Antidepressant medications can be hugely helpful—even life-saving—for those who suffer from certain types of mood disorders. But they can also sometimes cause people to gain a significant amount of weight. Not so helpful.
Studies indicate that about 25% of the people who take antidepressant medications report significant weight gain. This is seen more commonly in those who take these drugs for six months or more, but it’s not uncommon for people to report gaining 8-10 pounds within just a few weeks of starting drug therapy. Either way, it’s a bummer. You can easily imagine that frustration and negative feelings about weight gain could cancel out whatever mood elevating benefits the drugs are delivering!
Are Antidepressants Worth it?
There’s also some controversy over how much these drugs are really helping the millions of people who are taking them. My friend Dr. Ellen Hendricksen of the Savvy Psychologist podcast reviewed some of the research on this in a recent episode of the Savvy Psychologist. According to Ellen, studies suggest that a lot of people get little to no benefit. The drugs seem to work best in those with severe depression or, at the other end of the spectrum, for those with mild but long-lasting depression.
But Dr. Hendricksen also emphasizes that these statistical analyses can’t predict how any one individual will respond. In other words, your mileage may vary. It’s really important to work with a qualified health professional that can help you get the best possible results with the fewest side effects, and also to help you assess whether the benefits outweigh the costs.
Switching to a Different Drug May Help
For example, sometimes the problem of unwanted weight gain can be solved (or at least improved) simply by switching to a different antidepressant medication in the same class. Although some antidepressants are statistically more likely to lead to weight gain, the effects vary greatly from person to person. You may gain weight on one of the drugs that’s not supposed to cause weight gain—or vice versa.
The same seems to be true of the mood-elevating benefits, by the way. For reasons no one seems to understand or be able to predict, one drug may help a lot and another very similar drug not help at all. So, it’s not at all uncommon for patients and their doctors to try a number of different options to find the one that works best and/or has the fewest unwanted effects.
And, as Dr. Hendricksen reminds us in her episode, the winning solution for depression and other mood disorders very often includes some sort of talk therapy in addition to pharmaceutical interventions. To that, I’d like to add a plug for a healthy diet, exercise, and good sleep habits as an essential part of mental hygiene and well-being.
How to Fight Back Against Weight Gain Caused by Antidepressants
But let’s say that the best possible solution for you includes a medication that has led to weight gain. Is there anything that you can do to fight back?
Again, we’re at a bit of a disadvantage here. Although this unfortunate side effect is well-known and well-documented, we still don’t fully understand why antidepressants cause people to gain weight. Theories include that antidepressants may affect your metabolism, or appetite, or cause water retention.
Some of that may be beyond our control but let’s not let what we can’t do keep us from doing what we can. Antidepressants or not, here are some strategies that can help keep your metabolism revved and your appetite under control.
Pump up the Protein
Increasing your protein intake helps on several fronts by modestly increasing your metabolism and keeping hunger at bay. Try to include some protein at every meal and snack. For specific ideas, see these previous articles.
Find the Fiber
Increasing fiber can also help keep hunger pangs at bay. Seek out more beans, lentils, split peas, soybeans, whole grains—and eat your apples and potatoes with the skins!
Value the Vegetable
Vegetables contain some fiber (not to mention tons of nutrition and flavor) but one of their least appreciated attributes is that they are very high in water. That means that they take up a lot of room on your plate and in your stomach. Increasing your vegetable intake is one of the most effective and enjoyable ways to cut back on calories. Vegetables may also help with water retention by increasing your potassium intake.
Eating foods that are high in of water, fiber, and protein can help you eat less without feeling hungry. I have much more on that in these three episodes.
- Satiety vs. Satiation: Part 1
- Satiety vs. Satiation: Part 2
- 3 Tips on How to Eat Less Without Feeling Hungry
Reduce Refined Carbs
With all those extra vegetables and legumes and protein foods you’re adding to your diet, something’s going to have to go. At the top of my list for foods to eliminate are foods made with refined flour and or added sugars: sodas, sweets, white bread, pastries, and baked goods.
These foods add tons of calories, not much nutrition, and don’t keep you full for very long. That’s three strikes: they’re out. The fewer of these foods you eat, the less you will crave them and the better you will feel (and look).
Seek the Sun
Exposure to natural sunlight can boost your mood by elevating serotonin levels and may help head off cravings for starchy foods. We talked more about this in a whole series of episodes that the Savvy Psychologist and I did on Food and Mood.
You can double your sunshine benefit by exercising while you’re outside. Or, for that matter, exercise inside. Just exercise. As my friend Brock Armstrong of the Get-Fit Guy podcast is fond of pointing out, exercise may be one of the most potent antidepressants of all. As he is ALSO fond of pointing out, movement doesn’t necessarily have to leave you out of breath and sweaty to be beneficial. Even a brief, brisk walk can instantly lift your mood and boost your energy.
Perspective is Everything
Finally, it may be helpful to remember that weight gain caused by antidepressants is not your fault. It’s not the result of poor choices you’ve made nor does it reflect poorly on your character. It’s the result of a medical intervention.
Although they are never welcome, sometimes we have to accept some side effects as part of the cost of feeling better. If you find yourself in this situation, try not to get too down over things you can’t control Instead, focus on what you can do, given your current circumstances, to feel (and be) just a little bit healthier every day. You may not be exactly where you want to be, but you’ll be moving in the right direction. In the end, that’s what really matters!
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