Diet, Nutrition and SupplementationPost here for supplement reviews or nutritional advice. If you're trying to get "ripped abz" THIS is where you should be.
I have epilepsy and I've been taking Depakote (valproic acid) for the last 20 years or so as my anti-seizure medication. Works great - yay for 100% controlled seizures! My neurologist had mentioned weight gain was one of the side-effects but I read in an article that Depakote is one of the worst medications for weight gain - as much as 60 pounds!
Now there's no way I'm going to change meds because NOT having seizures is teh awesum, but I'm wondering as someone who has ALWAYS been fat (even before being diagnosed), how I should tweak my diet and activity to account for this? Or if I even need to? I have been doing NROLFW three days a week since June 1st and taking in 2100 calories, at 40/30/30 (P/C/F). On the off days, I usually do LISS walking on the treadmill for 30-50 minutes.
I decided to start this program because I had plateau'd reaaaaally bad for about 6 months at 215ish, after losing nearly 50 pounds (started at 260). I'm really tracking everything I eat on Fitday, I'm excited about NROLFW and I know I'm not going to see definitive results for awhile but I'm wondering if I should be adjusting things when doing the calculations for cals or macros, or even what my expectations should be.
hmm, I guess I'm not sure what you're asking.
I figure if you track what you eat and keep your activity (outside of exercise) up, and track your weight trend, you'll get an idea what your body does and adjust from there, same as with anyone else, for the most part. I mean, unless the medicine contains calories that you need to track… you'll just have to see how much it affects what "should" be a deficit and adjust if needed.
I guess there's a number of ways crap can mess with your system… I mean I certainly don't know much about mystery weight gain from meds without any activity/dietary changes, but it still seems to me that at least to start you'll be just seeing where everything falls and adjust. I guess macro balance might could help some, but I don't know nearly enough about this kind of thing to know how, if at all.
But so, you've been on this… and the med is not the new thing in your life, right? Hmm… wouldn't most weight gaining side effects be within the first bit of time using something?
I mean, if it has a prolonged effect of making you KEEP the weight as well… then you may find you're not gonna end up like Twiggy without going off it… but…
yeah, i was overweight before and more so after starting the depakote but i guess what i'm asking is should i deduct some from what the calculations say my daily cals should be or adjust my macro ratio, etc.
Do you know WHY the drug has a rep for weight gain? Metabolism, appetite, water, what?
doh! All three.
Ravenous hunger that can't be ignored = check.
Constant cravings for sugars/carbs = check, check!
Slower metabolism despite exercise = maybe?
Water retention = check
Insulin resistance = dunno
well, dang.
I'm really glad you asked me that question, easyrhino - I'm totally smacking my head for not thinking of that myself. I thought I knew the side effects (trembling hands, hair loss, stomach upset) but there was a lot out there I didn't know and a lot of pieces of the puzzle are falling into place for me.
Okay, I guess for now I'll stick to what I've been doing - NROLFW plus some extra walking, 40/30/30 ratio, 2100 cals, eat 8 times a day, drink lotsa water, watch my salt & potassium.
I have taken Depakote years ago for BiPolar Disorder. I gained 30 pounds in 2 months. I have no history of obesity, I was a skinny kid, and I never carried much fat until my pregnancies. But this drug increased my appetite to a point of ravenous hunger. I felt driven to eat even when I was asleep. I had to throw something, anything into my stomach, just so the rumblings would stop, and I could get back to sleep again. It was horrible.
Many psychiatric medications are notorious for causing weight gain. Although there are numerous research studies under way trying to figure this out, the mechanism by which mood medications increase appetite and weight is not clear. Recently, however, research points to the histamine receptor as the culprit.
In any case, I'd rather be crazy than fat, so I stopped taking it. I lost the weight, but I lapsed into a manic episode that lasted several weeks.
What I didn't realise back then, is the importance of diet and exercise to people taking this drug. Most doctors can't answer why this happens. So, what I did was educate myself a bit on the fundamentals of clean eating and good nutrition (the food pyramid is CRAP)
Increase your protein, a LOT. At LEAST 1gram per pound of bodyweight. Protein fills you up and lasts longer so you keep hunger at bay.
No processed carbs AT ALL! This is hard, but it works. The cravings go away after a month or so, I promise!
Cut out sugar, but I eat plenty of fruits to satisfy my sweet tooth.
Fat is your friend, as long as it comes from olive oil, nuts and seeds. Don't overdo it though.
Don't try taking antihistamines to counteract the side effects. Tried it, doesn't work.
There are many newer generations of anti seisure meds that have fewer side effects of weight gain. Ask your doctor about trying them.
Luna Sea, thank you sooooooooo much for responding with your experience! The hunger thing is exactly what I experience, after 2 hours of not eating it's like a cavernous void in my stomach that i just want curl into a ball. In my case, I'm allergic to one of the most common anti-seizure drugs and the others either make me a total zombie (there's 6 months of my high school time I have ZERO memory of) or they give me 'the stupids.' Like, not remembering how to spell "was" or trying to remember the word "going" - awesome for writing papers during college.
Since I reduce my calories a little on non-lifting days, my protein varies from 220g to 185g a day according to FitDay (current weight = 218). The only processed carbs are 1 FiberOne NonFat Yogurt that I usually have as part of my mid-morning snack, there's proly a little in my whey and casein protein powders, and I allow myself a little ice cream OR a piece of toast with a little jam for dessert on workout days (still keeping the carb ratio at 30% tho). Otherwise, my carbs come from fruit, veggies and things like plain roasted yams. I actually have trouble getting my fat ratio up to 30% and of course, keeping carbs down at 30% is freakin' torture.
I can't take any cold medicines or even suck on a Sucrets, so no worries about using anti-histimines as a diet aid. I'd rather be fat than having seizures.
I used to work (not anymore) in human services/juvenile services. Depakote was often used for, or by some of our clients. I've seen skinny beanpole kids gain 30 pounds in a short period of time on the stuff. Though for the life of me I couldn't see why. There didn't appear to be any differences in their diet or activity. But, its not as if I was logging these things for them. I understand what you mean about Depakote.
In my case, I'm allergic to one of the most common anti-seizure drugs and the others either make me a total zombie (there's 6 months of my high school time I have ZERO memory of) or they give me 'the stupids.' Like, not remembering how to spell "was" or trying to remember the word "going" - awesome for writing papers during college.
Yeah, it's Topamax. I've been there on that one, too. That's why people call it "Dope-A-Max."
Factoring in Medication into Diet Plan?
Linear Mode
