follow, its hard for me to just wing it. Even when I have a plan, I sometimes veer away from it. And when I do that, I only maintain my weight. When this happens, I have to get back to the basics of my plan and make sure I follow it diligently.

Motivation
 

Have you tried any specific weight loss plans? The beginning is always the hardest part of anything. Write yourself a plan and try to be consistent with it, even if you don't see results in the beginning keep on pushing yourself. Find some type of motivation and just go.

muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are working out, you could be gaining muscle weight and losing fat which is great! That could be the reason why you aren't seeing pounds on the scale dropping.

Your doctor says the pills has no calories...Your doctor is not being very good. Some medications DO cause weight gain - calories or not and he should know that very well. That being said, I have no idea if these medications do have weight gain as a side effect or not - but you should be able to Google that up or read the patient advisory leaflet.

It is VERY easy to add a lot of calories through emotional bingeing or comfort grazing - even on relatively healthy foods. I know that for a fact (unfortunately).

I have found that using Paul McKenna has really helped me to control emotional eating. I am losing weight by exercising and eating mindfully (sometimes called intuitive eating). I'm not counting calories or carbs, but I do try to make healthy choices - which is relatively easy for me as I love healthy food!

I agree with AlmostMe, your doctor doesn't get it. He should be able to ramble off (or at least look up while you are there) the side effects of something he's prescribing.

I am on a medication that increases your appetite and my doctors begged me not to gain a pound as it would be detrimental to my health (but the benefits of the medication outweighed the risk of gaining). I tried to make sure I didn't gain anything while taking it, so instead I have lost over 100lbs to benefit my health all while taking this medication. My doctors couldn't believe it. :)

I am going to google those drug names and see if I can help you.

Just found on drugs.com:

mirtazipine

Less serious side effects include:

drowsiness, dizziness;

increased appetite; or

weight gain.

I didn't see anything weight related for the propanalol.

Alyce77 - I am VERY annoyed with your doctor on your behalf after seeing what Elvislover googled up in probably less than a minute.

Here is the link if you need it, Alyce77---and it took about 15 seconds to find. :)

The more I thought about it too, your doctor answered the question very unprofessionally. He had to have known what you meant. Maybe he thought you wouldn't want to take it if you knew it could effect your weight but that's not his right. I always want my doctors to be honest with me even if I don't like the answer.

http://www.drugs.com/sfx/mirtazapine-side-effects.html

I think it might be time to have a heart to heart with your doctor if he knows you are trying to lose weight.

I decided to go back and read further on the propranolol. They did not list anything in the side effects listing of weight gain but they had a separate section called "Metabolic". Here is the info:

Metabolic side effects have included weight gain.

The mechanism by which propranolol induces weight gain is unknown. Some investigators have reported a 4% to 9% reduction in total energy expenditure and a 25% reduction in thermogenic response to food during beta-blocker treatment.

I agree with these other people, but I say forget dealing with that doctor! Such an a-hole answer. I don't know why some doctors are like that. I hope you can find one that will answer your questions in a serious and intelligent way. So sorry! Hang in there and try writing down everything you eat. You'd be surprised how much you actually eat without knowing. I think Weight Watchers is a great program for learning all about this.
Good luck!