HELP! Confused as heck + medication side affect

LaComadreja14

I don't get the calorie thing at all. I don't really have a GIANT goal (IMO) and I don't have enough time to exercise a whole lot.... (I try to work in a minimum of 15-30 mins every other day- some exercise days, I can get in as many as 45 and if I have time to, I do it believe me.)


Before any of my questions, I want to talk about a medication side affect:
I take adderall for ADHD, I have been on it for 3 yrs.. When I started, I had all the side affects- mainly loss of appetite (I lost like 30 lbs in my first 3 months) but now a days, it doesn't really kill the appetite anymore but I don't have a desire to eat much more often either. I guess I'm just used to not eating much. I am still on the same mg's I was when I started (20mg regular release every AM, occassionally 10 mg rapid release in the afternoon if I need the extra oomph) When I first started adderall I would get hungry but have no appetite so I wouldn't know what to eat, everything kinda made me feel like ughh so not in the mood for that and attempting to force myself to eat made my stomach really upset. However, eventually I gained a flow with it. I have never eaten breakfast, even as a kid I would try to feed it to the dog or give it to my brother or w/e- I am just not hungry early in the morning(actually, if i had it my way the morning would be 12 noon- not only am I not hungry in the AM but I just dont like having to function in the AM at all). When I started adderall, I didnt eat until 3p and then again at like 7:30 or 8p and every once in a while I would eat a later meal too. *Before* I got the results that 134 w/ 33% body fat (me at that time) is clinically over weight + high triglycerides- I had gained back my ability to eat lunch so I was eating small meals at about 12, 6, and then when my fiancee gets home at 10 or 11p we'd have a normal dinner. I know you arent supposed to eat that late but if I take the time to cook a meal, I get depressed eating it alone- don't ask me why. I have no idea, it actually has made me cry.. I know it sounds weird but I am a strange person (I am also very particular about the pens I write with, the wrong pen on the wrong type of paper makes my teeth feel funny like nails on a chalk board)

That all being said, I wasn't eating the healthiest foods you can eat apparently. So, when I started MFP I didn't change how often I ate (except adding breakfast), I mostly just changed the kinds of foods I eat. Well.. even with adding breakfast I am still WAY off on my calories (too low). The Calorie counter keeps telling me that I need to eat more calories because I am putting my body into "starvation mode" or something like that and that if I continue it will be harder to loose weight. Also, Even though I am NOT eating less than I did before, I *feel* like I am eating less than I did before- I feel drained, tired, groggy, irritated, unmotivated, depressed and I have been getting headaches. I decided to cut out breakfast today and it's now 2:20p, I'm fine- no headache, no bad mood, no negativity, and the only thing I've had to day is almost a whole bottle of water and a half an asiago roast beef sandwich (no onions and no lettuce because when I went to remove the onions the lettuce looked icky). However, at this time yesterday (2:20p) I already had a migraine, I had drank almost a whole bottle of water and I ate a Kashi dark chocolate & coconut bar for breakfast + 4 oz of breakstone's 2% lowfar cottage cheeze for lunch. Yesterday, I even had a thing of quaker oat meal at 3:30p because I was hungry again (we'll see if that happens again today.... somehow I doubt it) I understand thats from the lack of calories but I don't understand why its happening to me now and didn't before? (just to give you an idea before I started trying to eat right, I wouldnt eat all morning and probably have nothing to drink, sometimes for lunch I would have something small -maybe just a candy bar, maybe some rice and beans or just rice/just beans and I had no headache, no bad mood)

Also, should I be forcing myself to eat if I am not hungry? I had been so proud of myself that I was eating breakfast but the headaches are too much to continue to force myself to eat when I'm not hungry.

Next part of my confusion, If I was gaining weight before while eating the same or less calories than I am now, *what foods* can I eat to be getting more calories w/o gaining weight? Is there anything I can eat thats calorie packed (w/o too much fattening stuff) that wouldn't make me need to eat more often? I hear a lot, as well as read a lot, that nuts are good and I love nuts but if I eat them more than a few times a month, they don't agree with me. At the same time I need to keep my carbs down too because of my triglycerides. So any tips and/or help?

I started trying to loose weight/get healthy so that I could look better, feel better and feel/be healthier annd so far all that's happened is that I feel worse/unhealthy.. I am getting really discouraged and thinking of giving up... ugh... help?

moushtie

Would drinking milk/milkshakes/smoothies appeal to you? If you're struggling to eat your calories, sometimes drinking them instead can help.

eggmcg

I wish I could advise you, but I can't.

However, if you're logging everything, ask your GP for a referral to a dietician and take your printed logs along to show them. They should be able to evaluate your diet and give you some advice.

I hope you get some help from more knowledgeable people! Good luck,

LaComadreja14

Would drinking milk/milkshakes/smoothies appeal to you? If you're struggling to eat your calories, sometimes drinking them instead can help.

I thought that stuff was bad??

Do they make silkshakes/smoothies? I'm Lactose intolerant

LaComadreja14

I wish I could advise you, but I can't.

However, if you're logging everything, ask your GP for a referral to a dietician and take your printed logs along to show them. They should be able to evaluate your diet and give you some advice.

I hope you get some help from more knowledgeable people! Good luck,

Thanks

MIMITIME

Please tell your doctor every thing you just said. I have a feeling he/she can get to the bottom of it and help you eat better and feel better.

LaComadreja14

Please tell your doctor every thing you just said. I have a feeling he/she can get to the bottom of it and help you eat better and feel better.

She knows, I work in her office. We're supposed to go over it thoroughly at my next appointment