weight management

June 28, 2026··

Posted in:Lexapro (Escitalopram)Symptoms & Self-Care

I was wondering of any other folks here have found way to manage the weight gain from lexapro or other ssris? I've gained at least a good 10lbs to 15lbs and want to get ahead of it before it gets worse while I am tapering. Mixing that to the metabolism changes that hit in the mid 30s and weight is not staying off like it used to. Any tips are welcome. I was going to the gym pretty regularly but that did not seem to cut it. 😕

Lexapro —5mg 1.6 years — 2.5mg —actively tapering/ stabilizing

6 Replies

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CatinaJun 28

Community AnchorEffexor

Hi LTM! Weight gain is such an unfortunate side effect of SSRIs. Have you looked into the Ketogenic diet? Removing excess sugar and carbs helps. Strength training can increase our metabolism - even better than cardio alone. Intermittent fasting can also help. However, even if these things don't work well, many people find that once they taper off their drug, they tend to lose the weight that the drug caused. Hope this helps!

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.92 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

WolfJun 29

Community AnchorProzac · researching

Feels like an impossible task.

Prozac — 40 mg — 6 months — holding | Zyprexa — 20 mg — 6 years — holding | Depakote — 600 mg — 8 months — **tapering** | Buspirone — 20 mg — 8 months — holding | with clinician
"If life is painful, start a rebellion and make it good."

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CatinaJun 29

Community AnchorEffexor

"Feels like an impossible task." — @Wolf

It's hard when a drug is constantly working against you.

LitaJun 30

LighthouseZoloft · active

I was surprised when I learned ssris can make you gain weight, because in the past, higher doses seemed to suppress my appetite a bit.

Zoloft — 112.5 — 20 years — actively tapering

JAGAug 31

LighthouseLexapro · researching

I'm 39yr old woman and a healthy weight, I've been on lexapro for 8 years...a dose of just 10mg has caused me to gain about 5% of my body weight. This 6 pounds would never budge, unless I ate in a calorie deficit for weeks on end, and then it simply returns once I resumed normal intake. As I've been tapering (now at 5.5mg from 10mg) I have lost about 2-3lbs... This is perhaps a side effect of the terrible GI upset I now have in the AM, or is associated with my decreased appetite which is my baseline before beginning the SSRI.. I find that while on my regular dose of SSRI I desire fullness more often, and tend to care less about the extra weight...as I taper I find myself often too busy to recognize my hunger...thus I go longer without eating and even skip meals. Overall I'd say if your weight is still within healthy margins, and you're eating healthy, try to focus your attention and energy on supporting your body rather than trying to force a body weight loss...once you are well into your taper you'll likely see the scale dipping a bit.. Good luck!!!

Lexapro — 10mg — 8 years — researching taper | without clinician

songbirdSep 23

Valium · holding

Had to stop the antidepressants totally and then count/cut and monitor all caloric intake and restrict to 1800 a day because the meds all caused me severe weight gain. :/

Valium — 2 years, 2 months — holding | Topamax — 25mg — 3 years, 3 months — actively tapering | other — 3mcg — 3 years, 9 months — supporting others | other — 30mg — 3 years, 3 months — supporting others

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