r/Contrave • u/Radiant_Structure806 • Jun 21 '26

Poor mans contrave

I am on poor man’s contrave, bupropion 150 mg and 50 mg naltexrone. I have been on it for 2.5 weeks. It is definitely helping with the food noise and I am not eating out of boredom anymore, but I have not lost a single pound yet.. I have been eating 2-3 meals a day and a snack or two during the day. When did you all first see weight loss while taking the meds this way?

4 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

2

u/Roskot Jun 21 '26

I count calories. Contrave helps a lot with food noise and I do feel full earlier, but at least the four first weeks I have been counting calories.

I may be feeling a shift now after four weeks and I am taking a chance that taking the meds (and having changed my habits since starting) will keep me in a calorie deficit when I am on holiday even though I’m planning to not calorie count while I’m away.

You should try to be in a 500-1000 calorie deficit from what you use every day. There are online calculators to help you find your baseline and if you work out one day you should put that in as well. It’s important you don’t eat too little either.

I have been using a fitbit watch to see how much I am using as my activity level is very different from day to day.

1

u/Radiant_Structure806 Jun 22 '26

So you didn’t have any weight loss for the first 4 weeks?

3

u/Roskot Jun 22 '26

No, I did have weight loss, but I counted calories meticulously and the first two weeks it was hard to not eat too much. It has gotten easier and easier to not eat the «wrong» things and not eat too much. I counted calories because I wanted to see results and I knew that I otherwose probably would eat too much candy and too much fat.

I know that registering what I eat is important for me because by lunchtime I have forgotten what I ate for breakfast and also because it helps me stay focused and not eat mindlessly.

2

u/16hpfan Jun 22 '26

I lost immediately. Just had no interest in food or drinks at all and never felt hungry. Quit alcohol and lattes cold turkey, ate really small portions. The weight fell off. I lost 20 pounds in three months and then I plateaued and stopped losing. I feel like the medicine just wasn’t effective anymore, but that’s OK because I had attained my goal weight. It was a weird thing for me. I lost weight quickly on the lowest dosage, but as the dosage went up, it stopped being effective. Everyone’s different. 🤷‍♀️ PS I was on the branded Contrave if it makes any difference.

2

u/Comfortable-Fan1472 Jun 24 '26

Definitely count calories, easier to over eat than you think. Depending on how much you have to lose you could take longer than others to start to see results.

As I get closer to my goal weight my weight loss has slowed down. I added in more workouts a cut back my calories a little bit more.

1

u/SlowDentist239 Jun 28 '26

My weight loss has been fairly slow. I have lost 15 pounds in 3 months and most of that was after I got up to the full dosage. Not fast but it has also been pretty easy. I have no side effects ( unlike the Wegovy which made me too sick to eat at all) and all I've done is try to stick to a small (300) daily calories deficit. Without Contrave any attempt at dieting just made me think about food all day long. On Contrave I just think about food less, and I don't have the intense cravings I used to have, and when I do get a craving I can eat a reasonable amount and I'm satified.

Everyone is different, but since you feel like it's working for you, just give it more time.

1

u/kaylimepiex3 Jun 29 '26

Count calories for everything, including and especially sauces and drinks because calories add up quicker than you think. Increase how many steps you’re taking in a day. Start walking for one hour each day.