Is it possible to lose weight on beta blockers

According to this study , the average beta blockers weight gain stemming from using beta blockers stands at 2 to 4 pounds. What makes it hard to lose weight while on medication like this is how it affects the body. This is because it causes fat to accumulate around the belly area. On top of this, beta blockers lower the metabolism rate, making weight loss that much more difficult.

This is done to relax the body, which may consequentially lower your calorie deficit. All these effects piled together, induce feelings of weariness, which makes you lose the will to exercise. Looking back, it may feel like the odds are stacked up against you due to medication weight gain. This prompts the natural desire to want to figure out how to lose weight on beta blockers.

Beta blockers already reduce your metabolism rate, which means every single calorie you consume counts. As such, it might be time to think twice about sneaking that extra piece of bacon onto the plate. The general rule of thumb on portion stands at a palm-sized serving of high proteins such as meat for women and two palms for men. A fist-sized of vegetables should be enough and two for men. High-carb foods such as grains and starchy vegetables require a serving of about a cup-hand for women and two men.

High fats food such as nuts requires a thumb-sized serving for women and two for men. As mentioned above, beta blockers slow down the metabolic rate. As such, exercise remains one of the most effective ways to lose weight on beta blockers. This, therefore, involves engaging in metabolic-raising exercises. Figuring out the perfect number of calories or the best nutrients when all these things are happening to your body is hard. In case you find yourself overwhelmed, trying to figure out how to lose weight on beta blockers, talk to a dietician.

Bringing a professional into the picture alleviates the pressure from your shoulders. It allows you to evaluate your current diet and figure out what needs to be changed. It also enables you to find healthy ways of being satiated without going over your calorie deficit. Weight gain is a known side effect of beta blockers, particularly older ones such as atenolol Tenormin and metoprolol Lopressor, Toprol-XL.

Newer versions, like carvedilol Coreg , appear to carry less risk of added pounds. Beta-blockers are not the only medications that promote weight gain. Antidepressants, corticosteroids and some diabetes medications are among the other culprits. But with the growing problem of obesity worldwide, researchers are starting to look into the role that medications could be playing -- along with the usual suspects of poor diet and sedentary lifestyle.

And in a separate look at 30 patients with high blood pressure, they found that people on beta-blockers generally burned fewer calories and fat after a meal -- measured by a device called a calorimeter. The patients on beta blockers also reported lower physical activity levels in their day-to-day lives. Third-generation beta blockers, such as carvedilol and nebivolol bB-3 group , exert neutral after 6 and 12 months and even beneficial effects after 24 months in hypertensive overweight patients following hypocaloric dietotherapy, probably due to their nitric oxide-mediated vasodilatory and antioxidative properties.

Recent studies particularly focused on nebivolol, a highly cardioselective vasodilator represented by a racemic mixture of D- and L-enantiomers, which may benefit patients with cardiometabolic risk [ 34 , 35 ]. Its vasodilatory properties are due to its important role of endothelin-derived nitric oxide and its activation of beta 3-adenoreceptor [ 33 , 35 , 36 ].

Nebivolol has enhancing effects via several methods including the suppression of asymmetric dimethyl arginine ADMA , an endothelial nitric oxide synthase eNOS inhibitor [ 37 , 38 ]. One study comparing nebivolol with nonvasodilatory beta blockers evidenced a worsening of glycosylated hemoglobin HbA1C after a 6-month intervention with the latter group [ 39 — 41 ]. Another study of approximately patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes demonstrated reductions in mean plasma glucose in those treated with nebivolol as monotherapy Recent animal studies also evaluated the effect of nebivolol: Zucker obese rats were used to investigate regulation of the obesity promoter miRa.

Nebivolol-induced suppression of cardiac miRa and increase in MED13 were correlated with attenuated weight gain despite leptin resistance; consequently, resistance to obesity was observed in rodents treated with nebivolol [ 42 ]. In one small randomized intervention study with metoprolol versus nebivolol, despite similar BP reduction in both groups, metoprolol decreased insulin sensitivity compared with nebivolol; in addition, ADMA, a reflection of oxidative stress and augmentation index, increased in a dose-dependent manner by metoprolol but not with nebivolol [ 13 ].

In contrast, carvedilol attenuated its increase in the failed ventricle. Improved cardiac output seen with carvedilol allows for improvement in insulin sensitivity with a beneficial effect on cardiometabolic risk [ 43 , 44 ]. Carvedilol showed a neutral or favorable effect on levels of both triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [ 47 ].

Unlike nebivolol, the NO-mediated effects of carvedilol are less well described. Carvedilol is lipophilic and is concentrated in lipid membranes; this facilitates fatty acid peroxidation [ 43 , 48 , 49 ]. Nebivolol acts as a zwitterionic acid, donating electrons to oxygen free radicals thereby reducing oxidative stress [ 50 , 51 ]. Additionally, it may have anti-inflammatory pleiotropic benefits, which may be protective for atherosclerotic disease [ 42 , 52 ]. Ayers et al.

Thus, the antioxidant properties of nebivolol and carvedilol and their neutral or even favorable effects on both carbohydrate and lipid metabolism are well documented.

Thus, third-generation beta blockers could be a favorable therapeutic option for the treatment of hypertension in overweight and obese patients, especially those with impaired glucose and lipid metabolism. Awareness of these facts and highly individualized dietetic therapy, as well as drugs prescription, seems to be the way forward.

Concerning blood pressure control, it should be based on lifestyle changes, diet, adequate daily water intake, and physical exercise, which allow for weight reduction and improve muscular blood flow. If any antihypertensive drugs are strictly necessary, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II-AT1 receptor blockers, or even calcium channel blockers are preferable over classical beta blockers, if no compelling indications are present for their use.

The authors acknowledge the Department of Oral Medical and Biotechnological Sciences for supporting this project. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Article of the Year Award: Outstanding research contributions of , as selected by our Chief Editors. Read the winning articles. Journal overview.

Special Issues. Academic Editor: Eric Gumpricht. Received 11 Jun Accepted 11 Sep Published 24 Sep Abstract Background. Introduction The global tendency towards lower physical activity and increased dietary intake of fats, sugars, and calories is leading to a growing prevalence of overweight, obesity, and lifestyle-related metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome.

Study Design, Subjects, and Methods The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether long-term therapy with a beta blocker impairs weight loss during a period of appropriate personalized hypocaloric diet and standardized physical activity in overweight and obese hypertensive patients in monotherapy and without comorbidities, compared to other antihypertensive drugs and to a control group not assuming any medication. Results We enrolled consecutively overweight and obese patients aged Figure 1.

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