Depression and weight loss

Exercise... it releases happy endorphins and makes you feel better, I have suffered with depression all my life from childhood, so I understand where you are coming from, it may feel hopeless at first, but keep at it and you will notice the difference, try and fiond something you like doing, me personally, I love Zumba, I do it 4 times a week...

Hope that helps, and good luck, things will get cope-able...

In my opinion it would be worthwhile treating the depression first and foremost. I would suggest talking with your doctor and also investigating counselling options. If neither of those are possible for financial reasons, there are lots of online resources that give tips for managing depression. There are probably also support groups in your local area.

I think the key is not to get overwhelmed with grand ambitions and unattainable goals. Set yourself small but achievable tasks, starting with something like "I will eat at least one portion of vegetables every day", and then work your way up to "I will walk for 15 minutes after dinner" (obviously alter these depending on your baseline food and activity).

Good luck. Depression is awful

I'm sorry you are going through depression. For me, quitting my job actually made things worse. I was more isolated, less human interaction, no feelings of gratification from doing a good job, etc. You might be completely different though!

I'm sure people will recommend that you go to a doctor, if you haven't already. What helps me honestly is taking a B Complex vitamin and two fish oils a day (I don't know if this actually works or a placebo effect). Also running and exercise in general, but mainly running. There is something about running that really relaxes my mind and makes me in a good mood. Eating whole, organic food as much as I can and trying to limit my carbs. When I eat junk, I really do get sadder.

When I am feeling down and I can't run, I honestly take a hot shower and sort of meditate. I'm not trying to diminish depression by saying taking a shower or a vitamin is a cure, but these are things that help me. I notice if I stay on top of these things, I am less likely to have depression feelings, etc.

You probably already know that exercise increases endorphines which makes you feel good. I would say force yourself to do a really good workout to help a little with your mood. I am saying force yourself because you probably will not feel like doing anything but put on a pop song with a quick uplifting beat, tie on your shoes and go for a walk. If you can jog for even 5 seconds do so then walk to bring your heart rate down and once it is down where you have your breath jog again. Start with maybe 25 minutes and add 5 minutes the next week. ( Please excuse the typo's)

I hope this helps.

Hey,

Welcome to MFP

I can relate a lot to depression and weight gain, although a lot of my weight gain came as a side effect from my mood stabilisers which is pretty frustrating!

I hope you find it helpful here.

x

really make an effort to stick to a "normal" sleep schedule. lack of sleep, or sleeping at strange hours is known to result in increased hunger. When your internal clock is messed up, the body has trouble regulating.

also, as others have posted, exercise. for me...exercise is as crucial as my medication. regular exercise really does have an amazing effect on us, besides the obvious physical fitness benefits. it's both an immediate AND a long-term mood elevator. as difficult as it may be to get yourself moving sometimes, you will never regret having gone, and that's what I remind myself when I'm not in the mood: an hour from now, how do I want to feel?

When I was struggling I took power naps. Fatigue is a known symptom of depression, and I just felt like sleeping ALL THE TIME. But if i told myself it was ok to take a little nap, then I would wake up and feel able to exercise. Also, I highly suggest going to the gym, but especially if you have a friend to go with. The encouragement I got from working out with someone else not only helped me with motivation to give it all I got in exercise, but also helped with the other parts of my life affected by depression as well. Just a couple of things that worked for me Sincere best of luck!!

Is anyone born with, or develop, a deficiency of pharmaceuticals?

I think you fundamentally misunderstand what medication is and how it works. But to answer your question, yes, some people are born with malfunctioning neurotransmitters or have otherwise-faulty brain chemistry. It very often manifests as clinical depression and can be treated successfully with medication.

This. Taking meds for a brain chemistry imbalance is absolutely no different than taking meds for say, high blood pressure or any other medical condition. The sad part is that this is so misunderstood and meds for depression are looked on as "different" or a "weakness" of some sort. Bullsh*t. If your brain chemistry is not functioning as it should be, for god's sake, take care of it as you would any other part of your body!

Hi there,

I have chronic depression that cannot be managed without medication. See a psychiatrist if you haven't already to talk about medication options! They help a lot.

Second thing for me is keeping a very strict schedule to avoid too much down time. I keep myself busy so I don't fall behind on things and so that I am always occupied with something. I eat at the same time, work out at the same time, study at the same time each day. I make sure to get outside for at least 30 minutes each day, but if the weather is too terrible I still make sure to keep windows open. Sunlight helps me a lot. And get out of the procrastination-depression cycle. You don't do something because you don't feel like it, but the you feel bad later that you didn't do it, and feel worse, and so now you REALLY don't want to do it, etc. just nip it in the bud. Do it, and if you feel like **** the whole time, so be it. Better than feeling like **** doing nothing productive.

Bump

Depression is how you feel, it is affected straight in the brain. Truly unhappy and you need to realize it. Wake up, and do something about it.

Find what makes you happy. Continue day after day and fight depression. I have a blog that can be read about it. I was depressed for 10 years until this year, I fought back with 10 years of rage.

A lot of people mention exercise, but when you are depressed it can be hard to get out and be motivated to do so. You first have to address the cause of the depression. Maybe it is seasonal, that is if you aren't getting vitamin D from the sun, take some tablets. If it is something in your life affecting you, family, finances, etc, then you'll have to correct that accordingly. Maybe it is making a plan to get out of debt if that is causing it. Once you start into that, then you'll feel better, relieved, the pressure will be gone and you'll come out of the depressed state. If someone in your life is holding you back, then avoid them. Find a new hobby, a new group of people, whatever it is to correct the source. Once you do that, you'll be surprised how quick you come out of depression.

I so can relate. I have dealt with depression most of my adult life. However the last five years it's been a accute.or severe. I am well aware of what brought on this horrible and long depression. Occurred when my husband of 28 years just decides he doesn't want to be married any more (at least to me, he was remarried with in two weeks of the divorce). My entire life has been turned upside down, have had to move about six times trying to find a place to call home, all while having to live with different family members. During this time my weight got really bad, but I just didn't care anymore. I am so much better than even a year ago, thanks to too wonderful drs and ect treatments. My psychologist has been on top of my meds tweeting them. My therapist didn't really have to look far to see where the depression came from it was pretty obvious. She has really gotten me to work real hard and fight for myself. I have horrible confidence actually barely any at all. During this time I put on wieght and let everything else go as well. Until one day not to long ago my daughter and I were having a discussion about my life, and she came right out and said it's embarrassing mom, you don't take care of your body or your hygien anymore. I replied it doesn't matter I have no one to look good for anyway. That's when she reminded me I have her and my son and my grands. She also mentioned how horrible the cig smoke was, how my grands didn't like to come close to me because of the odor. Very next day I made myself stop smoking, and afew days after that I found a program on line which led me to MFP, I have been using both programs to help me. 18 weeks and I've lost 21 lbs. however I am yet to get myself motivated to start training. Like you I have no motivation (although I am improving on that). My life had been pretty sedimentary for along time. I am more active now because with the weight loss I have felt some better, along with being proud of myself for the smoking thing. Everyone has recommended exercise to me, and I have great in tensions but always seem to put it off another day or another week. And it's not as easy as most people think, it's not a nike commercial of "just do it". Although I know people mean well for that kinda advice, but it's not understood if they haven't walked in depression shoes. I know the exercise would be good for me in so many different ways, there's just this road block and it's not laziness.
So I guess what I wanted to tell you is that your not alone. I would say definitely get a psychiatrist and a therapist, and do the best you can. Baby steps seem to work the best, have reasonable goals. And if you can get the exercise in, go for it. I have to admit seeing my weight go down has surely helped.
I wish you all the best, and know if you work towards a recovery you will make it, just do it for yourself and if you can't then do it for your loved ones.
I tell myself that I'm gonna slap depression right in the face. Remember little steps, goals that are attainable . You will make it. I am and I know how difficult it is, but believe me if I can then anyone can. And you will.
Thoughts and prayers for you and all the others that are in this thread fighting the same battle.

Although I know people mean well for that kinda advice, but it's not understood if they haven't walked in depression shoes. I know the exercise would be good for me in so many different ways, there's just this road block and it's not laziness.
So I guess what I wanted to tell you is that your not alone. I would say definitely get a psychiatrist and a therapist, and do the best you can. Baby steps seem to work the best, have reasonable goals. And if you can get the exercise in, go for it. I have to admit seeing my weight go down has surely helped.

I completely understand that feeling.

And I hate people telling me I'm just lazy, but when I'm depressed doing things just seems like an insurmountable obstacle. What worked for me was the baby steps you're talking about. Walking two blocks instead of one. Walking to the store for milk instead of driving. I focused on getting sunshine & being more active than just sitting on the couch. And it worked - I got all the way back up to running again over the course of months. I feel so. much. better.