People with Depression, how do you stay on track during a low?

MySweetLavinia

I tell myself, gently but continually, that eating junk never has and never will make me feel any better. I relied on food for years and not once did it make the pain, sadness, or loneliness go away. So the way I stay on track is by reminding myself of the truth: all going off track will do is give me another sense of failure and another reason to berate myself, without any benefit at all.

I've also found that staying on course in my diet gives me a sense of power and fulfillment. If I feel the rest of my life is miserable or out of control, at least this I can handle. No one can stop me or take it away, it's mine. Healthy eating is in my hands even if nothing else seems to be. This is incredibly empowering!

I've also cut out all sugar and junk food from my diet because my mood swings are way worse when I consume it. That's also helped keep the lows from being as frequent.

gcibsthom

I have a couple of tricks...like I increase my time at the gym...working out seems to help when I am in a low point. Also, I keep copies of my "before" pics around the house....I find when I am at a low point, I look at those more often...both things help, but I do find that my calorie intake does increase when I'm down...

wcgenius

It's very hard - very...but, being consistent, even through a low has meant that they happen less frequently and are no where near as long as they were - and there was a time I thought I'd feel that way forever. I have to echo others - exercising, even when you'd rather just go to bed really does help. Sticking to a healthy diet REALLY does help also. For me 'I am what I eat' - on a low I crave food, any and all of it in all forms but, particularly fatty, salty carbs. Problem is...those fatty, salty carbs make me feel tired and sluggish (and a little toxic). I get a brief moment of 'nicely numb' after eating but, it compounds the low and then I get in a cycle - feel low, eat and feel respite for a moment, feel lower, eat and feel brief respite, get lower, eat...

Not giving in to that is what helps me bounce back just that little bit quicker. At the end of the day I'll stand in the shower (mini victory in itself), and think 'I'm feeling low, desperate, sad and hopeless. I'm screaming inside but, I've lost my voice. All I've wanted to do is curl up in a ball, tighter and smaller and tighter until I vanish but, I worked out - amazing! I ate well - how did that happen...brilliant! I won the day.'

Those little victories on the shittiest of *kitten* days seems to be making everything, slowly, less *kitten*

Francl27

Find exercise you enjoy. For me, it's just walking on the treadmill watching TV shows. I'll watch the TV shows anyway and I feel more accomplished if I burn calories at the same time. And a walk outside when it's nice out is always a mood lifter.

For the food, I just try to focus on making tasty meals no matter what... a 300 calorie meal can be as satisfying and tasty as a 1200 calorie meal, you just have to figure out what you actually like and take time to look for recipes.

In the end, I'm telling myself that eating chocolate or ice cream because I'm feeling depressed is just going to make me feel worse because I'll feel guilty on top of it...

Mccloud74

I put myself back in control with a sharp reminder that the one thing I have complete control over is what I choose to eat!
Also that what I am doing to my body by overeating / eating crap is creating the exact reason I feel depressed in the first place, being overweight.
It mostly works, but I do have the occasional day when I just think sod it!. There's loads of motivational videos on You Tube which put me back in check.
In a nutshell, I give myself a bloody good talking to
And also hitting the gym is a good pick me up