How To Lose Weight On Beta Blockers – 7 Helpful Tips To Try In 2024

Do beta blockers cause weight gain? The answer is yes. 

This medication class is intended to reduce heart rate. Beta-blockers^[1] help people with heart diseases such as high blood pressure, heart failure, and irregular heartbeats better manage their cardiovascular health by relaxing blood vessels. The medications reduce and regulate the adrenaline hormone, which usually raises cardiac output.

It’s vital to note that just a few beta blockers, like Atenolol, Propranolol, and Metoprolol,^[2] cause weight gain. But, while on prescription, can you avoid such side effects? 

Today, we’ll look at the scientifically proven techniques of how to lose weight on beta blockers. We also go over everything you need to do to achieve the best possible health outcomes. 

Seven Tips To Lose Weight On Beta Blockers

If your doctor prescribes beta blockers, you should not be concerned about gaining weight. Numerous practical ways exist to avoid propranolol weight gain without resorting to extremes.   

First and foremost, consult with your doctor about your decision to lose weight while on a beta blocker. They will go over the bodyweight management tactics with you. You can begin by:  

Improve Your Diet

Forget fad diets; developing healthful eating habits and a healthy diet over time will help you lose weight and keep it off even while on medication. It all starts with replacing non-nutritious products with nutrient-dense foods. This is because specific foods cause hormonal responses^[3] related to weight management, resulting in erratic cravings.

Proteins

Adopt a protein-rich diet to reduce weight sustainably. Proteins are preferred since they take longer to digest and absorb into the body. This means they keep you feeling full for long periods. Proteins thus inhibit ghrelin,^[4] the hunger hormone, released when your stomach is empty for a while.

Another advantage of a high-protein diet is that it requires more energy from the body to digest, which increases metabolism.^[5] Furthermore, anyone trying to lose weight needs proteins to build and preserve lean muscle mass.^[6] 

Dietary Fiber               

Dietary fiber is another food component that increases satiety. These come from vegetables, fruits, grains, and cereals. Dietary fiber helps keep blood sugar levels^[7] stable, avoiding the rapid release of insulin hormone, which is responsible for turning excess glucose into fat.

When learning how to lose weight while on propranolol or other beta blockers, controlling blood sugar levels with dietary fiber might help you avoid sugar cravings that result in impulsive eating. You may also incorporate prebiotic soluble fiber^[8] in your diet to improve your gut health by promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract.

Cut Down On Ultra-Processed & Comfort Foods

For those using a beta blocker and trying to lose weight, the list of foods to avoid is lengthy. However, ultra-processed^[9] and comfort foods are top of the list since they lose most of their nutritional value during manufacturing. 

Furthermore, processed whole foods like white bread, white rice, and pasta lose their fiber-rich germ during manufacturing. Such foods elevate blood sugar levels unpredictably, triggering the insulin hormone, which turns excess glucose into fat.

The quality of food consumed during beta-blocker treatment is critical because whole meals, as opposed to ultra-processed foods and comfort foods, provide the body with a consistent supply of iron,^[10] which encourages physical activity by effectively distributing oxygen throughout the body. This increases the body’s ability to burn calories quickly.     

Proper Hydration

Hydration enhances muscular function^[11] and digestion, which are significant factors in weight management. Water has no calories but helps manage appetite while aiding in active calorie expenditure.^[12] 

Drinking water consistently provides a feeling of fullness, reduces cravings, boosts metabolism and is a good substitute for sugary drinks, which raise blood sugar levels and calories in the body. The daily water intake recommendation is 6-8 glasses.^[13]   

Improve Your Physical Activity Level

It may appear challenging to incorporate a fitness routine while taking heart medication. Nonetheless, it is the necessary foresight to avoid the negative side effects of medications such as beta-blockers. It is crucial to maintain a moderate level of physical activity under your doctor’s consultation to prevent complications.

Combining light aerobic workouts with resistance training in a weekly exercise regimen that includes rest days is ideal. Aim for at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at a time, such as swimming, cycling, running, or jogging. 

The best results are obtained by combining heart rate-accelerating aerobics with moderate resistance training workouts twice or thrice weekly. Moderate weight-lifting workout programs for muscle endurance and toning should be included. Totally, including both aerobic and strength training, exercising four to five times a week is good enough for your health.

Ensure that the workouts are well-balanced to target all main muscle groups. Also, before beginning an intensive workout plan while taking any medicine, consult your healthcare physician to obtain the all-clear.

Better Stress Management Strategies

If you’re wondering how to lose weight on metoprolol or other beta-blockers, how you manage your stress triggers will have a significant impact on how the medicine influences your body to gain weight. Stress and weight gain^[14] are connected by the influence of high cortisol levels in the bloodstream or unsuitable stress-induced behavioral reactions such as stress eating.

Identifying and conquering your stress triggers benefits not only your mental health but also your physical health. Combining remedies like mindfulness to become more self-aware of your surroundings, journaling to organize your thoughts, and frequent exercise to improve mood regulation^[15] works best.

Healthy Sleep Patterns

While a well-planned diet and fitness program are highly advised for weight loss, sleep quality is critical in ensuring their effectiveness.  

A domino effect occurs when irregular sleep patterns alter the metabolic and hormonal^[16] functions of the body. The long-term effects include decreased insulin sensitivity,^[17] poor mood regulation, and bad eating habits.

Establishing a regular sleep schedule is the initial step in improving sleep quality while taking a beta-blocker. Sleep specialists advise adults to get a minimum of 7 hours^[18] of sleep. Remove all distractions and truly immerse yourself in slumber. When you are in a dark room with no phone, TV, or bedside lamp activity, you fall into deep slumber much more easily. 

Additionally, avoid eating shortly before bed because it activates the digestive system during sleep time, lowering sleep quality. Plan your meals three hours^[19] before bedtime for the best outcomes.

Abstain From Alcohol

Recreational drugs are typically discouraged when taking medicine, but this is especially true with beta-blocker use. Alcohol lowers blood pressure, which beta blockers like metoprolol already do. 

When you combine the two, you run the danger of reducing your heart rate too low—hypotension,^[20] resulting in adverse effects like fainting, nausea, and dizziness. 

Alcohol also has a high quantity of empty calories,^[21] or calories with no nutritional value. They slow the body’s fat-burning rate, causing cravings and increased appetite while also causing the body to gain weight rapidly.  

Fat Burning Supplements

Finding a fat burner and diet pills is considerably more accessible now that the Food and Drug Administration is involved in supplement regulation. However, it is essential to consult your doctor before using any supplement.

Why Do Beta Blockers Cause Weight Gain?

A beta blocker’s functional premise is to decrease the heart’s beating rate, which in turn slows the rate of metabolism in the body. As a result, an individual’s overall daily energy expenditure is reduced. Slower metabolism limits the quantity of calories burned, resulting in greater fat deposition even in persons who maintain a reasonable calorie intake.

According to studies, typical beta blockers linked to weight gain can add up to 3 pounds^[22] with beginning usage. However, drugs affect people differently. Weight gain stops once the body has adapted to the beta-blocker therapy, but for people battling to maintain a healthy weight, beta blockers can be a significant setback.   

Other Types Of Medications That Cause Weight Gain

Most people look into how to reverse antibiotic weight gain in this category, although many other types of medications can have the same effect. Medication that alters your metabolism, primarily by decreasing it, and drugs that stimulate your appetite will result in significant weight gain during use. Among the most common medications associated with such side effects are: 

1. Antidepressants.^[2]
2. Oral corticosteroids.^[2]
3. Antihistamines.
4. Migraine medications.
5. Antipsychotics.^[2]
6. Epilepsy medications.   

When To Talk To Your Doctor

When taking heart medication, it is recommended that you visit a doctor before beginning an active weight loss program. A doctor may recommend an exercise stress test^[23] to monitor your heart rate while exercising. They can then use the test results to create a target heart rate to maintain in your weight loss strategy to avoid issues. 

Beta-blockers may induce an atypically rapid increase in body weight, such as 2 to 3 pounds per day, which suggests a deeper issue. It indicates that the medication is not functioning and that the cardiac condition may worsen. If you observe any of the following symptoms, contact your doctor at once:

• Swelling around the stomach and legs.
• Constant dizziness.
• Nausea.
• Difficulty breathing.    

Conclusion

Beta blockers slow down the heart rate. However, does metoprolol cause weight gain? These and other beta-blockers have weight gain potential in the first few weeks of treatment. Luckily, a healthy diet, staying hydrated, physical activity, healthy sleep patterns, and controlling stress may help you to lose weight. 

Working with your healthcare physician to ensure a clean bill of health during your weight loss journey is a good idea.     

Frequently Asked Questions