Does zoloft make you lose weight
7 Ways to Lose Weight Gain Caused by Medication
Antidepressants and steroids like prednisone often lead to extra pounds. If you’re experiencing weight gain from drugs like Lexapro or prednisone, there are choices you can make with regard to meals and exercise that can help.
People living with issues like autoimmune diseases, from Crohn’s to rheumatoid arthritis (RA), or mood disorders like depression have powerfully effective medications out there to help minimize or eliminate their symptoms so that they can live comfortably.
Yet some of the common drugs for these issues — like prednisone and other corticosteroids, and paroxetine (Paxil) and other antidepressants — have less-than-desirable side effects. One major side effect of these drugs is weight gain.
And while you should go easy on yourself — you’re battling an illness, after all — it can be a frustrating adverse effect.
Read on to find out the best ways to lose unwanted pounds brought on by medication you need.
Antipsychotic drugs, antidepressants, and mood stabilizers are common drugs that have the most potential to increase weight gain. All 12 of the leading antidepressants, including fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), and escitalopram (Lexapro), make gaining weight more likely.
With approximately 13 percent of Americans currently taking antidepressants — and without medication options that don’t cause fluctuations in weight — a lot of people can’t avoid being put at higher risk for unhealthy weight gain.
Steroids like prednisone may also have similar effects. Alanna Cabrero, MS, a registered dietician at NYU Langone Health’s IBD Center, says steroids are often “used to tackle inflammatory conditions like IBD, Crohn’s, arthritis, lupus, and osteoarthritis.”
For some of these medications, nearly 70 percent of users reported weight gain as a side effect.
You might assume that you’d notice the pounds sliding on right away if your body is sensitive to this side effect.
But a recent study found that isn’t the case. People taking antidepressants are most at risk for weight gain two to three years into treatment.
Medications that cause weight gain include:
- Antidepressants, such as:
- selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), including fluoxetine
(Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), escitalopram (Lexapro), citalopram (Celexa), and paroxetine (Paxil) - serotonin-norepinephrine
reuptake inhibitors,
including duloxetine (Cymbalta) and venlafaxine
(Effexor) - tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), including desipramine
(Norpramin)
- selective
- Corticosteroids, such as:
- budesonide, including Pulmicort
and Symbicort - prednisone
- methylprednisolone
- budesonide, including Pulmicort
- Drugs commonly
prescribed for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, such as:- olanzapine
- risperidone
- quetiapine
Drugs like corticosteroids alter the body’s electrolyte and water balances, as well as metabolism.
“Drugs like steroids decrease the body’s flushing out of sodium,” explains Cabrero.
Many people taking steroids report increased fat in the abdomen, face, and neck. Even if you can control the steroid-driven weight gain, it’s possible to look heavier because of redistributed fat.
Antidepressant-induced weight gain is tied to appetite changes. “With medications for depression, increases in appetite occur. Generally, then, anything becomes a little bit more appetizing — and our cravings usually don’t fall under fruits and vegetables,” Cabrero points out.
If you want to lose a few extra pounds that you’ve put on since taking a weight gain-inducing medication, you’re already on the right track.
“If you know that these medications have the potential side effect of weight gain, you can take the appropriate steps to be prepared,” says Cabrero.
Here are seven ways she recommends you take off — or fight off — unwanted pounds.
Avoiding too much sodium in your diet is smart for anyone looking to eat healthier.
But patients on steroids or antidepressants might want to consider paying extra close attention.
That means avoiding processed foods, canned foods, and fast foods, since they’re often packed with sodium.
“Eight percent of our sodium intake comes from these foods,” says Cabrero. “The general population in the U.S. has 3,300 to 3,500 mg of sodium per day, when it should fall more around 2,300 mg. Reduce these foods that have naturally a ton of sodium.”
Cabrero recommends you learn how to read nutritional labels in order to understand what’s in your food.
To curb weight, use the same strategies you’d use to
control weight with or without the added effects of medication. Choose
low-calorie foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, eat fiber-rich and
slow-to-digest complex carbohydrates, and drink lots of water.
People taking antidepressants should also be aware of hyponatremia, which is low sodium in the blood. This is especially important in the first 28 days of starting antidepressants, as low sodium levels can lead to more severe health problems.
If you’ve been newly prescribed an antidepressant, your doctor should monitor you for signs of hyponatremia, including:
- dizziness
- nausea
- lethargy
- confusion
- cramps
- seizure
Your doctor can help you avoid hyponatremia.
Eating a potassium-rich diet is great for people who are looking to lose weight gained because of medication — potassium flushes out sodium. And a potassium-rich diet is linked to other health benefits, such as reduced blood pressure, protection against stroke, and osteoporosis prevention.
Potassium-rich foods include:
- bananas
- sweet potatoes
- avocados
- coconut water
- spinach
- black beans
- edamame
- potatoes
- beets
Managing your condition is a priority, so there may not yet be any options that cause little to no weight gain.
Still, ask your doctor if there are any alternative medications or treatments that would maintain your health without the extra pounds.
For people on steroids, ask if going on the shortest, most effective dose is a possibility.
If you’re taking antidepressants, bupropion (Wellbutrin) may be less likely to cause weight gain.
Your appetite can increase while taking specific medications, so you may be tempted to eat more.
Instead of having three massive meals throughout the day, breaking up your food into smaller, more frequent meals can make you feel like you’re consuming more calories because you have little time between snacks to be hungry.
It’s recommended to stave off hunger by eating six small meals a day versus
three large ones.
Cabrero suggests you try to integrate nonstarchy veggies, or what she calls “volume-rich foods,” into your diet. “They’re nutritious and don’t have a lot of calories,” says Cabrero. Experiment beyond cut-up carrots: try veggie soups and salads.
Staying active is important for overall health as well as weight loss or maintenance.
Depending on your level of health or current symptoms, you may want to consult your doctor first.
“Depending on what other symptoms are going on, physical activity is something to be sure to do,” says Cabrero. “You might not be as active as you were before, but light yoga, walking, or something along those lines helps to keep you mobilized and improves overall health.”
For people who have come off medication, intermittent fasting can be an effective way to lose weight, provided it’s recommended by your doctors.
“I usually suggest a gut rest. This is a 12-hour window when you don’t eat, which should start about 2 to 3 hours before bed,” says Cabrero. “A lot of times after dinner we end up snacking on foods that are not nutritious, nor are even related to hunger.”
A good night’s sleep can do wonders when you’re trying to lose weight, especially if you’re taking steroids for any condition.
“With steroid use, patients find that they won’t sleep well, and that increases your appetite for sugary foods because you need that energy burst,” says Cabrero.
Here are 10 ideas for natural ways to sleep better.
Meagan Drillinger is a travel and wellness writer. Her focus is on making the most out of experiential travel while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Her writing has appeared in Thrillist, Men’s Health, Travel Weekly, and Time Out New York, among others. Visit her blog or Instagram.]
Does Zoloft Cause Weight Loss?
Medically reviewed by Katelyn Hagerty, FNP
Written by Our Editorial Team
Last updated 10/12/2022
If you’ve recently been prescribed Zoloft® for your mental health, you may have read or heard about one of the unique side effects of this type of antidepressant: Zoloft weight loss.
Weight loss symptoms related to medication can be serious, after all. For someone who struggles to maintain a healthy weight, losing more weight as a side effect could put you in a precarious situation.
Regardless of why you’re curious, you’re right to want to know more about this alleged side effect of Zoloft.
It’s true that Zoloft can affect your weight — and it’s potentially true that you might experience weight loss. But we can’t see into the future, and your outlook on having your weight affected by Zoloft is far from clear.
What we can help you with is understanding your risk of weight-related adverse effects, so that you can understand what you might expect.
The easiest place to start is with how a mental health medication can affect not just your brain, but the rest of your body, too.
How Zoloft Affects Your Body
So how exactly does Zoloft affect your body? Well for starters, in can change the way your brain behaves.
Zoloft is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or SSRI: a medication often prescribed to people with mood disorders like major depression to affect your brain chemistry — notably, your brain’s levels of serotonin.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps your brain balance mood (among helping with other bodily functions, like sleep), and when you run out of it, you can feel those really low lows (and yes, high highs) associated with things depressive disorders, bipolar disorder and others.
But these beneficial changes are often attached to side effects of antidepressants, and some of those can be significant mental and physical issues that can reduce your quality of life, too.
Does Zoloft Cause Weight Loss?
According to the National Library of Medicine, Zoloft and its generic form, sertraline, can indeed cause changes in weight as a side effect of taking this medication.
They likewise point to a risk of reduced incidence of weight gain or growth in children taking pediatric Zoloft doses, and so children taking this medication should be watched for changes and have their growth watched carefully.
It’s still somewhat unclear how this medication creates weight loss effects, though a 2016 study found a tentative explanation. Researchers concluded that sertraline inhibits the storing of additional body fat and alters carbohydrate metabolism in a species of monkeys.
However, it’s important to clarify that this study involved a small sample (n=42) and was not carried out on people, but rather, monkeys.
Chemical changes in the body are certainly a possible side effect of antidepressant drugs (and the use of any medication, for that matter), but it’s also possible that some people simply lose weight due to changes in behavior associated with better mental health.
After all, depression is known to cause changes in weight, not to mention changes in eating and sleeping habits.
Oh, and depression also causes a lack of motivation and fatigue, which can really throw off someone’s healthy life balance.
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The Side Effects of Zoloft
Zoloft can cause many side effects besides weight loss (or gain), but it’s important to understand that, like the potential for weight loss, you aren’t guaranteed to experience these side effects just because you’re taking this medication.
That said, some of the more common side effects of sertraline (Zoloft) include:
There are some really serious side effects you won’t want to experience, either.
These include seizures, bleeding and bruising, hallucinations, fever, sweating, confusion, agitation and memory problems.
If you experience any of these side effects, it’s important to contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible.
The reality of medically-induced loss of appetite is that it can quickly become a health risk, especially for people who struggle to keep weight on or are actively battling an eating disorder.
And that’s the same reason why the potential of Zoloft to cause weight loss shouldn’t be considered a “benefit” or a “feature.”
Should You Take Zoloft for Weight Loss?
There’s a clear answer to the question of whether you should take Zoloft for weight loss: no.
First and most obviously, Zoloft is an antidepressant and is prescribed for depression patients, obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder and premenstrual dysphoric disorder.
Occasionally, you may be prescribed this medication off-label for other mental health issues, but that will be at the discretion of your healthcare provider.
What they won’t do is prescribe this medication for weight loss.
No physician or other healthcare professional would prescribe an antidepressant on the off chance that one of its side effects had an ideal role in someone’s weight loss journey.
Your antidepressant treatment plan should be tailored around issues that reflect your quality of life. Period.
However, if your weight is affecting your quality of life and affecting your depression symptoms (and even if it isn’t), your healthcare provider might also suggest certain lifestyle changes like exercise and better diet for depression.
More importantly, your provider might suggest you consider proven treatment methods for depression — like therapy.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), for instance, has been shown to be effective in helping people with mood disorders reorder their patterns of thought and ways of thinking for the better with practice.
psych meds online
psychiatrist-backed care, all from your couch
Zoloft and Weight Loss: The Big Picture
There are many ways to encourage weight loss in your life, from focusing on physical activity and increasing your activity level, to embracing a healthy diet.
Antidepressant drugs are not your secret entrance to weight loss.
At the end of the day, your loss or increase in body weight and your mental health are linked in many ways, and if you have depression or other mental health conditions, one may be dragging the other down. That’s certainly possible.
It’s also the main reason that you shouldn’t focus on treating one without the other. And most importantly, it’s why you need the support of a healthcare professional to chart a course through your journey.
Whether you’re scared about losing weight or hopeful to do so, the right thing to do now is talk to a healthcare professional about your concerns and desires and find the healthy route to your goals.
We know finding that person can be difficult, which is why Hers’ online therapy platform is designed to offer you convenient and quick access to mental health support.
Finding out what will help you is your next step. Take it with a professional, and whether you do it with us or someone else, start today.
5 Sources
Hims & Hers has strict sourcing guidelines to ensure our content is accurate and current. We rely on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We strive to use primary sources and refrain from using tertiary references.
- Maria A. Oquendo, M. D. (2007, February 1). Brain serotonin transporter binding in depressed patients with bipolar disorder using positron emission tomography. Archives of General Psychiatry. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/482176.
- Chand SP, Arif H. Depression. Updated 2022 Jul 18. In: StatPearls Internet. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430847/.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Depression. National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://www.nimh.nih.
gov/health/topics/depression. - U.S. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Sertraline: Medlineplus drug information. MedlinePlus. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a697048.html.
- Silverstein-Metzler MG, Shively CA, Clarkson TB, Appt SE, Carr JJ, Kritchevsky SB, Jones SR, Register TC. Sertraline inhibits increases in body fat and carbohydrate dysregulation in adult female cynomolgus monkeys. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2016 Jun;68:29-38. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.02.012. Epub 2016 Feb 21. PMID: 26939086; PMCID: PMC5319600. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5319600/.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment. Learn more about our editorial standards here.
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Zoloft and weight loss - Diets For Health Conditions
Are you taking (or thinking about taking) Zoloft for depression but are worried about gaining or losing weight as a side effect? While Zoloft can help improve your mood, it's important to weigh the potential pros and cons of taking it before making your final decision, especially if you're struggling to lose weight.
What is Zoloft?
Zoloft, also known as sertraline HCL, is a prescription medication used to treat obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder in adults. This drug is also approved for children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 who have obsessive-compulsive disorder. While Zoloft may help with psychological health conditions, it is important to be aware of certain weight-related side effects.
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Can Zoloft Help You Lose Weight?
Although you are more likely to gain weight while taking Zoloft, weight loss can also occur. You may lose weight while taking this medication if you are burning a lot of excess calories, following a low-calorie eating plan, or both.
Nausea and loss of appetite are possible side effects when taking Zoloft, which can help in weight loss efforts. Similarly, a 2016 study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology found that taking sertraline HCL helped monkeys avoid gains in body weight, insulin, and body fat. Although this study was conducted on animals, the results show that Zoloft can help you avoid gaining extra pounds.
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Does this cause weight gain?
Zoloft may indeed cause weight gain (especially in children and adolescents), as stated on the package label from the Zoloft manufacturer. Various studies have examined the effects of Zoloft (sertraline HCL) on weight gain. For example, a 2016 study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine says that patients who took sertraline were about 6 pounds heavier after a 2-year period.
Another study published in 2015 by Psychiatry General Hospital says that sertraline leads to significant weight gain. So keep this in mind when discussing antidepressant options with your doctor, especially if you're trying to lose weight. How does Zoloft affect weight gain
You may be wondering why Zoloft can make you gain weight. 2016 edition of Psychology Today says that antidepressants alter appetite by suppressing certain neurotransmitters in the body that regulate appetite. You may feel hungry even when your stomach is full of food, or you may crave carbs or high-calorie snacks. The medicine can also make you feel tired and prevent you from getting a good night's sleep (both of which cause more food and potential weight gain). Medication-induced fatigue also makes it harder to burn excess calories and exercise regularly.
Who is affected by weight gain?
Not all people who take Zoloft gain weight because everyone reacts differently to the medicine.
Teenagers may experience the most dramatic effects as weight gain is the side effect listed on the Zoloft package label for this population. But adults can also experience unwanted weight gain. Zoloft Weight Loss
If you are taking Zoloft and want to lose weight, you may need to watch your calories closely and do some exercise to burn off the extra calories. Because Zoloft may interfere with weight loss, try a calorie-restricted or low-carb, low-calorie diet to control your blood sugar and help your body shed excess weight. A regular exercise program, such as high-intensity interval training three to five times a week, can help you burn calories, lose or maintain weight loss, and provide mental health benefits.
Can I lose weight after stopping Zoloft?
If you are destined to gain weight while taking Zoloft, you may be wondering if the weight will decrease if/when you stop taking the medication. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for some people to lose those extra pounds.
