Grandmother says I won't be able to lose weight (meds/bc)

[Morbid Obesity]

my Grandmother says I won't be able to lose weight no matter what kind of diet i try, because of my medications and birth control.


i am on mirena, have had it about 5 months or so.
i am also on the following medications:
geodon (though i'm trying to switch back to haldol because of memory and sleep issues)
wellbutrin
cogentin
minipress
i also have ambien and klonpin, but i only use them as-needed.


i have been attempting to eat less, and have been doing quite well, but am not losing weight.
i have been told to try a carb-free diet, but i don't know what else to eat, most of what i eat is carbs.
cereal, bagels, toast/sandwiches, ramen, spaghetti, mac and cheese, apples, tacos, etc.


anyway, she thinks i can't lose the weight because of the medication, not because of my diet.
i actually switched from haldol to geodon to try and lose weight, but it isn't working, and i'm
having some difficult side effects pertaining to sleep and memory issues, so i want to go back to haldol.

aside from self-starvation or purging (making yourself throw up or using laxatives/diuretics),
what can i try? i'm willing to try the carb-free diet but don't honestly know what i should eat instead.
the only thing i can really think of right now is tuna fish on cucumbers, or steak which
i rarely have because it's expensive and i don't get a lot of grocery money from food stamps.


also i've been getting advice from a friend and she told me to make a food log for a week, then show it to her, which i am working on.



edit: i also have not been exercising because it's gotten too cold to ride my bike,
but once i have some energy back from switching medications, i'm planning on
doing leslie santone's Walk Away The Pounds videos. and up until this sleep/energy
issue came up i would wrestle/kickbox with my boyfriend multiple times a day,
every single day of the week, which i consider to be FUN exercise, even if it
does hurt sometimes (for instance, when he accidentally punched me in the head).

[Honey of the South]

I can tell you this: sleep can actually affect your weight. Did you know you burn more calories while sleeping than you do watching TV? Also, you may at least want to lay off the mac and cheese and the tacos. And instead of carb-free, just go low-carb instead.

With all honesty your friend has the right idea. And who knows, by keeping a food journal you may be able to figure out if there are certain foods who ought to avoid for reasons other than weight loss.

Your grandmother may be right about your meds, but it might not necessarily be the geodon or the BC. You should talk to your doctor to help you figure it out.

[zieLiz]

I eat a carb-reduced diet. If you decide to go for it, I might be able to give you some pointers. I pretty much didn't cook at all before, now I do once in a while at least.

Some medication can surely affect your weight and your metabolism. I'm no expert in which medications would give those effects, but I hear that about anti-psychotic drugs, some anti-depressants, diabetes medication (at least those that add insulin to your system) and birth control pills, but I think generally the weight gain is relatively minor with birth control.

Stress and lack of sleep also increase your weight and/or prevent weight loss. I've noticed large differences in weight loss when I've slept well.

Honestly I think you should, above all, make sure that your body gets all the nutrients it needs. I am talking about natural vitamins and minerals, in their original package so to speak, because it is very possible to starve to death while being overweight. The fat on your body is only energy, it isn't the other nutrients (at least not all of them; some vitamins are stored in the fat tissue). I believe that if your body is severely lacking in some nutrients, it wants to keep its reserves and so instead of using up the energy that you have stored, it turns down the base metabolism. You would notice that you are colder, less energetic, think slower. If that happens, this is probably the reason.

Now if you have been in starvation mode for a while, your body will have the decreased metabolic rate for a long time afterwards, even if you start eating more - which is why starvation-type diets typically result in a higher weight gain afterwards, than its initial weight loss. I've read a lot of scientific reports about different aspects of dieting, in particular as it relates to carb and fat macronutrient intake, and if I remember correctly, this period of slowed metabolic rate can last for 6-9 months. I wish I'd bookmarked it so I could show you.