Part of my recovery from depression has been eating a whole lot of high-fat food that I avoided for the better part of the 1980s and 1990s. Low fat diets were the ticket to an enviable Body Mass Index and dress size. It did work for the ten minutes you could stay on a diet of bagels and plastic cheese. It turns out that those sorts of diets are bad for the long game. Our brains need the fats in our foods to stay healthy.
Low carb diets offer another option which do allow fat. These diets also work for the ten minutes you can stay on them. Actually, to be fair, I find these diets much easier than the low fat sort. However, I have faced a dilemma: I have realized that I require a certain level of obsession to stay on any of these diets. I dieted through the 1980s and 1990s with a certain level of obsession – just enough obsession to stay on the diet, but not quite enough to inspire a clinical diagnosis of obsessive compulsive disorder.
The strange thing is that my own mental health breakdown in 2001 and my own need to eat differently has improved my mental state to such a degree that I have a difficult time mustering up the obsession necessary to stay on a diet. I realize that for most of my life my key dieting tool was obsession itself. Without obsession, I am a bit lost.
I do know that I would have more energy to enjoy life and write on this blog if I got more exercise and lost a few pounds. In that vein, I’ve decided to lose a dress size in 2008. One size will not make me skinny (and who wants skinny anyway), but it will be a nice bit of progress.
So my “diet” this year is pretty darned simple. I will be eating fewer calories and exercising more. Most of my meals are salads with a “depression buster” food on top. The depression buster list is not up yet, but it includes a great deal of fish, seafood, and red meats. The key in my mind is keeping up my energy with lower food intake. To do so, I am using a desiccated liver product which provides energy and nutrients. Liver is a depressioin-buster food itself, so I feel better knowing that the supplement will help keep my brain healthy.
To help with winter-time exercise, my parents-in-law gave us a Christmas gift of the machine in the picture. It’s an all-weather solution to body movement and high serotonin levels.
Comments (1)
I have struggled for over 7 years with depression and simultaneous weight insecurity. Until I visited Dr. Keith Ablow's living the truth website and began working towards a better future within his program, I had found no long term solutions. His book and website are useful tools for anyone struggling with overeating, depression, and anxiety. I hope that you find happiness as I have, best of luck
alexandra
Posted by alexendra | June 3, 2008 11:07 AM
Posted on June 3, 2008 11:07