Weight Gain

Tempering anti-depressant induced weight gain through good mood foods?

My first go round with Lexapro took me to an all time high of 209# (I’m 5’10”). It took me 5 years to lose the weight. My diet plan was simple, lose 10# in a month, keep it off for a year, repeat. The last 10# from 170# to 160# was incredibly hard, but I kept my weight off for 4 years.

Last year my bout with anxiety  resulted in no appetite. I would drink a Chick-fil-A milkshake & eat a fried chicken sandwich – that was about as many calories as I could tolerate in a day. My weight bottomed out at 144# before I started the Lexapro. Well yesterday I weighed myself and in the last year I have steadily gained 28 pounds with no slowing down in sight! That’s 2# a month.  By Christmas I could be close to 190# NO!!!!!!!

Pre-lexapro I actually ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was full. Now I get this incredible urge to eat, hungry or not. It’s horrible. Saturday I laid down to take a nap & couldn’t go to sleep for thinking of food. No food in particular, just food. I wasn’t even hungry! The thought consumed me – so I got up and had a handful of nuts. Did it stop the craving? It tempered it and helped me hold out until dinner.

Perhaps my current eating obsession could be attributed my food intake over the last few weeks. I reverted to some very old, very comfortable habits. I love to eat out. Let me repeat – I love to eat out. Last week we ate out almost every night. Sample selections – chicken enchilada mole & margaritas (alcohol & sugar), American-Italian pasta/shrimp bowl & cosmo (alcohol & sugar), wine & cheese, pizza & beer. Not too much authentic Mediterranean dining here! The only good thing about going out was I limited my drinks to 2 and did not order small plate appetizers or desserts.

Not surprisingly Sunday morning I woke up with that gut feeling of dread, not really wanting to get up and face the day, but realizing that staying in bed turns into the cycling of negative thoughts. My choice was to either succumb to negativity or get up and find a purpose for the day.

Food became the purpose of the day. When it comes to depression food is medicine. More and more research is showing a strong correlation between mood and food. The vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and phytochemcials (naturally occurring in fruits & vegetables) that we consume affects the biochemical pathways in our bodies ultimately affecting our depression and anxiety (like maybe no signs/symptoms). Going through the refrigerator & pantry I wanted to start the day with food as medicine so it began with a breakfast burrito of sautéed onion (phytochemical quercetin) and yellow pepper (phytochemical capsaicin), 2 eggs scrambled (omega-3) and a tomatillo based salsa. A pear (vitamin C, prebiotic, phytochemical anthocyanins) and a cup of coffee . . . the day is looking a little better.

Not ready to cook (or perhaps not feeling up to cooking) I headed to the Whole Food’s trough (steam tables, buffet line).  My choice for lunch was power packed with anti-inflammatory phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals.

The photo probably makes the food look unappetizing, but it was really pretty good.

• Lunch  – tuna salad (Omega-3), raspberry beet salad (anti-inflammatory betalain, Vitamins A, C, folic acid, potassium), chopped broccoli salad (anti-inflammatory Sulforaphane, vitamin A, C, K, fiber, potassium)  and crackers.
• Dinner – chicken (selenium), fresh green peas (anti-inflammatory pisumsaponins & pisomosides, vitamin C, E, zinc, & omega-3), and enriched white rice (iron & B vitamins).
•  Beverages – water & green tea (polyphenols).
• Post dinner sweet treat – Sweetened kefir (probiotic, calcium, vitamin B12). Plain kefir is sour, so I am starting slow – about 4 swallows of sweetened kefir.

It’s amazing to see the naturally occurring chemicals in our foods that support good mood. So when making the choice to eat . . .  blue mood food or good mood food?