How to lose weight while on weight gain causing meds?

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Ok, I'm on Risperdal and several other psych meds that cause weight gain. In the past, I was not careful about the foods I ate, lots of fast food and sugar, causing huge jumps in weight. I am now 315 pounds (5'8" white male) and am heading for diabetes and heart problems. My grandfather died of diabetes, and he had a horrible death, I don't want to die like he did. I have at least stopped the weight gain by purging myself of sugar and lactose (basically cold turkey while drinking protein drinks) and by eating a healthy diet. But I'm still fat, and it is NOT coming off, likely due to the meds. Stopping the meds is not an option. I can't afford a gym membership, and right now I can't afford a used treadmill. I also can't walk around-I'm in a semi-rural area with plenty of crime and crazy drivers. I can save up and buy a treadmill, or find a cheap gym. I am really out of shape and need to fix this. What should I do?

There is no secret. There is no weight loss supplement, well at least none that actually works.

You need to eat less, or rather eat healthy, and workout more. That's it.

Start by walking a lot. Find some uphill routes. Any hiking trails in your area?

Get a bicycle!

Try swimming. Any pools in your area? Get a swim coach and learn proper freestyle so you can lap swim for an hour, or whatever. (Wading in the water is probably not going to help you lose weight.)

Don't run. Not yet. Pounding on your knees would be too much.

That advice would work if the meds weren't in the picture. Some of them can really screw up your metabolism. Your doctors should be able to give you some advice for working around the meds or otherwise mitigating their effects. Also, check on line for some easy workout videos that you can download or stream on your computer and do at home for free. Hulu has a few in their health and wellness page, as well as youtube and exercise tv. Good luck!

A jump rope is inexpensive. That's what I used for a couple of years before I tried a treadmill. I'm uncoordinated as hell, and would never want anyone to see me attempting to use it, as I have to stop and restart constantly, but it sure works up a sweat and I lost 40 pounds in just a couple or three months. I used to jump rope in front of the TV for 30 minutes to an hour at a time (don't get too close to the screen). Be forewarned, though, if you're using it in a room with carpet, put down a plastic carpet mat like you use under a desk for your chair to roll around on. Otherwise, you'll beat a hole in your carpet in no time.

But seriously, it's cheap and it works, even if you're a klutz like me.

Drink lots of water, don't eat starches, carbs, sugars and stay away from fast-food, fatty or fried foods.

Two questions: are you digesting well, and have you been on any major courses of antibiotics in the past few years? Don't want to offer irrelevant advice, so need to ask first.


M.

Have you tried taking probiotics (either in form of yoghurt or tablets)? Increased intake of fibrous food, enough water and liquids in general? Taking enzyme supplements might help as well - for losing weight and improving digestion, respectively.

Fibrous food is good for losing weight as well because it makes one feel full for longer, decreases energy consumption and also relieves the constipation problems.

Probiotics = foods with live cultures: kefir, yogurt, buttermilk. There are even pills with live cultures (Align, etc...)

Try drinking several glasses of kefir every day, eat more fiber (high fiber cereal every day) and see if you can find a fiber supplement (pills). The supplements are great because the pill does not come apart and release the fiber until it gets into your small intestine where it's needed.

My tip is to read up on paleo lifestyle.
You said you've gone off sugar. Have you stopped with grains and other carbs as well. I gained a LOT on a grain based vegetarian diet. I didn't even eat a lot just very wrongly while being depressed.

The problem with the paleo lifestyle concept is the factual accuracy is dubious. If anything many of the problem we are having now is due to the fact we are caught in-between our past and our present with regard adoption, and in may respects we have gone to far to the present to turn back, which may be why we have so may digestive disorders.

There is archaeological evidence that we did eat starchy roots, especially in areas with little else such as coastal areas (where the evidence exists). Fruit and berries are great nutrients, but we don't get as much from vegetable matter compared to other animals and they don't sustain as much as carbohydrates. Carbohydrates were not only needed but essential part of hunter gathering, which is why hunter gatherer tribes today also eat them, and they are willing to do longer preparation and cooking to get that sustenance (including preparation to get rid of poisonous elements).

The problem with carbohydrates isn't so much they don't fit out the paleo lifestyle but more many people's lifestyle today doesn't fit carbohydrates. To eat carbohydrates you have to be active not sedentary.

I defend meat eating because I still think we are adapted to eat meat and it can be good for us, however we don't have such a necessary dependence on meat like we did in the a past, and it is possible to live without as an adult in the western world.