Mental health and losing weight

SayNoToCakes

I have quite bad mental health problems and one way for me to deal with these problems is to comfort eat which includes binging on chocolates and coca cola and then feeling awful after it. Right now I am at a very low place, I am struggling to curb the cravings of binging and I just feel so awful but I know if I binge then I'm back into the cycle again.

I've lost six pounds in two weeks so far and I want to keep up my progress but my mental health really affects me. I was wondering if anyone else suffers badly and has managed to lose weight as I keep yo-yoing and not getting anywhere.

kshama2001

In general, losing three pounds a week is way too aggressive unless you're over 300 pounds. However, sometimes people lose water weight initially so should throw out the first week or so when calculating a weekly rate of loss.



I wonder if you are yoyoing because your calorie deficit is unsustainable for you. Does this resonate at all for you?



https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/

That said, yes, there are lots of us here with mental health challenges. I used to be an emotional eater and now mostly manage stress with regular exercise.

Kupla71

I find exercise really helps me, especially strength training. I don’t look at it as a way to lose weight but as a way to ease stress and to take care of myself. Exercising reminds me to eat heathy and I’m less likely to emotionally eat so it works. Just 3X/week can help.

shaumom

I had a therapist who recommended the following: let yourself have a little of what you use for your comfort food - not a ton, but a little. But don't do anything else while you are eating it. Really pause with each bite and just focus on the taste, the texture, whatever it is you enjoy about it, and slowly eat it.

According to her, this can help you still get the pleasure, so you reward yourself and feel better, which is obviously important if you are having mental health trouble. It can be slowly edged away from, to have something else as a reward, when you are in a better mental place, you know?

Don't know that this works for everyone, but it might be worth trying, if you need some way to keep going.

apullum

Are you seeing a mental health professional? Have you discussed your binge eating with them?

RelCanonical

apullum wrote: »

Are you seeing a mental health professional? Have you discussed your binge eating with them?

Yes, this. Talking on the forums can help, but on here we're really only giving eating advice, and when it comes to binge eating, that's usually just treating the symptoms rather than getting at the heart of the issue (why we're turning to food, and what's causing us to turn to food). I didn't really start improving my binge eating issues until I figured out why I was binge eating in the first place.

daniwilford

I saw my Psychiatrist today and she reminded me that exercise can aid in helping you feel better. She said Doctors recommend 3 times a week for cardio health but for mental health 5-7 days. When I was walking an hour 6 days a week my appetite decreased. When my meds are not working right it is almost impossible for me to have the motivation to lose. You may ask your Doctor about medications that can help with your mental state. Seeing a therapist is helpful for many.

kshama2001

daniwilford wrote: »

I saw my Psychiatrist today and she reminded me that exercise can aid in helping you feel better. She said Doctors recommend 3 times a week for cardio health but for mental health 5-7 days. When I was walking an hour 6 days a week my appetite decreased. When my meds are not working right it is almost impossible for me to have the motivation to lose. You may ask your Doctor about medications that can help with your mental state. Seeing a therapist is helpful for many.

I've seen how important it is to work with one's provider to make sure one is receiving the best possible medication for one's condition - my brother is like a completely different person when his medication aren't working properly. He has to get them tweaked from time to time.

1BlueAurora

Well, you are losing a lot of weight fast, probably too fast. See whether you can lose 1 pound a week instead of 3. As far as mood, consider substituting a protein (eggs, chicken, fish, nuts) for the chocolate you crave. I know when I feel deprived, though, I'm apt to lose control, so every day I allow myself some chocolate BUT I log the calories and still stay within my daily goal. Look for Ritter Sport chocolates: I think it's about 1 ounce in these little packages for about 70 calories. Check in with your doctor - it might be time to have your medications adjusted. Finally, go take a 30 minute or longer walk every day. Or a bike ride. That's a half hour when you won't be eating, and the exercise often decreases appetite. Plus, you'll most likely have more restful sleep, which improves mood. (NOTE: chocolate and cola have caffeine, so cut back and try not to have any after 5 or 6 p.m. Just my opinions, others may recommend other things.

150poundsofme

For me, I cannot keep any binge foods or triggers in the house at all. Sometimes when I think I am in a good place, I would bring in some of those foods and I could handle them but when an emotional feeling or sad feeling or a feeling I don't know what it is, then I would go into those foods big time. So I cannot keep at all any of those foods in the house, and there are a lot of them. Overeaters Anonymous may be helpful meetings may be helpful. I started chewing a lot of gum to keep my mouth busy. And drinking tea or broth might help.

Annemariezonderma

The things that helped me get out of the binge cycle:
Make a list of the pros and cons of binges
Make a list of reasons why you want to get out of this binge cycle
Think about the short term and long term effect each time you feel like binging.

Maybe this will help you a bit.

I know how hard it is... Try to talk about it with someone. You don't have to do this on your own!

Pickle107

I, too, have to have a zero tolerance approach to trigger foods. I'm the type of person who'd eat a box of 6 Mr Kipling Viennese Whirls in a sitting if they were in the cupboard. Likewise any chocolate or other sweets. The only thing that stops me is if the item explicitly belongs to my mother then I don't touch it.