Depression and nutrients

reginakarl

I've lost about 35 lbs in the past year and am a vegetarian. This year I've focused on CICO every few weeks to slowly bring the weight down. I've been trying to lose weight since January and have lost about 9 lbs which is fantastic.

I'm not great at recording my diary if I have a higher calorie day.

The last two weeks have been very stressful and have caused depression to return I think. I know why I am not losing weight right now as my cal > output

Question: are there specific nutrients that I should perhaps be thinking about increasing to help? I try to reduce my low fibre white flour foods in reduce calories.

I think I may start breakfast with a higher mineral/iron cereal compared to the muslei now.

I'll open up my diary, but it isn't completely correct. I know why I'm not losing weight.

Thank you in advance.

courtneyfabulous

Go to the doctor and have them do a full blood panel to check for deficiencies. Make sure they will check B12, Iron, vitamin D, and magnesium.

You don't want to supplement with high doses of anything specific unless you know for sure you have a deficiency, but I would make this a high priority because I know from personal experience that certain nutrient deficiencies can indeed cause or exacerbate depression, stress, and anxiety. They can also cause poor health and hinder weight loss efforts.

I was having a hard time with anxiety and depression a couple years ago, along with symptoms like low energy, dizziness, lack of motivation, shortness of breath, too rapid heart beat, dry corners of mouth, thin brittle nails & hair, dry cracked feet, slow metabolism, lack of strength, slow healing, low immune system... got a blood test from my doctor and was found to be severely anemic and vitamin D deficient. It was so severe that adjustments to my diet would not be enough to fix it so I had to take supplements. It took a while but they helped. I also later discovered when I started tracking my macros that I was protein deficient. I wasn't even getting half the daily recommended amount for a sedentary female which is 46 grams MINIMUM- I was only consuming about half that daily. Once I increased my protein intake (I actually increased it to 100 grams a day because I am not sedentary, I like to work out and lift weights) I noticed a marked increase in energy, strength, and overall health . I am now emotionally stable- not even a hint of depression or anxiety now- and also now physically strong, healthier overall, and my hair and skin and nails are all now healthy again too- that took a few months to improve.

Again do not supplement until you know what you are deficient in. For example having too much iron can be just as harmful as too little, so if you assume you are anemic and start supplementing but you weren't actually anemic you could harm your health. But it is a good idea to at least take a good multivitamin daily. And it's always fine to take things like fish oil and probiotics.

Unfortunately there's no test for protein deficiency, but luckily you can check in myfitnesspal to see if you are consuming enough- just check in "nutrition" -> "nutrients" and see if you are hitting your protein goal daily. I like to think of the protein goal as a minimum, not a limit.

Hope your doctor can give you some insight, do not delay in getting tests. Don't try to guess or self diagnose, but do trust your intuition that something is lacking and you need to address it. Also DO NOT let them put you on antidepressants or anti anxiety medication, at least not until you get the results of your blood tests back. A lot of doctors are so quick to suggest medication or therapy when the problem is actually a nutrient deficiency! My doctor even was treating me for menorrhagia (the cause of my anemia) and suggested a therapist when she noticed my emotional instability and poor health before she ever even tested for anemia. How do you treat someone for blood loss/excessively heavy periods and not even test them for anemia, but when they show the symptoms of it suggest therapy and medication?! I got a different doctor luckily and she is wonderful and all is now well but it was a rough time in my life and I'm still bitter that it took so long to receive proper medical care. Ugh!

reginakarl

Thank you!I appreciate it and will book an appointment with the dr

kshama2001

reginakarl wrote: »

I've lost about 35 lbs in the past year and am a vegetarian. This year I've focused on CICO every few weeks to slowly bring the weight down. I've been trying to lose weight since January and have lost about 9 lbs which is fantastic.

I'm not great at recording my diary if I have a higher calorie day.

The last two weeks have been very stressful and have caused depression to return I think. I know why I am not losing weight right now as my cal > output

Question: are there specific nutrients that I should perhaps be thinking about increasing to help? I try to reduce my low fibre white flour foods in reduce calories.

I think I may start breakfast with a higher mineral/iron cereal compared to the muslei now.

I'll open up my diary, but it isn't completely correct. I know why I'm not losing weight.

Thank you in advance.

You mentioned getting more iron...perhaps you could swap out the Sugar or Sodium Nutrient for Iron? Since your protein was very low on the first completed day I saw, I'm concerned you're not getting enough iron. My vegan friends eat a lot of legumes - these might be a better source of protein, iron, and satiety than some of the other foods you are eating.

I'm anemic, and when I'm untreated, I feel like I'm severely depressed, but I bounce right back after I get my iron levels up. I can't do this with food alone - I have to supplement. Aggressively.

But do get this (and B12, etc.) checked by your doctor so you have a baseline.

Despite being first diagnosed with anemia 30 years ago, I have to ask for the iron/ferritin test when I get routine blood work.

pamfgil

Also for some people, too much sugar can lead to depression, so if you haven't already it's worth trying to reduce your sugar for a month to see what effect it has on you.