I have no will power

[mommytoe]

I need to loose more weight than I care to say. I keep planning on how to loose the weight, but none of the plans work.

I keep dealing with depression and that makes me eat. I want to get my life in order and I really think loosing weight will help.

 

[AuntieM03]

It is not an easy thing to do. There are times that I feel like I fail more than I succeed. However, I made a committment this past year that no matter how much I fall I will keep getting back up and starting again.

I hope you can make the committment to yourself, and I hope that you will find a way past the depression.

 

[Disneyland1084]

I need to loose more weight than I care to say. I keep planning on how to loose the weight, but none of the plans work.

I keep dealing with depression and that makes me eat. I want to get my life in order and I really think loosing weight will help.

I undersand what you're going through. I've struggled with weight all my life. I was on so many yo yo diets that never worked. I once limited myself to 800 calories a day. I started getting severe back pain and finally just said =@#$%*( dieting and gained 10 pounds. Eventually I joined Weight Watchers. It's been a big success for me. Have you ever considered joining? It's really nice because you can still lose weight while eating the food you love. You also meet a lot of nice people who are going through the same as you.

 

[SRRN]

I,second the Weight Watchers.I joined 6 weeks ago and have lost 12 lbs.I still have TONS more to lose,but it's a nice way to meet people that are in the same boat we all are in.

 

[Disneyland1084]

I,second the Weight Watchers.I joined 6 weeks ago and have lost 12 lbs.I still have TONS more to lose,but it's a nice way to meet people that are in the same boat we all are in.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

 

[Geekerbell]

I need to loose more weight than I care to say. I keep planning on how to loose the weight, but none of the plans work.

I keep dealing with depression and that makes me eat. I want to get my life in order and I really think loosing weight will help.

Big to you! I also suffer from depression, as well as having struggled with my weight all of my life, and am now at the point where I have over 100 pounds to lose. It is so hard at times. Any of those things individually is difficult, and then when you put the weight thing and the depression together and are an emotional eater, as I am, it just snow balls and sometimes gets out of control. I know. I've been there.

What I had to decide to do first is get my depression under control. Now that I am on a good med dose, and things have leveled out a bit, I can focus more on the weight issue. Since August, I have been logging EVERYTHING I eat into fitday.com. Even those days that the calorie count comes out to astronomical numbers. This still gives me an over-all picture to see where I need to adjust some things.
I'm also trying to focus more on the fact that food is there to fuel my body, not feed my emotions. This is a HUGE daily struggle for me. Even though my depression is mostly leveled out by meds, I do still have days when I could care less about what goes in my mouth, I just eat to try to make myself feel better.

I would to be able to help you out/help each other out on this journey. I post on here for the biggest loser challenge, but, honesty have never posted about my depression and what an enormous role it plays in my eating and weight loss. I would love to have a buddy on this road ahead!

 

[ohMom]

mommytoe -- and to the WISH board! i'm so very glad you stepped up and out of lurkdom here and posted, that alone is your first baby step on your healthy lifestyle journey!!

if i could, i would recommend you check out Dr. Phil's Weight loss book -- maybe you don't love Dr. Phil and that's fine, but i do think his weight loss lifestyle changes and approach is worth a looksee. maybe your library has a copy, i actually got the book on CD to listen to it in my van.

i say this b/c you said 'willpower'.....and I hate to see you talking negative to yourself! you are worth far more than that and i won't stand for it it's very hard to look at the big picture and imagine yourself crossing your finish line to your "Goal"....but remember small steps will take you there just as well as big ones and they are much easier to take.

there are some friendly challenges on WISH and feel free to jump in any of the threads and join in...all are welcome! what is one thing you think you could change in your routine? incorporating some exercise, join the monthly exercise challenge! cutting back on snacks, maybe start a new 'only healthy snacks' challenge! we are all here for you and there is someone else needing the support you can give as you journey together!

 

[corinnak]

Hey mommytoe - where you are right now is a tough place to be. I know some of us have been there too - and absolutely, depression plays a role in the eating and then the overeating plays a role in the depression. It's a vicious cycle. Last year at this time, I was in group therapy for my depression and the two things that were the most helpful to me for digging my way out were:

1. throwing out the negative self-talk, that bad little voice that would tell me how worthless and hopeless I was for every little thing. It was a huge turning point for me to realize that there was this constant stream of negativity in my head and that it was actually NOT true. It was not easy, but deciding to disregard that bad stream of thoughts and be kind to myself was a huge and difficult step out of despair.

2. Exercise - for me it was starting the Couch to 5K running plan. Weight Watchers starts with the food, and food is SO important, but for me, I wasn't ready to work on the food until I was invested in the exercise and I realized that the running would be so much easier if I could put down the extra weight I was carrying, which was equivalent to my then-second-grader. I'm still not there, but having the focus be more on improving my ability to do something I wanted to do rather than being on hating my body has made it all much more tolerable to me.

This is a simplification, and I am not sure it would actually help anyone else. I mainly want to say to you that there are different ways to approach this and when you find the way in that works for you, you'll know it. Are you in treatment for your depression, if you don't mind my asking? It is such a difficult thing to deal with all on your own, and yet I know that I delayed getting help for it longer than I wish I had.

This is an important topic and I am so glad that you brought it up here. That takes a lot of strength!

 

[swilphil]

mommytoe -- and to the WISH board! i'm so very glad you stepped up and out of lurkdom here and posted, that alone is your first baby step on your healthy lifestyle journey!!

if i could, i would recommend you check out Dr. Phil's Weight loss book -- maybe you don't love Dr. Phil and that's fine, but i do think his weight loss lifestyle changes and approach is worth a looksee. maybe your library has a copy, i actually got the book on CD to listen to it in my van.

i say this b/c you said 'willpower'.....and I hate to see you talking negative to yourself! you are worth far more than that and i won't stand for it it's very hard to look at the big picture and imagine yourself crossing your finish line to your "Goal"....but remember small steps will take you there just as well as big ones and they are much easier to take.

there are some friendly challenges on WISH and feel free to jump in any of the threads and join in...all are welcome! what is one thing you think you could change in your routine? incorporating some exercise, join the monthly exercise challenge! cutting back on snacks, maybe start a new 'only healthy snacks' challenge! we are all here for you and there is someone else needing the support you can give as you journey together!

The Dr. Phil Book would be a good place to start with you. It does have some activities for you to help with the emotional side of eating, and the food plan is pretty basic.

Exercise will also help with your emotions, your eating, and the obvious weight loss.

 

[mommytoe]

I want to thank everybody for your posts.

I am not in treatment for my depression. Dh wants me to talk to my dr, but I am not able to admit my depression in front of people. It is easier to admit it here where nobody knows me.

 

[MIdanceMom]

mommytoe,

I understand about not wanting to alk to your doctor. I put it off too. I hated admitting that I needed help with my depression. Today, I really wish I had gotten over myself and done it sooner. I am on a low dose antidepressant, and with the help of exercise, I feel great. I have a ton more energy, and the pounds have started to come off too. I have lost 40 ot the 90 I need to lose. I hope you can get to the doctor, because I think that stopping emotional eating during a bout of depression will be very hard. Don't be too hard on yourself.

Beth

 

[PaulaSue]

How is the Weight loss going? How are you doing too?

 

[JudyS]

I want to thank everybody for your posts.

I am not in treatment for my depression. Dh wants me to talk to my dr, but I am not able to admit my depression in front of people. It is easier to admit it here where nobody knows me.

Mary, I think you've taken an important step by discussing your depression here!

These days, lots of people get diagnosed with depression, and lots of people take antidepressant medication, so I don't think it's something to be embarrassed about. I started taking Prozac in 1993, and have taken it ever since. I find it very helpful. I am thinking of seeing a psychiatrist, though, to ask about adding another drug (Wellbutrin) to the Prozac. I have heard that Wellbutrin often helps with feeling of low energy (a problem that I've continued to have, even with taking Prozac and with exercise). As a bonus, I've heard that many people lose weight on Wellbutrin (unlike many other antidepressants, which often cause weight gain.)

I recommend that anyone who wants to take antidepressants speak to a psychiatrist. A primary care physician can prescribe antidepressants, but there are so many different options these days that it is best to ask a specialist as to which would be best in your case. I know the idea of seeing a psychiatrist may seem daunting, but remember, psychiatrists expect patients to come to them with mental health problems, so it's not like they will be shocked that you are asking for help. A psychiatrist will have seen lots of patients in the same situation as you, as well as many patients who are far less "normal" mentally than you are.

 

[mommytoe]

How is the Weight loss going? How are you doing too?

The weight loss is going no where at this point. I had a week where I worked hard on weight loss, but then the depression got me again. It was all I could do to get through each day.

The holidays tend to be hard. Thanksgiving is so stressed filled that I even asked dh why we can't skip it this year. We won't be skipping it, because my family is so excited about us coming to see them. I just know my bil (sister's dh) will have a few jokes about my size.

I did manage to get on the floor and play with the girls yesterday. We were crazy rolling, crawling, ect. When dh got home the girls ran to tell their daddy that the old mommy was back and she is fun.

 

[Seahunt]

I just know my bil (sister's dh) will have a few jokes about my size.

Gosh, I sure can sympathize with you about this - we are going on a cruise in a few weeks with some friends, and her husband always has to make comments about anyone who isn't skinny, and I am not skinny - since I turned 50 I have been having a terrible time with my weight...

This guy hates fat so much that he has even told me that if his wife ever got fat he would divorce her!

I am actually dreading going on this cruise (can you imagine dreading a cruise to the Caribbean?), which is very sad to me, just because I know what his comments will be. I can picture him pulling my DH aside first thing and saying "Wow, just how much weight has she gained?" My poor DH, having to stick up for me

My friend has been fighting breast cancer, and this is a special trip for us to celebrate the end of her treatments, or I probably wouldn't even go.....

 

[JudyS]

Gosh, I sure can sympathize with you about this - we are going on a cruise in a few weeks with some friends, and her husband always has to make comments about anyone who isn't skinny, and I am not skinny - since I turned 50 I have been having a terrible time with my weight...

This guy hates fat so much that he has even told me that if his wife ever got fat he would divorce her! .....

I'd tell him, "Lucky her!" in response to his threats to divorce his wife.

Oh, this guy would likely get a serious telling off from me.

 

[JudyS]

Mary, I was thinking of you today. Depression often has a physical cause, and it may be that you really need some sort of biological treatment for it.

If you just can't bring yourself to tell a doctor about the problem, there are some "home remedies" that might help.

Some people respond well to light therapy, and you don't need a prescription for it. If your depression seems to be worsening now that the days are shorter, this might be part of the problem. You can buy a lightbox from www.northernlighttechnologies.com

A number of studies show that exercise is helpful for depression. You could sign up for an exercise challenge here!

There is an excellent book for self-treatment of depression, called "Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy" by David D. Burns. You can get the updated version of this book on Amazon for $8 plus shipping, or used for even less.

Some people use the herbal remedy St. Johns' Wort. I do not know much about this, however. The supplement 5-HTP (which is a form of amino acid) is also used for depression. If you take one of these supplements, take one or the other, not both, because they interact.

Trying to do enjoyable things is very important when you are depressed. Don't deny yourself fun by telling yourself that you "haven't earned it." Keeping busy can be extremely helpful, as well.

It's possible to buy Prozac without a prescription. 28 pills is about $45 with shipping at MedsMex.com I have used this pharmacy before (although not for Prozac), and have been happy with it. It is, of course, risky to take medicine without a doctor's supervision, but it's also risky to just stay depressed. Prozac can interact with St. John's Wort and 5-HTP, so it shouldn't be taken with those supplements. (Prozac also can't be taken with certain other mood-altering drugs, but you presumably aren't on any of those.) Prozac can sometimes make people "hyper" when they first start taking it; one way to help avoid this is to start by taking just one capsule every OTHER day or even every third day, and work up to one capsule a day. Any anti-depressive drug can cause manic symptoms (the opposite of depression, which is quite dangerous) in susceptible people, so don't take Prozac without a doctor's guidance if you or anyone in your family has a history of manic depressive illness (AKA bipolar disorder.) St. Johns' Wort and 5-HTP probably pose this risk, too.

The best thing, of course, would be to see a doctor (preferably a psychiatrist), but if you just can't bring yourself to do that, you could try the above suggestions.

I have a PhD in psychology, although I am not trained as a therapist. (I teach and write about motivation and social interaction.) I also have a history of depression myself. So, I'm not just making this stuff up! These techniques can really work.

Please DO try some treatments to make yourself feel better. You shouldn't have to feel like this! I hope you feel better soon, and please tell us how it goes.