Mental Health and Weight Loss?

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Ciara108
Ciara108 Posts: 45 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys.
I'm looking for people experiences as well as anyone's opinion.
Basically, how do you keep your mental state healthy when you are losing weight and you have mental health difficulties?
I'm asking this because for the past year I have had on and off depression with anxiety and I have OCD which are all proving to me problematic with my weight loss journey. Whenever I get really depressed I stop eating and I could easily go a few weeks on nothing(but I gain it all back which is to be expected) so I haven't got the good relationship with knowing when I'm hungry or not. That isn't a problem at the moment(thankfully) but I know if I continue going the way I am going lately it could happen.
I'm just really restricting, I write the food in my journal but I would usually write them as one serving when I had probably just taken a bite. So my mental state is already going down. See I knew it would go down anyway as I just went back to school which I knew I would struggle with.
I'm sorry this is really confusing post but I guess simplified, I'm afraid that I'm using the eating less as a form of self harm which will trigger the depression and I'll end up in hospital again.
But I'm going to mention it to my doctor in my next appointment, I just thought it would be helpful to see if anyone else has had any difficulty with mental health while losing/ gaining?

Replies

  • missbirrell
    missbirrell Posts: 133
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    I have issues with mental health and with weight loss. Mine are different from yours, but you are not alone.

    However, to lose weight safely and maintain the loss, you need to work on your relationship with food, otherwise you will be in an never ending cycle of loss and regain. Talk openly to your doctor - tell them your specific concerns, including how much weight you want to lose and they can point you in the right direction for therapists, nutritionists etc who can work out a sustainable plan for you. Good luck!
  • Summerfit321
    Summerfit321 Posts: 142 Member
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    I have a similar, yet very opposite problem. I suffer from extreme stress and anxiety... Over the years I've learned that if I don't deal with the mental side, I'll just be stuck in a futile cycle of weight gain and loss.
    Sometimes losing weight is enough to take away the anxiety/ stress, as it gives me something to focus on all of the time. Then, when I get really close to my goal weight, or hit a plateau, that euphoria goes away, and all that can help is eating.
    I am trying to read up as much as possible about anxiety disorders, also watching videos of people who suffer from the same issue, and I try and write how I am feeling everyday.
    I recently gained 18 pounds in two months because of this issue, and I feel for you. Good luck
  • ladams562
    ladams562 Posts: 26 Member
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    I would really recommend talking with your doctor and getting a referral to a nutritionist and a therapist who has experience with food issues. It really sounds like you have a lot of emotion invested in your eating which will make it hard to change without directly addressing those issues.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,300 Member
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    I second talking with your medical support system, Be honest about your issues. There are as many causes as there are people with issues. Please stick with it.

    On the idea of not knowing when you are hungry or not. I find it helps me to have the same breakfast and lunches daily. I do change the cheeses I use, which ensures some nutrition. I do change my meals later in the day. It may help. I tell myself I like to start my day this way. Could you tell yourself, at this time I have my first meal which is........ It can be hard finding what is right for you.

    Also you could read as much as you can about your issues.
  • laurie04427
    laurie04427 Posts: 421 Member
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    I have a family member with mental health problems and I do know that eating healthy gets backburnered when things aren't going well.

    What I could suggest is when you are feeling "good", make up a ton of quick go-to things for yourself, maybe freeze the meals etc. That way you will have healthy things ready when you really aren't wanting to put the effort in.
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
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    Yes, I have anxiety and bipolar. Both of them affect my eating. With the anxiety, I want to pile on so much food that I can't feel it anymore. Ditto for the milder phases of depression. Deep depression and mania, I tend not to eat as much. The first because I can't bring myself to care, the second because I am either obsessed with something and have no time, or I am in a relatively normal and calm space and just don't need to abuse food.
  • heartimpelled
    heartimpelled Posts: 11
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    I have benefited greatly with you all
  • Xensas
    Xensas Posts: 3
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    Hi, I've just joined here for a similar thing and would be grateful for anyone who would be willing to help when I'm starting to struggle with my past under eating. When I'm having a down streak I barely eat and sometimes don't even notice it. When I get up again I have habit of 'making the most of it'

    I had a stab at dieting not too long ago and fell straight into my old habits which concerned me so I stopped.

    Although I'm better than I was in the past I still have problems and I do don't want to relapse into that and the self harm.
    Some of the suggestions on this post have already been good ideas so thank you.
  • 1Cor1510
    1Cor1510 Posts: 413 Member
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    I recommend looking into IIFYM. I am not a fanatic about it, BUT. When I was faithfully hitting my macros ( a certain number of grams of protein, fat, and carbs per day ) my depression and anxiety went WAY down. For me I think it was the fat intake. Fats are essential in helping your brain regulate your hormones, and I believe that was a factor in my moods/mood swings. The hard part for me is you eat that amount of grams every day whether you feel like eating or not, so sometimes, for real, it's hard. I only eat full fat butter, 2% Milk, and full fat cheeses etc now. I incorporated coconut oil into my cooking and just overall focused on healthy fats, and protein.

    ** I have mild depression and anxiety that I manage through exercise, journaling, and I now see food as another way to regulate and even out those moods.

    All of that said above, I did have to take a break from the IIFYM for a while, just because it was taking some time each day to plan out my meals correctly, and I got a little burned out. I'm back on the bandwagon now that summer is done, and I'm looking forward to feeling good again! If you do make a change like the above, pay attention to how you feel when you're eating well. Remember those feelings and use that to motivate you to continue or make changes as needed. Good luck to you!
  • RavenLibra
    RavenLibra Posts: 1,737 Member
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    Part of creating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is balance... fight to maintain an even keel emotionally, fight to create balanced eating habits, fight to maintain a level of physical activity. The company nutritionist, here has a philosophy, about maintaining a median hunger level... what I mean by that is... right up the OCD alley... NUMBERS... so here it is... take a few days... and gauge your hunger when you eat, on a scale of 1-10... 10 being your so full you could NOT eat another bite, and 1 being your so hungry you're thinking about driving back to that last road kill you passed 3 days ago to see if it might still be available for "lunch"... anyway once you have gauged your emotional and physical hunger for food...

    figure out where the range 5-7 fits into the scheme of things... this will be where you want to "maintain" so if you gauge that you are slipping down to a hunger level of 4 or less... then it's time to have a bite... then... if you feel you are pushing past 7... time to step away from the twinkie... the idea is to keep your hunger at a steady rate.. because we all know.. if you let your hunger take over.. some serious binging takes place... so you end up taking it beyond that level 7... SO... the message is clear... keep your hunger balanced...

    and at some point you will finds that once you create a balnced harmony through ALL the compenents in your life, that maybe depression... is NOT something youneed to live with for the rest of your life...

    Best of luck!!!
  • Ciara108
    Ciara108 Posts: 45 Member
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    Thanks for all the responses guys!
    I was really nervous about posting this as where I live mental health is shunned and I have lost a lot of friends in the past year because they found out about my mental health difficulties but it's great having all of you guys making great suggestions and not judging at all! I really can't thank you enough for that!
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    For me, it goes the other way -- restricting too severely really triggers my depression and anxiety issues. I'm also terrible at identifying hunger signals (I have a ton of practice with ignoring hunger and very little practice noticing and appropriately responding to hunger), so having a structured meal plan helps quite a bit. Your body still needs fuel to keep going, even if your fuel gauge isn't working properly.
  • emculp1
    emculp1 Posts: 12 Member
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    Over the years I've learned that if I don't deal with the mental side, I'll just be stuck in a futile cycle of weight gain and loss.

    My Mom has always said that people gain weight and stay fat because they have underlying emotional issues that they haven't dealt with; whether it's a bad parent-child relationship, poor self-esteem, need for validation, etc. It's very real.

    In my case, my sadness (it's not depression. I'm just sad about some life events and I feel like I'm stuck in place) is making me turn to food for comfort and making me not want to move and be active. I have to bring these underlying feelings out into the open, acknowledge them, then work on overcoming them before I can be successful at getting healthy.
  • AngelAura777
    AngelAura777 Posts: 225 Member
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    even though I have lost the weight I wanted to lose I still have the mental body issue problems. I am happy that I eat a lot healthier but I still cant stop obsessing over how big my stomach is. I know my weight is healthy and I have nothing to worry about but I still do. I have good days and bad days and I try to use positive affirmations to drive away negative thoughts about myself. I find if I concentrate on being a healthy as possible instead of being as skinny as possible it helps A LOT more. Growing your own food makes things better too as you appreciate the clean nourishing healthy foods that come from your own backyard and putting time into growing takes my mind off worrying about my weight =]
  • Maryam2014mfp
    Maryam2014mfp Posts: 174
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