COVID and Zoloft weight gain

Early in September 2019, I went on Zoloft, an antidepressant. Someone close to me had been diagnosed with a terminal disease, and I was having trouble coping. I had to stop the incessant crying so that I could take care of my kids.

At the same time, I was getting deeper into undiagnosed iron-deficient anemia. My anemia only became apparent months later when I developed the telltale spoon-shaped toenails. This was on top of the extreme exhaustion and daily headaches, which are nonspecific symptoms.

Over the next four months, I lost nearly 20 pounds. I don't know if it was from the Zoloft or anemia, both, or if one was mitigating the other. I know most people gain weight on Zoloft, but some lose. Regardless, I eventually wised up to the iron deficiency in early 2020 and went on supplements to correct it.

Around the same time, I started tapering off of Zoloft. It would take nearly a year to completely discontinue the medication, but that is a story for another time. With regards to my weight, every time I stepped down my dosage of Zoloft, I would gain about five pounds.

I took my last dose of Zoloft in early December 2020 and at that point, was back to my starting weight plus an extra five pounds. I knew I had work to do, but Christmas was around the corner. Not to mention, I didn't really know how to lose more weight. I had already cut out soda and alcohol, and my appetite seemed to dominate any intentions to eat better.

Fast forward to January 18, 2021, the date that I decided to stop my late-night eating and managed to follow through on the decision with support from the lovely folks on the Reddit LoseIt sub. Then on February 3, 2021, I started eating according to my meal plan, which focuses on including protein, fiber, and fat at every meal, portion control, and avoiding processed foods. Each change was difficult for the first week and continued to be a challenge thereafter, but I'm amazing at how my eating habits have begun to improve.

My hunger at night has almost completely disappeared. The raging hunger between meals and snacks has also abated significantly. Since I'm in the first week of eating according to my meal plan, I can only assume and hope that this will also get easier over time.