i keep losing weight even though i eat a lot

[iittaa]

I've been on adderall for about 5-6 months and I've lost 30 pounds. I don't take it every day-usually 3-4 days a week, on rare occasions more. I thought this would curb my weight loss but every time I get on a scale I've lost more weight. I was eating lots of fast food, candy, cake, pastries, ice cream, etc. and I thought for sure I would have gained weight but I lost 5 more pounds! Literally, on my days off I can eat 3 jack in the box meals and tons of ice cream and candy and still lose weight. I even eat a good deal when I am on adderall. I've become emaciated looking and people stop me on the street to comment on how skinny I am. My family seems very concerned and I think people think I'm anorexic.

Is this normal? Will it stop? Will I have some terrible rebound effect where I start to gain a lot of weight? (the fast food/cake thing was a couple weeks of me binging, especially when I realized there was literally nothing I could eat that would stop my weight loss. I've gotten back on a much healthier diet now.) I don't know if I should be concerned or not.

[Driver]

Weight loss is a common side effect of Adderall; it should have been pointed out to you on the Consumer Information pamphlet for Adderall.

[tippmannchick]

I am on my 3rd month of adderall right now and so far i have lost about 20 lbs. My doctor said if i lose another couple pounds he is taking me off. I too eat ALOT and most of the time it is junk. I really hate eating all that junk cuz I know how bad it is for your body in ways other than calories. Try to find healthier alternatives. Things like cheese which has high calories but not all that cholesteral and sodium and crap. I've also been drinking Ensure Plus which has 350 calories per bottle and has vitamins and minerals. I usually dont eat breakfast so I have been trying to have an Ensure in the morning. It seems like my weight loss is beginning to slow down. Search for high calorie healthy foods, my doctor said those are called "calorie dense" foods

[Wintermute]

Well, if you don't mind my asking, how much did you weigh before hand? I'm guessing not a lot if people are suspicious of you being anorexic, but if you had pounds to lose when you started, Adderall will take them away.

Also, Adderall increases the rate of catabolism, which is, more or less, the body breaking down muscle, rather than fat (metabolism). This means that you're not necessarily just losing fat, but also losing muscle mass. I know, it's happening to me as well! I was 145lbs when I started taking adderall (I'm a 5'6" male, by the way) and now I'm down to around 120-125. I needed to lose some pounds anyway, too much beer, but I've noticed that I've lost pretty equal amounts of muscle and fat. Had I just lost fat weight and kept the muscle mass I would be nicely toned, 6-pack and all. But now I'm just a smaller version of me. Instead of a 6-pack, I have hip-bones made for cutting glass. I don't not eat though, I just don't eat quite enough to compensate for the increase in my body's metabolic/catabolic processes.

My doctor (an ex-personal trainer I guess) says that doing some resistance training and weight lifting exercise would not only help me put some good weight back on, but it would help with my ADD symptoms. Also, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, which means the hungrier you are. So in a roundabout way, working out while taking adderall will help you GAIN weight, as long as it's resistance and not cardio.

My plan? I have to take a PE class to get my Associate's transfer degree, 1 credit. I'm planning on taking weight training so I can at least be as strong as I was pre-adderall. I think that's the best advice I can give. I do not suggest eating a lot of high calorie junk food though. Despite your appearance, your arteries and organs can still accumulate fat on them, even on adderall, and that's terrible for your health. If you go the high calorie route, stick to lots of nuts and things. Don't eat fast food, that will cause more problems down the road than the weight loss.