The Bipolar Diet

r0ck3rgirl

Has anyone tried the bipolar diet? Anyone else struggling with meds that cause weight gain?

kshama2001

What specifically is the bipolar diet?

My brother takes mood stabilizers and anti-psychotics known to cause an increase in appetite. When he was in a hospital setting, he gained weight while eating hospital food and not getting much exercise. Now that he is home, eating Mom's cooking, helping her with extensive yard work, and walking several miles per day, he lost all the weight he gained in the hospital and has maintained a healthy weight for over four years.

He doesn't count calories. He does eat lots of whole foods - fruits, veggies, legumes, whole grains, etc. There's very little, if any, junk food in the house.

CarvedTones

I think I found the one the OP is talking about. $17 e-book with a slick web page. WebMD, bphope and a host of other places have plenty of articles with suggestions. It's mostly common sense stuff about getting enough macros and vitamins. I am type II and don't have any APs or ADs in the mix right now; I have been pretty stable on lamictal and straterra (for ADHD; I had some problems with abuse on stimulants) so I am not currently taking anything known to have weight gain as a common side effect. Anyway, just doing it the mfp way is working fine for me. I like fruits, veggies and I don't eat mammals so the biggest challenge I have is not getting too many sugary/fatty treats or bread/starches. I tend to obsess (badly at times) and once I focused on weight and exercise I did great; so you can use some issues to your advantage.
Staying pretty stable means I have not fallen into the abyss in ~18 months and it's no coincidence that I lost all the weight (~68 pounds) since then. I had problems with drinking and binges while depressed. I haven't had a drink in over 15 months, which also was a big deal in losing the weight in staying stable.

htimpaired

Never heard of a bipolar diet. If there is one actually named that out there, I'd steer clear of it. Sounds like a gimmick.
As far as the meds causing weight gain-they increase your appetite or make you feel sluggish/tired and not want to be as active. Make healthy food choices, stay active, and use this app and you can try to combat it.