Tracking Medication Side Effects, Behaviour Change, and Values: A Holistic Approach

Disclaimer: This post is for general information only and is not medical advice. Please consult a qualified healthcare provider for any decisions about medication, side effects, or treatment plans.

When individuals work toward weight-related goals, they often focus on nutrition, movement and routines. And for many, medication also plays a major role; especially those that affect appetite, energy or metabolism.

Understanding how weight loss medications and healthy behaviours interact is important, not only for weight loss, but for medication fading as appropriate.

A behaviour analytic approach to medication management may be to track:

• medication side effects

• behaviour changes,

• personal values and committed actions.

Together, these help create a fuller picture of progress, readiness to change, and behaviour patterns that can help guide medication decisions.

Tracking can help distinguish medication effects from behavioural patterns.

Some medications cause changes in hunger, energy, sleep or fluid retention. Without tracking, one might misattribute these changes to poor motivation or lack of willpower. But when you track both side effects and behaviours, you can see whether

• changes are medication related,

• behaviour changes are working, even if hidden by side effects, or if

• medication fading is realistic right now.

An example.

An individual taking antipsychotics may experience a 4lb. weight increase during dose adjustments, however their behaviour tracking shows

• consistent healthy meals

• daily physical movement, and

• reduced snacking.

Without tracking, they might think they’re not trying hard enough. With tracking, it becomes clear the weight change is pharmacological and not behavioural. This information can keep you from abandoning healthy behaviour patterns, despite side effects that might indicate your healthy habits aren’t working (i.e. weight gain).

Consider that weight loss alone is rarely a motivating value. But when behaviour change goals are connected to personal values, individuals can build the resilience and persistence to carry them through medication adjustments, and continue with healthy habits. Some common values linked to healthy behaviour goals might include:

• remaining active with your children

• improving general long-term health

• maintaining independence

• feeling confident in day-to-day life, or

• increased emotional stability.

Medication fading often requires self-driven, sustainable behaviours or habits, along with strong values that provide the “why” behind your efforts.

An example.

Perhaps a family member preparing to fade off a weight-loss medication, identifies one of their values as “being energized and present with their kids”. This value helps to drive committed actions such as planning balanced meals, taking evening walks after dinner and prioritizing sleep. These behaviours become a stable foundation of sustainable healthy habits while medication is reduced.

Committed Actions Show Readiness for Medication Fading

Committed actions are the specific, observable behaviours that support your values. These actions help determine whether you have the consistency and structure needed to maintain progress as medication doses decrease.

Tracking committed actions helps answer questions related to your value, such as:

• Are you eating regular meals?

• Are you engaging in physical movement you enjoy?

• Are you incorporating mindful coping skills instead of relying on medication only to suppress appetite?

• Are behaviour patterns stable or fluctuating?

An example.

Before tapering a medication to suppress appetite, one practices:

• scheduling meal prep

• engaging in mindful eating skills, and

• a morning routine that incorporates movement and boosts energy

By tracking these actions for several weeks, not only does one build confidence in one’s ability to maintain healthy habits, but this information provides health care providers insightful and valuable data to support decision making.

Tracking Values + Behaviour + Medication Effects Creates a More Accurate Narrative

Instead of a story like: “That medication made me gain weight, I stopped taking it.”

Try tracking:

• medication start and stop dates

• dates of dose changes

• intensity and frequency of side effects

• Behaviours such as meal times, physical activity, sleep, and/or use of coping skills

• Values and Committed Actions (why is this important and how do I demonstrate it)

• and Outcome Data, such as weight, energy or stress levels, hunger cues (to help determine if what you’re doing is working)

Together, these help paint a fuller picture of what’s going on.

Final Thoughts.

Medication is just one part of some weight-loss or health change journeys. And by integrating values, committed actions, and tracking of medication side effects and consistency of behaviours; individuals and health care providers can make informed, compassionate, and sustainable decisions.

Values keep people anchored.

Committed actions demonstrate readiness.

Tracking connects everything to create a coherent story.