Depression and weight loss

Depression can be resolved by changing what you eat.

Maybe it helped you, but for most people with a brain disorder, they need actual medical help, real science backed by research, to stop getting worse or even get better.
That being said, I've read studies saying that exercise (regular, sustained cardio/aerobic exercise) is as effective for some people as medicine.
Start where you are. If all you're up to right now is walking to the end of the driveway & back, do that. Then do it again this afternoon. Then do it again tomorrow morning & afternoon. Eventually, increase the distance. FORCE yourself to do it, just like you take your medicine or brush your teeth. Yes, it's going to feel a bit foolish just walking to the street & turning around, but ya gotta start somewhere.

When I started exercising, I did 5 min on the treadmill. In a few weeks, I was up to 15 min, and I started some light weightlifting. I've been building ever since. I no longer (normally) feel exhausted, overwhelmed by life, or like I'm wrapped in an 8" stack of quilts & have to drag them everywhere with me. Most of the time I'm sort of blah, but that beats being down!

when I'm depressed doing things just seems like an insurmountable obstacle

YES! This!!!

And it's not as easy as most people think, it's not a nike commercial of "just do it".

It's not easy, no, but that's the only way: just do it.
Get up off the couch or out of bed, put on your clothes & shoes, and walk around the block.
Then you can go back to bed.
Yes, it takes an incredible amount of willpower, which is why you set small easily-achieved goals to reinforce your success, which gives you more willpower. Eventually exercise becomes a habit.
Last year, and for several years previous, I was a complete couch potato, severely depressed for years. On the highest dose of 1 psych med, with a medium dose of another to potentiate it. I decided I was going to start exercising, lose the weight, and it was entirely willpower... at least until I started seeing results.

Start with logging. Seriously. Just that. In my experience, depression can make things get overwhelming FAST. So be kind to yourself, and just start by seeing where you're at.

Do not stop taking your meds if they seem to be helping your depression. If you haven't been around the depression block enough times to realize, there are perfectly good GPs and perfectly awful psychiatrists, and of course vice versa. Unless you are taking prednisone (unlikely as it's an anti-inflammatory, NOT an antidepressant), you are not going to blow up like a balloon.

Depression can change your eating habits in the form of conscious and unconscious coping mechanisms - from psychological "comfort or anxiety eating" to *extremely* high carb consumption as an unconscious attempt at self-medication (carbs raise serotonin - not surprising then, to have those cravings!). However, neither depression nor antidepressants dramatically change your metabolism so that calories don't matter.

Do your logging. Find out where your calorie count is now (over say a week or so), and also, how do your macros (carb/fat/protein) look? If you use MFP on a smartphone, how does your piechart look?

That will give you a REASONABLE starting point for making doable changes, based on your patterns. What will give you the biggest improvement? Cutting out a daily soda? Eating 1 fruit or veg? It's a little different for everyone, but pick something easy that you'll be able to do, on say 8 out of your 10 worst depression days.

Go outside. Even if it seems like a silly, slow walk around the block - not challenging at all. Just do it. When you're depressed, getting outside is one of the best things you can do. And even if it's only 18 calories, you've done SOMETHING on the exercise front.

If you can do one small food thing, and go outside (even to breathe), then you will have been successful with two things, no matter how crappy the rest of the day is. And as you begin to see progress and feel better, you'll be able to make bigger changes.

It's easy when you're depressed, to beat yourself up for failing at one more thing. So don't set yourself up that way. Start by logging, use whatever prescription support you need right now, and take it from there.

You've GOT this! :flowerforyou: