Dieting AND coming off antidepressants at the same time... b

i suffer from depression and i have the same problem.. my weight makes me worse. so i decided to do something about it. i feel SO much better now that i've started exercising. it seriously makes me feel 10x better throughout the day. i have more energy, feel better about myself, know that eventually i will look better, and it's a natural anti-depressant.

i don't think you are crazy for starting two things at once. i'm trying to overcome depression naturally, lose weight, and quit smoking all at once

i think that if we want it bad enough, we will succeed. just stick to it, and when you feel like giving up... PUSH HARDER. that's the best advice i can give. just keep on keepin' on.. :happy:

oh and i forgot to add, i also go to counseling every 2 weeks. it really helps me get me feelings out and get down to what is making me feel the way i do so that i can start to get over it.

I am on Celexa which is an anti-depressant but has worked wonders for my anxiety! I have never tried to wean myself off of them but I would not do two major things at once. You could make yourself worse. I would focus on the meds for a couple weeks and then do the Paleo thing. Good luck!

I went through the same thing recently going off of an anti-depressant - - my first advice is make sure that your doctor is telling you exactly how to ween off the medication... depending on how long you were on the medication, it can be really unpleasant.

My other recommendations for this is to make sure you are working out - this will help with the chemical imbalance you will feel from the lack of medication(working out being a natural antidepressant). My doctor also told me to take fish oil daily (and I dont remember the technical reason why) but is also good in this situation. My last piece of advice is dont be a hero - - dont try to tough through the withdrawl if its severe... call your doctor.

It took me a while to get the medication out of my system, but I am so happy that I did it... I got to a point where things were relatively stable in life and the timing was right for me. I also think that knowing I didnt have the medication to rely on made me notice even more of how I was feeling and I was able to deal with it healthily.

I wish you all the luck with this and plenty of happiness!

i take fish oil as well, it's supposed to help naturally with depression.

Well... My advice would be to be careful. I know the antidepressants make me gain weight because I crave carbs all the time and over eat. I've been doing MFP for a while although I took the summer off to indulge. I've lost 33lbs (in 4 months) - then gained 12 over the summer - I'm back at it and I know I can lose the other 17 lbs I want to lose. I am in control now.

About antidepressants... I took Paxil (SSRI) for a few years in the mid 1990s. When I stopped taking it, I had severe withdrawal. I stopped it very slowly but not slow enough. I was too dizzy to go to work for 2 weeks. It was awful. I was afraid to drive. I had to keep lying down because if I was up, the world spun. I had to hang onto walls to manage to walk down the hall. Paxil was fairly new then and my psychiatrist didn't realize how bad the withdrawal could be. I got over it and was off antidepressants for a number of years.

After my second child I had post partum depression which didn't go away. I went on meds after 18 months. I took Celexa(SSRI). I took it for 3 years but didn't like the weight gain nor the sexual side effects. My psychiatrist (a better one) weaned me off of it very, very slowly. I still had withdrawal. It was milder that time. I often felt as if I would lose a thought part way through my brain (gap in the serotonin?). I also would have a feeling I can only describe as an electrical zap inside my head. It didn't hurt but it was very weird.

I switched to Wellbutrin which effects norepinephrine and dopamine. It helped somewhat. I began to lose weight because I forgot to eat (weird - right). Oh, and the sex was better. However after 4-5 months, it wasn't helping my anxiety. My psychiatrist added Cipralex (a variation on Celexa) to the Wellbutrin and I felt better. I was happy and balanced for the first time in years. I once again gained weight (30 lbs). I have been on this mixture for 3.5 years. I feel well but I got really discouraged about the weight gain. I finally found MFP when I was looking for apps for my iphone. It has changed my life. Now that I can track what I eat so thoroughly, I realize that I am addicted to carbs and that by paying attention to what I eat and tracking it and making better decisions, I can lose weight and feel a lot better.

I don't have any plans to stop medication because it works very, very well for me. My life is very good. I have a wonderful husband and two wonderful children. And I'm enjoying life right now.

My advice -TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR and find out how to wean yourself off the meds SAFELY. If you start feeling withdrawal effects, stay at the lowest dosage at which you didn't have withdrawal and contact your doctor to figure out a strategy together to complete the weaning off the drugs. If you are finding that the drugs are not helping, then definitely stop taking them. Keep eating healthy and your weight will drop slowly but surely and you will feel better. If you find that your depression is worse, you can always talk to your doctor about trying a different medication later.

There is no shame to taking the meds but if they aren't helping then what is the point. If you find a better way to manage the depression, then do so. If your depression gets worse, talk to your doctor and find out what other options are open to you. Please don't let yourself get too deep in depression. You don't have to suffer.

Good luck.

I think it's great you're motivated, but I wonder if starting a diet that's restrictive like that might be hard to do at the same time. If anything, your body is going through a lot of stress right now, and probably has even greater needs for balanced nutrition.

Instead of thinking about subtracting so many things at once, it might help to focus on adding foods (colorful fruit and veg, lean meats, vitamin supplements) with the idea of building energy, strength, and health. And to think about exercise the same way, as something good you're adding to your life.

how is everyone's progress?

*bump