Weight loss while using Concerta

Paat · Newbie Joined: 30 Aug 2007 Posts: 4

Hi, I'm 17 year-old boy, and I'm currently on Concerta for a little less than a year. For a while now, I've noticed that I haven't gained any weight at all for a couple of years, in the abouts of 125 pounds. I have talked with my doctor, and i learned that it was normal for my weight gain to be lessened by taking this pill, because of loss of apetite. Though my parents believe that I still have my appetite during my meals.

One of my questions is: is taking 54mg of Concerta daily too much? I do take it everyday non-stop for school, even the weekends or holidays that i'm not in a situation where i would need a stimulant to stay concentrated. I have read that i should take ''holidays'' or time off from prescriptions such as this one in order for my body to clean myself of this.

Something else that is strange, and that has peeked my curiosity and makes me abit nervous is that this summer I was gone on a trip for a week, and during that week i did not consistently take concerta (because i would forget to take it, etc.). Since i took one 54mg pill daily, i would not take another dosage until the next day, if I would remember to. Before leaving, I weighed 125 pounds, and coming back from my trip, I weight 133 pounds! But only 3 days later, i weight myself again, and found that my weight fell to 123 pounds (i understand that it might be a few pounds off because of the time of the day, my clothe, etc.). I had started taking Concerta consistently again since my arrival (those 3 days included). I wonder if this would be caused by the fact that I was on Concerta once again (which causes weight loss)?

I am an active teen, with parents that are too conscious (from my perspective) of what food we eat at home. For example, it's been months since I've eaten bacon, and the meat is always bought 'lean' when possible. If I compare myself to my friends, they weight around 20-30 pounds more than me, and even the girls i know weight more than me (which for me is a warning sign that something must be wrong with me. Other things make me believe that Concerta is responsible for this, since I've been at 125 pounds for longer that I've been on Concerta - and I'm supposed to be in a growth spert!

And one last question that I have is: is there a way that I can gain some much needed weight without getting off Concerta or refusing the food at home that won't give me what I need to gain the weight I need?

Thank you very much,
Pat

Upton O'Goode · Silver Member Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 172

The simplest answer is to just increase your caloric intake, but there are other, more specific answers that would depend on knowing more details about you. The ideal weight for an individual depends on a lot of variables, and since I don't even know how tall you are, I can't even begin to guess. I can only say that, if you are between about 5'0" and 5'9", your BMI is in the "normal" range. If you're taller you'd be considered underweight. But BMI isn't the only thing to consider. It depends on your fitness requirements. There's quite a lot of difference between ideal weight for an olympic swimmer and an olympic weight lifter, to say nothing of a ballet dancer or professional football player, and all of these individuals would be considered pretty fit. One quick way of determining whether or not you diet is adequate would be to pinch the skin on your belly. The thickness of the fold of skin you can pinch between your thumb and forefinger is about twice the thickness of your subcutaneous fat tissue. If it's less than 1/4", you need more calories. If it's more than 1/2", you're doing fine as long as your diet is reasonably balanced.

Paat · Newbie Joined: 30 Aug 2007 Posts: 4

hi Upton thanks for your help. I'm keen on checking my BMI. what are the other things that must be taken in account. I'm 5'10'', which would just be in the 'underweight' range, right?

As for my fitness requirements, i'm far from what you've showed as examples; i bike daily, and play badminton. So i suppose that my fitness requirement isn't very high, or possibly null? I've also tried what you've said about pinching the skin on my stomach. It's around 1/3rd of an inch, between both mesures you've specified.

So the major question i have is, how do i increase my caloric intake?

Upton O'Goode · Silver Member Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 172

Eat junk food. Laughing

One of the reasons Concerta and other ADD drugs cause weight loss is that you find more interesting things to do than sit around, watch TV and eat junk food because you can focus, but you'll find that you can do anything you set your mind to. If you cultivate an interest in cooking you will just naturally become more interested in food. Also, if you're not doing your own shopping, ask if you can go along with whoever does the shopping. When you let someone else choose what's in the fridge, you might not find it as appealing as you would if you took part in the shopping.

It sounds like you're pretty active, so you probably burn a lot of calories daily. You also require a well-balanced diet to provide for muscle maintenance, so you should definitely be eating well-rounded meals. Whenever you have some meat, have some fruits and vegetables too, and something high in carbohydrates, like pasta, bread or potatoes. You don't have to eat meat for protein. If you have some kind of bean (chick peas, pinto beans, black beans, etc.) and a grain (rice, bulgur or whole wheat), you get all the essential amino acids, and you probably get a few more calories that way too. Between meals you can pack on a lot of weight by eating potato chips and other greasy, fried foods. The beauty of snack foods is that eating them actually makes you hungrier.

Probably the best thing you could do is develop a taste for doughnuts. They are the perfect weight-gain food: starchy batter, fried in fat, then glazed and/or frosted with a sugary coating. As if that weren't enough, they sometimes inject them with custard, frosting or jam. Look out for that jam. Since it contains some fruit, it may have a small amount of nutritional value, but other than that, doughnuts are the perfect empty-calorie creation. Mmmmmm..... Doughnuts.....

Paat · Newbie Joined: 30 Aug 2007 Posts: 4

I've also heard that eating something just before sleeping would help too, because you don't burn that food right after (since you're sleeping), which will make it stay in your body. Do you think that this is true?

Upton O'Goode · Silver Member Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 172

I've heard that too, especially for young kids, but when you eat before bed, you convert most of the calories into fat, and I wouldn't think that would be desirable. You'll enjoy your physical activities more if you store a lot of muscle glycogen and then store the rest as fat and liver glycogen. I'm not saying avoid late night eating while you're still trying to gain weight, but don't fast all day and try to pack all your eating into the last few hours of the day. Try to make yourself eat three big meals a day, and keep snacking until bedtime if you feel like it, and bear in mind that this is a habit you'll have to break when you reach your target weight.

Paat · Newbie Joined: 30 Aug 2007 Posts: 4

So muscles have a bigger weight than fat? So bulking up would be preferable, though that would be a higher consumtion of calories to accomidate the physical activities, right?

But for the major part of my weeks, I have a quick breakfast, and a medium-size lunch, since i go to school, and there's not enough time to pack a hardy breakfast before going to school - even though i've heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that it should be the biggest of the three meal. This is a bad habit that should be changed, especially if i want to eat abit healthier and gain abit of weight, right?

I don't think that gaining fat is an issue for me, since i'm pretty active so it won't be a growing problem for me. I suppse i should bulk up rather

Upton O'Goode · Silver Member Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Posts: 172

"Bulking up" typically refers to increasing muscle mass, not efficiency. What I'm referring to is more like what is commonly known as "carboloading," except that I'm not suggest you necessarily follow any of the tricks for maximizing muscle glycogen storage, just that you allow for normal glycogen loading by not allowing all your calories to be stored as fat. When you exercise, glycogen makes energy more readily available to your muscles, allowing you to go harder longer without fatigue. This keeps your motivation high. Sure, it burns a lot of calories, but guess what? It also increases your appetite and improves your sleep pattern, which will improve your attentiveness.

I think it's those light breakfasts and lunches that are your biggest problem right now. I'd suggest doing some preparation the night before if you don't have enough time in the morning. You can also get things like granola bars and energy bars and eat them for breakfast along with a couple of pieces of fruit or helpings of berries. You can also pack a few to snack on at school.

Read the labels on those energy bars and avoid the ones with trans fats and saturated fats. some of them are pretty awful, but they generally have a boatload of calories. Those "energy drinks" are also loaded with calories, but they also contain stimulants, so talk to your doctor about how much it's safe to consume while you're taking Concerta. I'd also recommend brushing your teeth after drinking them.

If you want to add a little fat on top of all the other calories you're taking in, try having a bowl of ice cream before bed. It not only has a lot of fat and sugar, but it also has some tryptophan, which gives you a nice mellow feeling of well-being, which is nice to nod off to, but remember, this is going to be one of those habits that's hard to break when you reach your weight goal.

Weight loss while using Concerta

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