Weight Loss:
The Right Carbs
Can Help You Lose - Antidepressant-Related Weight
Gain By Judith J.
Wurtman, PhD, and Nina Frusztajer Marquis, MD
Authors of
The Serotonin Power Diet
Audrey,
in her 30’s, is typical of people who experience medication-induced weight gain.
“I never ate junk food until 6 months ago, when I started taking medication for
my depression,” she related. “In college, I used to feel superior to my friends
who lived on chocolate cupcakes and French fries. I was the health-food queen, a
regular at the salad bar. Now I can’t stop myself from gorging on packaged cakes
and even – I can’t believe I’m going to say it – canned frosting. I’ve packed on
35 pounds – and the cravings won’t stop.”
For millions of people on antidepressants, weight gain is a depressing side
effect of what can otherwise be an extremely effective remedy for depression.
Weight gain can range from several pounds to 30, 40, or even more. Sometimes the
weight gain happens immediately and other times it occurs after 6 months or a
year after starting pharmacologic therapy.
It’s not clear why these medications lead to weight gain, but patients seem to
experience the following similarities: constant obsession about food,
particularly sweet and starch carbohydrates, excessive thirst resulting in
consumption of calorie-laden beverages, and fatigue that minimizes the amount of
daily movement. The drugs also disrupt sleep, which leads to overeating in an
attempt to boost energy levels. The common result is endless consumption of
carbohydrate foods, many of which are loaded with fat. Gorging on ice cream,
chips, pizza, cookies, cakes, crackers, etc., lead to weight gain and a
frustrating inability to lose the weight.
What is clear is that these patients can lose weight by boosting their brains’
natural serotonin levels through the proper diet. The secret lies in eating the
right carbohydrates in the right amounts and at the right times.
Carbohydrates? Since carbs are the foods these patients crave, shouldn’t
they be avoided because they lead to even more weight gain?
The answer is a definite no. Nature gave everyone, whether they’re on
antidepressants or not, a built-in appetite control mechanism mediated by the
brain chemical serotonin that, when activated, helps control cravings, mood, and
weight.
Unfortunately, physicians often tell their patients to avoid carbs because they
are perceived as fattening. For patients on antidepressants, steering clear of
carbohydrates only exacerbates their cravings and the tendency to binge because
avoiding carbohydrates further prevents them getting enough much-needed
serotonin into their brains.
Here’s why. When sweet or starchy carbohydrates are eaten a series of
biochemical reactions mediated by insulin occur so that serotonin can be made.
Fat slows down the process and protein interferes with the brain’s ability to
make serotonin. The problem for patients on antidepressants is not that they are
eating carbohydrates, but that they are eating carbohydrates loaded with fat.
Not only does fat add excess calories, it also leads to a feeling of
sluggishness, which doesn’t help their fatigue. Also, many patients eat carbs
along with or immediately after eating protein, which interferes with the
brain’s ability to make serotonin.
It is an incredible relief for patients to eat the carbohydrates they so crave
in a way that gets their eating under control so they’re not thinking about food
all the time. They can lose the weight gained on antidepressants while still
being able to continue the medications that are effective for their mood
disorders. This was discovered decades ago in laboratory and clinical research
studies at MIT. The discovery was clinically tested on hundreds of patients who
lost weight successfully following these principles. Patients on antidepressants
who followed this type of eating plan lost weight just as easily as those not on
medications.
The two keys are:
First, eating a late afternoon low fat,
low protein carbohydrate snack such as a handful of pretzels. Such as snack
can also be eaten before lunch or after dinner.
The other key is flipping your menu: have
your daily protein at breakfast and lunch and eat mainly wholesome starchy
carbohydrates such as pasta, rice, potatoes, and bread for dinner along with
some vegetables.
Boosting serotonin by eating sweet or starchy
carbohydrates at the right time in the right amounts will shut off appetite, cut
cravings, and restore good moods. Additional drugs or supplements or herbs
aren’t necessary.
“After gaining 45 pounds in 2 years after starting antidepressants, I was
hopeless and thought I was doomed to cycles of bingeing and restraining my carb
intake,” Eleanor, a 54 year old nurse described. “I felt so out of control and
was tempted many times to stop the medications that helped my mood but left me
tired and obsessing about food. Meantime, I kept eating the equivalent of an
extra meal in cereal, cookies, chips, or muffins in addition to my generous
portions at regular meals. When I learned about eating carb snacks and meals to
control my appetite, I was skeptical because those foods were always what I
binged on. But I was so desperate I was willing to try anything. At least I’d be
able to eat what I was craving. On the first day, I started with graham crackers
as a snack an hour before dinner and immediately I noticed they took the edge
off my appetite, and I didn’t need to eat so much for dinner. I was thrilled!”
Eleanor was even more thrilled a year later when, after following the
serotonin-boosting diet, she was back down to her pre-medication weight and
still getting the benefits of her medication regimen.
It’s amazing but true: The right carbs during the day make the pounds go away.
Authors Judith J.
Wurtman, PhD, has been recognized
worldwide for decades of pioneering research
into the relationship of food, mood, brain, and
appetite. Dr. Wurtman received her PhD in cell
biology from MIT and took additional training as
an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow in nutrition/obesity.
The author of five books for the general public,
she has written more than 40 peer-reviewed
articles for professional publications. She
splits her time between Boston and Miami.
Nina Frusztajer Marquis, MD,
received her master's degree in nutrition from
Columbia University and her medical degree from
George Washington University. Her articles on
weight, stress, and lifestyle have appeared
in numerous publications. With Judith Wurtman,
she founded the Adara Weight Loss Centers in the
Boston, Miami and
San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives.
They are the authors of The Serotonin
Power Diet: Use Your Brain’s Natural Chemistry
to Cut Cravings, Curb Emotional Overeating, and
Lose Weight. Published by Rodale.
January 2007; $24.95US/$31.00CAN; 1-59486-346-6.
