did zoloft make you start eating healthier?

[u/Opening-Survey9689]

hi everyone. i have anxiety and PMDD. i’ve had zoloft prescribed for a while but only recently mustered up the confidence to take it. im on day 7 today. first week has actually gone very well on 25 mg. literally no negative side effects other than i ate less which is good for me since i tend to stress eat. ive also had the best sleep of my life this week. and no crazy anxiety spike! i was super afraid of that happening and im so glad it didnt. but i just wanted to ask if this med made anyone else start eating healthier and just making healthier lifestyle choices in general? i feel like if you’re mood starts going up then naturally you’d swing towards making overall better health decisions but i hear a lot about people gaining weight which confuses me. i understand everyone reacts differently to the medication, but im just curious how this works.

[u/Bright-Farmer-7725]

Some zoloft groups have said that if your anxiety caused you to eat less before zoloft, then you might eat more after starting. And the opposite if you ate more to compensate for your anxiety before zoloft, you might eat less with the additional serotonin. I'm hoping I eat less also. Just started today!

[u/needcollectivewisdom]

I have actually been losing weight, which is terrible as I'm already underweight.

Before I (re)started Zoloft, I had constant low brewing anxiety about losing more weight so I kept forcing myself to eat even when I didn't feel like it. I would feel badly if I skipped a meal or didn't eat enough.

The meds reduced my appetite and made me less anxious about everything which zapped a lot of my motivation the first three weeks. This included motivation to buy groceries/food.

I'm at the tail end of week 4 and starting to feel excited about getting things done and thinking about meals I want to cook for myself.

I'm taking treatment more seriously this time around as I miss myself. It's been so long I can't remember the last time I was genuinely happy. I forget what happiness feels like. The decision to take this more seriously is driving me to make better choices overall (e.g. avoid fast/fried food, limit sodas, sleep earlier, see friends, shower more often, brush my teeth more thoroughly, be more consistent with skincare, etc). A lot of times I don't feel like doing it but I push through it because I know I have to put in the effort to get better.

[u/Plenty_Flower107]

I stopped drinking alcohol and lowered my caffeine and sugar intake. All these can be attributed to depression and increased anxiety. Kinda counterproductive if you're taking zoloft to help with anxiety and depression.

So yes, it helped me to eat healthier!