I kind of new I got fat, but what I've discovered by stepping on my daughter's scale today totally blew me off! I have gained 20 something pounds in the last 3 months and it is all my fault! Being on antidepressants, having booze and beer almost every night and eating all I wanted... There! Here's my answer. I hate myself for the lack of control, but how the heck do you control your appetite when you LOOOVE food? And love cooking. And live close to all those wonderful bakeries and European delis? Just walking by a bakery and smelling fresh baked bread makes me hungry! That's it Honey! As the Activia commercial says. I need to loose the spare tire, as my bf pointed out (thanks Babe for such a wonderful compliment), start working out (I used to run, but stopped due to a hot weather; I hate hot temperatures), quit booze, control what goes inside my mouth. I have already quit my antidepressants cold turkey and so far feel okay. Does anybody experienced gaining weight in a fast mode just from taking antidepressants? Just curios. Thanks everyone for reading this! And if you'd like to share your words of wisdom, please do!

Oh, and don't get fooled by the picture. It's an old one, when I was skinny...

Some of you may think: 20lbs is really not a big deal, but believe me, on my small frame 5 feet and 2 inches, it shows a lot!

Hi Dosia, sorry to hear that you are struggling. I think it's safe to say that we all know how you feel and no, it is not a good feeling! Suddenly gaining weight is really frustrating since our body and mind does not have enough time to get used to the changes we see in the mirror. Losing the 20 pounds is entirely possible, and I definitely have faith that with a good diet and exercise, the weight will come off. Having said that, I'm a bit concerned with the fact that you stopped taking your medication cold turkey. I don't know which medication you were taking, but the antidepressants I have taken in the past required a gradual withdrawal process to wean off of them. I made the mistake of quitting cold turkey and ended up very ill and halting my weight loss progress even further. Just a warning out of concern!

You have definitely come to the right place, everyone here is very supportive. Good luck to you and don't despair, with hard work the weight WILL come off!

It is so nice you took time to write back to me. I used to take Effexor for a year and prior to that I was on several different antidepressants, all in total for probably 6 years. I never had weight issues while taking any of them, it just happened with Effexor. I mean, maybe I'm just looking for something different than just my lack of self control to blame... I do experience all the typical withdrawal symptoms like "brain shivers", but nothing so severe I can't handle. My mood is okay, except for being a little sad. It's been only 3 weeks now since I quit the medication and I promised myself if I become suicidal again, I'll talk to my doc. I just can't afford being this fat. It makes me feel awful about myself! Mirax3, are you on any kind of antidepressant now? I just don't understand how does this happen? Does your metabolism slow down when you take those meds? Does it go back to normal after you stop?
Oh, and you look amazing in the picture! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!

I would suggest that you focus on quitting the booze and bakeries before your medication but that is a very personal thing! If you are feeling okay without it, that is good though. However, that wont solve the issue of you not exercising and consuming far to many calories (easily done by alcohol unfortunately!)

Are you able to run in the mornings before the heat kicks in? I have friends down in Florida who had to change their schedule (aka going to bed earlier in order to wake up earlier) just so they could get out and run prior to the extreme heat kicking in.

My roommate takes anti-depressants and the recent change in medication has caused her to gain a fair amount of weight. However, she has made a change in her diet and has taken up going to the gym and is having great success!

I hear you about how crappy weight gain is. I was SO CLOSE to my goal (only 10 pounds away!)... but stupid me fell on the wagon, enjoyed eating like my husband again and am back to being 21 pounds away with none of my clothes fitting (I got rid of all the ones that started getting to big because I figured "I'd never let myself regain the weight"). Stupid idea lol! It is totally depressing looking in the mirror or feeling your body jiggle more after working so hard.

Thanks Candeka for you reply. I quit the bakeries and I'm working on the booze. If I have wine, I wont eat at all. No beer anymore. Nope, not even one. I'm going back to my running routine starting next week; that's when the temperatures are supposed to go down a bit. I know, you'll say: why not now?! Why not today? Hey, how about tonight?! Hmmm... Mornings don't work for me because it feels much more hot due to the high humidity levels and no wind. I think nights would be much better for running. I'll try it. I'm not so bloated any more so that's a good sign. Perhaps all that gluten consumed was to blame. Candeka, it is amazing how we women gain weight so fast, isn't it? I watch my boyfriend enjoying all the foods he likes and not gaining even a pound! I think I'm going to buy a scale today.

Yeah my husband eats like a 13 year old boy and is still stick thin. I eat like him for a month and I am up 5 pounds, then another 5 pounds the following month. It sucks and is hard to break when you are always in their company as you always just want to eat the same things they eat.

If nights are cooler for you, then that's awesome. I am a night person so I can completely understand why nights would be better for you! It rarely gets humid where I live, but ofcourse the week I was going to "Hop back on the wagon" is the week where the humidity was insane. I tried working out and within 5 minutes I was about to pass out since it was way to freaking humid.
Then ofcourse the following week I had an unexpected tooth extraction which meant no exercise either! Life just likes to get in the way sometimes lol!

Good luck with everything. The first change has to be your mindset so once that is complete, its all uphill from there!

You'll get back on the track! I know, it takes determination, persistence and devotion. And it is not so easy. Especially when there are so many temptations around in a form of yummy foods. I made an agreement with my bf not to even bring those foods in to the house and he agreed! A full co-operation! I just tried my skinny sweats from a few months ago on and I look like a sausage in them! Yuck! Great. Will have to find my "fat" sweats for running. Yup, humidity here in TO is horrible too. And it gets to me. First, I start sweating like a pig and then my face turns all red and starts burning. I hate the sensation and that's why I so don't want to start working out again. I totally understand how you feel. Some people just don't do very well in high temperatures. Thanks for all the encouragement, it means a lot to me.

Good Luck Dosia as well all the others on this thread. I know after or soon approching 40 my metoblism left me I finally have gone to MRC to seek help with losing the tire around my waist and find my metbolism. I too am on anti depressants, please go back to them for your health. Sometimes you think you may be fine without then that demon comes and attacks your thoughts. Alcohol is a depresant, so give that up or try cutting back. I cant wait to hear your success---Tamara

Thank you so much for this. Yes! It is so true! You approach 40 and your metabolism is gone. It takes much longer and much harder to loose weight not to mention maintain it. I haven't been blessed with good genes when it comes to burning fat. I just look at food and start gaining weight I know Tamara, alcohol IS a depressant and I'm working on cutting it down. It is hard though because I think I drink mostly due to boredom. Long working hours, routines, this all contributes to looking for some other forms of excitement. Unfortunately booze seems work for me the best. I just don't want to go back on meds. They make me feel better, but I don't like the side effect of a weight gain. I'm seeing my doc next week; lets see what she has to say. Do you also struggle with weight gain because of your meds?

Hang in there!!! I dont think i have gained weight from my meds, but again I am not sure how this weight got a hold of me...I do take cymbalta and levothyroxine as i have a thyroid issue( which does not help). Please keep me posted and stay strong....

Cybmalta never worked for me. As I remember Paxil was the best, but worked only for 2 years and it was WEIRD coming off of it. Had to switch to other antidepressant right away. Oh well, I'll see how it goes. I have done some research on hypothyroidism too. I don't have it, but I know it causes some weight issues. Have you tried other medication yet? There are so many out there.

Dosia, you and I are in the same boat!! I was at my goal weight at the beginning of the summer. and then it seems I gained it all back overnight!! I took Paxil years ago and blew up like a cow, right now I"m on Welbutrin. Love it, no side effects and no weight gain from it. If anything people lose weight on it. It may not be the right med for you though. Different things work for different people.

Newjourney: thank you for realizing that. I know some may get annoyed hearing me talk about my 20 lbs that i need to lose....but in my head it may as well be 100....the struggle is still there..the mental anguish is the same. Obviously it isn't that easy to lose 20 because I"m not able to do it!!!!!