I have been on 10mgs. 3 times a day for about 2 months now. I have lost about 20 pounds. I have been overweight in the past but recently (before adderall) lost most of it. I was fine when I lost the first 10 pounds on adderall but now everyone keeps commenting me about how I look. They say stuff like...You look great but don't you think its time to stop...or...please don't tell me you've made this weight loss and obsession and now you can't stop!! I am not trying to lose more weight..I am happy where I'm at but it keeps coming off. Does anyone know if this will stop soon??? What should I do? Thanks for your help.

I lost about 13 pounds in the first 2 months, but since then have not lost any more at all. In fact, I've gained 2 pounds back. I think, like most things, it's different for everyone, but if you find it totally killing your appetite, a lot of people say eating a good breakfast before you take your first dose of the day is helpful to keep from losing too much weight.

I've only been on my adderol for about two weeks, and I've certainly lost a little weight...but most of that is due to not feeling hungry and having to now consciously remind myself to eat.

Are you eating regularly and enough Bondgirl? How do you know? I use a calculator online to determine my required intake (currently around 2,500 calories as I'm exercising regularly).

Weight loss is basically (though not entirely) a matter of calories taken in versus calories burned. Stimulants reduces our desire to take calories in and, I think, stimulants also increase our metabolism, thus making us burn more calories no matter what we are doing. You may need to adjust your intake?

Just some thoughts.

Peace

zoomman, although I am never really hungry I dont think I am eating awhole lot less. cuz I was trying to lose the weight before adderall so I had myself on a good daily food plan. I do though find that when I eat I do eat smaller portions ( no seconds) and I have given up soda completely. I have 2 cups decaf coffee in morning with a rice cake, decaf sweet tea or water all day, small bowl of frosted mini wheats in afternoon, I do eat dinner every night, then a small snack before bed like popcorn so I can take a multivitamen. Thats it but that was what I was doing before.

Hi Bondgirl.

I did the same thing. I have been on and off stimulants for ADD since 1994. I had a long gap in time due to the birth of my 2 sons um back to back, once I got back on I lost about 20-25lbs. Although your brain reacts differently to stimulants , your body doesn't especialy in the beginning. I found after a few months it leveled off. I used to get nausetated just looking at food, so I would supplement my diet with health bars, breakfast shakes etc or even having small healthy snacks throughout the day instead of meals. ..so I was not missing out what my body needed to be healthy , and dind't want to well have it come back up...

I have been about 10-20lbs fluffier than I should be after having my 3 boys...so I dind't mind, but I got the same reactions from folks, and I know it's not healthy to lose to much weight at once. So try to see if you can use some type of supplements until you level out ...

Hope that helps

I was on adderall for about a year and it was really helpful but I lost so much weight I had to stop taking it. I wish there was some way around it because its really hard for me now that I can't take any stimulant medication until i work on eating habits and gain weight. I had several friends in high school who also took adderall with the same problem, several of whom had to stop taking it due to loss of weight.

In any case, got sidetracked from what I was going to say in the first place. If you keep losing weight you might need to look into switching to another medication.

Thanks for your help...since this original post I have lost 4 more pounds. I am working very hard to eat more during the day. I just tend to feel sick when I eat to much or sometimes when I just look at the food. So I have found that eating more at night is working...I seem to handle it better once the Adderall has worn off some. I have started to make sure I take my vitamens without fail every night so I am atleast getting that.

Have you talked to your doctor about possibly changing your dosage or your medication schedule? 3 doses/day makes me think that you have a relatively constant amount of Adderall in your system for most of the day, so you never get the chance to recover your appetite. Maybe lowering your dosage or taking a slightly higher dose 2x/day might help?

Also, rice cakes and cereal for breakfast/lunch sure sounds like diet food to me. Try focusing on calorie-dense but healthful foods, like full-fat organic dairy and nuts. If you get really desperate, you can also try drinking a can or two of Ensure, which is used in hospitals to help patients maintain their weight.

Have you talked to your doctor about possibly changing your dosage or your medication schedule? 3 doses/day makes me think that you have a relatively constant amount of Adderall in your system for most of the day, so you never get the chance to recover your appetite. Maybe lowering your dosage or taking a slightly higher dose 2x/day might help?

Also, rice cakes and cereal for breakfast/lunch sure sounds like diet food to me. Try focusing on calorie-dense but healthful foods, like full-fat organic dairy and nuts. If you get really desperate, you can also try drinking a can or two of Ensure, which is used in hospitals to help patients maintain their weight.

Cereal does not have to be diet food at all. In fact, a reasonably size bowl of cereal is often much more than the 3/4 cup serving size most boxes say. Calories add up very quickly.

Although I agree that a rice cake maybe considered diet food it is just something that I am used to and it doesn't contain anything that will interfere with the medication. I have read so much about different foods interacting with the medication I am very carful to read all boxes now. And as far as nuts are concerned I thought I read that nuts turn acidic after eating them so that is why I don't eat them, just as I was eating 2 hard boiled eggs per day for awhile until I read they did the same thing. Please correct me if I am wrong and I would be more than happy to get any suggestion on different things to eat.

You will keep losing weight until you eat more... pretty simple. If it's been more than a couple months and you still have that side effect, it's going to stay with you.

I know when I gotta eat, get lethargic, maybe a headache, but I feel not well. Then I eat some nice salad and fruit and porkchop...mmmm.

adderal is pretty much a form of speed. elavated heart rate(more calories burned, especially during exercsise,almost like taking caffien pills before running/exercise,more heat is created by the body which frees up fat cells to teh surface so that u can use it for energy),decreased appetite,extreme focus. adderal, along with many other forms of amphetimines are used by bodybuilders to cut weight for shows as they are extremely effective in doing so. im prescribed adderal and ill say my workouts are balls to the walls after taking my adderal in the morning. feel like i can go forever, but i have to watch it cuz its alot of pressure on the heart and body, so even if i think i can go harder and harder ill stay at a steady high consistnet pace not overboard.

Bondgirl,

I'm on 15mg Adderall 2x day and I almost invariably eat:

(7 am) Breakfast:
++2 cups cooked oatmeal, one cup skim milk, one banana, 1/2 pot coffee (I do so love it), 1 mulitvitamin, 1 50mg Zoloft, 15mg Adderall, 1/2 quart H20,

(10 am -sh) Snack #1
++2 TBS Peanut butter on toast, another banana (or a peanutbutter banana sandwich),

(1 pm) lunch
++Turkey Sandwich, maybe a cup of yogurt. 15 mg adderall.

(4 pm) Snack #2
Protien Shake (Cytogainer) in skim milk. Another piece of fruit, usually a banana. I have this after my work out or my run.

(6 or 7 pm) Dinner
This is different every night, but typically involves the equivilant of two servings of starch (2 cups rice or pasta or two slices of bread), 3 - 5 ounces of meat, 1/2 1 cup vegetable.

(10 pm Snack #3)
Typically I have a bowl of airpopped popcorn drizzled with 2 tsp of olive oil (I'm not opposed to butter, I just started this when I quit smoking and now I like it) and seasoned with salt and garlic and/or onion powder. I usually have another yogurt or a cup of milk too, right before bed, to keep protien in my system.

I'm less worried about "acidic" food than the proportion of Carbs, Protien and Fat. I'm upping my fat intake in the near future because, like you, the stim meds have burned my body fat, but I've not lost lean muscle mass as far as I can tell --- I lift weights and the weight I lift has increased pretty much as it did before I began adderall. My % body fat has gone from around 10% to around 7%, and my weight has gone from around 185 -190 to 175 - 180 (it changes day to day, and depends upon the time of day I weigh myself).

Eat calories. Eat complex carbohydrates like whole grains, they slow down the food in your system and keep you full longer. Eat protien for long term energy. Rice cakes are indeed yummy. Put some peanut butter on them! Yum.

Peace.

You want to stop losing weight? Eat pizza. I've been on a 5 large pizza a week diet for about a year now and I've put on the 50lbs that I had lost (I'm a guy btw.) Most of the weight was muscle mass that I lost and most of the weight I've gained has been muscle mass and I vaguely lift and I don't really do any cardio.

Pizza = bread + tomatoes + cheese. Lots of carbs, lots of calories and it's filling. It's not rough on your stomach, unless your lactose intolerant!

You want to stop losing weight? Eat pizza. I've been on a 5 large pizza a week diet for about a year now and I've put on the 50lbs that I had lost (I'm a guy btw.) Most of the weight was muscle mass that I lost and most of the weight I've gained has been muscle mass and I vaguely lift and I don't really do any cardio.

Pizza = bread + tomatoes + cheese. Lots of carbs, lots of calories and it's filling. It's not rough on your stomach, unless your lactose intolerant!
Stimulants + Lots of saturated fat = Heart Attack

RIP Hutch1ns :(

So I have found that eating more at night is working...I seem to handle it better once the Adderall has worn off some.

^Yeah-- that's what I was gonna suggest.

I know that the meds can make food seem unappealing... but at the very least, try to eat dinner. Eat a calorie-dense meal later in the evening, and then sleep on it so you don't feel sick.

(and you need something other than popcorn. Popcorn has no nutrients. Have something real, like a salad and steamed vegetables..with avocado and a veggie burger. :D or, like, stir-fry vegetables with tofu. :))

There are plenty of alkaline foods (http://www.thewolfeclinic.com/acidalkfoods.html) that will have no effect on your meds. Almonds are a good choice too.

Hey guys - you who are more experienced with Adderall may have a different response, so feel free to correct me. . . .

I personally don't think that someone needs to be so picky about what they eat when on adderall. I realize that if you take your meds with a huge glass of orange juice that might have an affect, but other than that it's not THAT important is it? I mean, after the pill is already taken does it matter a lot if you have a fatty meal an hour later? Or even an acidic food? Isn't it that you shouldn't do that WITH (at the same time as) your medicine?

Regardless, it just seems a shame to change your eating habits so drastically just to avoid the possibility of affecting how your body metabolizes your adderall. You'll spend most of your day reading labels and worrying about your food intake and not enjoying your day. I say you might want to just try to eat the foods you used to eat (or WANT to eat) and see if it makes a difference.....then, if you notice a change that you can't deal with you can fix it.

I understand that you aren't hungry, though - ditto here. I just find myself eating what sounds really good to offset the weight loss (for instance - yesterday I had some chocolate ice cream from Marble Slab for lunch - yum!) :D

I agree with Momness.

I am careful what I eat for the first hour after taking my Adderall but then I eat what I want to eat. I keep fruit and bags of nuts at my desk at work so I can grab those and eat them. I also eat Luna bars because they are full of calories and vitamins and protein. I started eating them because of the loss of appetite I had with the Adderall. The weight loss has been good for me because a few years ago I gained over 60 pounds that I didn't need to gain when I started taking Lexapro. Even though the weight loss has been welcomed, it has been kind of drastic so I've taken steps like switching from fat free dairy to low fat and eating nuts and other calorie dense foods that still provide nutritional benefits.

Persephone