Medication for us all

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  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
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    Is it physical hunger or just wanting to eat? If it's physical, you could try to focus on less calorie dense foods so you can fill up your stomach without consuming a lot of calories.

    I get ravenously hungry once month, and I make a point of eating extra soup and veggies to help keep the hunger at bay. I have a rule ( only for those few days) that I have to eat 2 cups or 100 grams of vegetables before I can have a "treat", so I'm not starving when the chocolate comes out. Otherwise, I feel like I could easily eat a couple of king sized chocolate bars and still want more.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    I don't get the title of the tread.

    What does it mean?
  • Mediocrates55
    Mediocrates55 Posts: 326 Member
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    It's a Queens of the Stone Age song lyric.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    pincushion14 wrote: »
    It's a Queens of the Stone Age song lyric.

    Ok. I'm guessing that's a popular band and most people get the reference. Not the Queen of Pop Culture. :)

    Thanks!
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    Soups and vinegary salads?
  • mykaylis
    mykaylis Posts: 320 Member
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    my weight skyrocketed because of my psych meds (seems like 20 lbs each.)

    low-calorie, high-volume foods are a good thing to have. vinegary salads for one. if i want a treat i allow myself ONE treat, after drinking a very large glass of water and another right after. god that'll make you feel full for a while!

    it's taken me about 18 months to lose 50lbs. it's tough but i am finding MFP an excellent tool to see HOW i'm eating, not just what i'm eating. today my husband brought me hotcakes and sausage for breakfast. thoroughly enjoyed them. plugged them into the data... who knew it was 700 calories a serving? that's way too much, especially too much carbs/sugar. and then i looked back at previous days and found that i always ate a big breakfast, a small lunch (if any) and a reasonable supper, so what i ought to do is eat something for lunch and balance the calories by adjusting other meals to get my goal. still not there yet ;) but at least i know.
  • Maitria
    Maitria Posts: 439 Member
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    The good news is that sometimes meds that are triggering those kinds of instincts (like you said, it's not the same as cravings, your body and mind can almost go into survival mode and all your good intentions are not even a blip on the radar) can level off over time.

    I would consider calling the drug company yourself and asking if they recommend anything. I'm thinking of a medicine in particular where the company recommends increasing your protein and decreasing (not eliminating) carbs to help with this effect.

    My advice is to decide the day before what you are going to eat and to make it as nutrient dense and balanced as possible. If you do have a binge on something else, still eat what was in the plan so you do your part in your body knowing it will have what it needs. Take a few minutes after to reflect-don't beat yourself up, just keep the issue in your awareness.

    Truly sorry, by the way.
  • pursuitofoblivion
    pursuitofoblivion Posts: 21 Member
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    Thank you! This is all great advice!
  • mymodernbabylon
    mymodernbabylon Posts: 1,038 Member
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    I worked with a therapy client who had a similar experience. What she did was make sure she had tons of veg chopped and waiting in the fridge, she found foods that were reasonably high in protein but not too high in calories (such a tuna fish with mayo & cottage cheese) that would help fill her up, and she refused to have anything that would trigger a binge even more in her house (Doritos). If she binged on carrots, it was reasonably fine. She froze her bread so she had to be very thoughtful about how much she was eating - to get at it she'd have to defrost it in the toaster and the time allowed her to write down why she was eating it and if she needed to eat it (she kept a diary with her at all times). You can do that with any food you think you'd binge on that would not be good. Here's one resource that I gave her that she used to write down her thoughts & feelings when feeling 'hungry': craving diary
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
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    The ONLY thing I have found that controls my hunger (and yes, medications for years really exacerbated this) is controlling the amount of carbs I eat at a sitting. This won't work for everybody, and no, carbs are not The Debbil. However, I find that if I eat more than about 30g carbs at a meal, and don't add in a protein, I am absolutely starving afterward, and it snowballs...I get more and more and more hungry during the day.

    It may not work for you, but it's worth a shot, since it wouldn't involve changing your medication or doing anything really "out there."

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