Does dieting depress you even when you're losing weight?

Hi, I'm new to CC – 5'1", currently 191 lbs, 32 years old.  I've been on my diet about 3 weeks and lost 4 pounds in that time.  I eat 1400-1700 calories a day and exercise 30 minutes daily (mostly walking or low-impact aerobic video).

Although I am already fitter than when I began, I am having an extremely difficult time with depression.  I've never been much of a snacker or a binge eater, but I used to eat and drink high-calorie "empty" foods.  (I love fattening Italian food and wine, was addicted to Sonic's Coneys and Blasts, and I love a good Newcastle Brown Ale.)

The loss of these things is making me feel so down.  I know I should look forward to being fitter, but it just takes so long, and it seems like the rewards along the way are small and far between.  My favorite "reward" is trail hiking, but a trip to the state park is a quarter tank of gas roundtrip in a Toyota Corolla ($9.50) plus park entrance ($4.00).

I'd love to hear your stories, especially if you're a short female and/or in the 185-195 pound range.  Does dieting ever make you depressed?  Are you driving your loved one(s) crazy because you're always hungry, grumpy, and obsessed with what you can and can't eat?  And if you've been doing this awhile, do you ever finally reach a point of acceptance and peace with the fact that this is just what you have to do to be healthy?

You don't have to be miserable to be healthy at ALL.  If you're obsessing about what you eat, I think the best thing to do is plan your meals at the beginning of the week/Sunday, go grocery shopping, chop all your veggies/wash all your fruit so that it's at the ready, and then stop thinking about it, just stick to your plan.  Keep yourself as busy and distracted as possible.  And on a day where you have extra time, go for an extra 1/2 hour walk and then have that beer (or half a beer, I have a friend who has those first satisfying couple of cold swigs, then goes and pours half away, then comes back and nurses the rest).

I'm nodding while I read your post...my thoughts? Food is a comfort to many people, myself included. It becomes like a friend. And when you have to dump some of your friends (my ex best friend - macaroni and cheese ***drool***) it's hard. At First. Then the positive changes start happening. You start to see results. Your body gets used to the new, good foods you're putting into it. Your tastes change. You start to forget the old nasty foods and are actually...kinda repelled by them. Especially if you're calorie counting and you know that the amount of mac n chz that you used to eat in one sitting is like 1000 calories and 50 fat grams and a gajillion carbs....

:) Keep doing what you're doing.

For myself, 'dieting' or as I refer to it, as a new lifestyle, I actually feel LESS down and LESS depressed for a few reasons.  One being I look and feel better and the other is a control issue!  I feel like I have control over my body.  I have control over what I put in my mouth and control over how much I move my body.

~H~

Man oh man, I've struggled with depression for as long as I can remember. I'm done with that now though. I've altered my perspective. Life is too short to let depression control me. There's absolutely no rational reason to continue accepting and dealing with this stupid disease. I'm done with it. From now on, it's all sheer willpower and inner strength.

Remember, there's no reason at all to let depression rule your life. Wouldn't you rationally be in a better position if you at least try to shake it off? You certainly won't be worse off. You can do it lady!

Wow!  This is my first forum post, and you guys are amazing - so many good points.  Thanks so much for the support.

vegetariangeek, that's a great idea about the beer.  I think I'll try it after my walk tonight.

Are you driving your loved one(s) crazy because you're always hungry, grumpy, and obsessed with what you can and can't eat?

Well there's your first problem.  It's not what you can't eat.  It's what you can't eat much of.  2 apples = 1/2 of a regular Hersey bar.  Then it becomes about which one I'd *rather* eat not which one I am *required* to eat.  You're setting yourself up for the "forbidden fruit syndrome".  You can't have that so eventually end up binging on it.   

The loss of these things is making me feel so down.

You eat to live.  Stop living to eat.  Your bio says, "I realized just how much I was missing out on by being out of shape. "  You should write that on a card and tack it your fridge. 

I'm not always hungry.  I actually have a hard time eating ENOUGH stuff.  What I do on those days is I get something I've been craving and have enough of it to bring my calorie deficit up to where it needs to be.  I'm not grumpy or moody.  

Why don't you post a new thread with your food log?  Maybe we can help you tweak what you're eating so that you're not hungry either. 

I just read your profile - your goals sound great and totally realistic and doable.  I'm sure you'll get there.  It sounds like you do need to get creative with some fun activities to take your mind off food.  Public library/bookstore trips to get travel books to plan hiking adventures?  Do you have a Running Room store in your town?  They often have free/cheap training groups for beginners.

Now when my boyfriend and I go out to eat, I order my healthy meal and hint at several things I'd like to have but can't... about half of the time, he says "that sounds good" and orders it... LOL... THEN I get to have a taste off his plate when the food gets there. I've calmed the craving and still had a healthy meal...

I can totally relate to missing some of the old foods, or even how much of certain foods that I enjoyed.  Part of it is that I still have some things that are not great for me but in small quantities.  And it's like a treat.  I eat it much more slowly because each bite is worth it.  But the hungry part...there are plenty of foods that will help fill you up.  They tend to also make your body feel better in the long run too.  Things like yogurt are great and definitely fill the stomach.  I'm now blanking on all the other things that do the same lol, but try things like that.  Lots of fruits or veggies can fill you up because you have so much of them.

And I started to think of it differently too.  I started to realize there are all these fruits and veggies I never really tried before.  Soy products, smoothies, tons of foods that seemed brand new to me!  And actually if drinks are your thing, smoothies are a great option (well, doesn't satisfy the alcohol part).  Most of the sonic drinks are fruit tasting anyway.

I'm definitely a short female, and I wish I were in the 185-195 lb. range. I'm actually aiming to get down to 180 by Feb.

Dieting is making me depressed and less so at the same time. I've been dealing with depression for years, and I think part of what was making me feel like crap was my horrible eating habits. Well, now that I'm on a diet, I'm eating much healthier and exercising. It makes me feel better physically (which alleviates some of my depression symptoms), but not being able to eat some of the foods I love depresses me more sometimes.

Plus, it doesn't help matters that when I'm feeling bad I have a terrible urge to eat anything salty, fatty, or sugary that I can find. I know I'm just going to feel worse if I binge, but it's still really hard not to.

depression with dieting is one of 3 reasons

1. Food is your drug of choice ie you use it to cover your pain and w/o it you are uncomfortable with all your other feelings,this is why the lap band surgery causes people to go do other crazy things

2. you are in withdrawl

3. you need nutritional supplements,

I agree with this answer. Food wasn't just a comfort for me, it was what my fiance and I did when we went out, what my friends did when we hung out together, and what I did to reward myself. But I think naturalld had a great point--what comforts you is a learned and practiced habit, just like the way you sleep in the bed or the way you cross your legs. It will take some time, but you can develop new ways to feel good other than with food. I feel like I was grumpy for the first month, but right now I've reached this point of being proud of eating healthy and in proper portions. I haven't reached the point I want to be at, however. Sometimes when I get upset, I immediately think of pigging out, because I want comfort and what the hell, I'm upset and it's not worth it.

But I firmly believe that I can find new ways of enjoying life other than eating empty food that weighs me down, makes me look bad and unhealthy, and gives me a greasy feeling. Maybe you also need to find alternative foods that are delicious. I enjoy fruits a lot lately. And cooking can be rewarding as well.

Original Post by naturallyd:

I'm nodding while I read your post...my thoughts? Food is a comfort to many people, myself included. It becomes like a friend. And when you have to dump some of your friends (my ex best friend - macaroni and cheese ***drool***) it's hard. At First. Then the positive changes start happening. You start to see results. Your body gets used to the new, good foods you're putting into it. Your tastes change. You start to forget the old nasty foods and are actually...kinda repelled by them. Especially if you're calorie counting and you know that the amount of mac n chz that you used to eat in one sitting is like 1000 calories and 50 fat grams and a gajillion carbs....

:) Keep doing what you're doing.

 

Hey! I'm 5"1, started at 185 and about 2 weeks later was 170 and then since then I (2 weeks later I post this) have been fluctuating on 168 - 174. It's hard to keep up I know! Especially as all my friends are home from uni now so the parties are just ever present. It's hard to stick to stuff I feel andI understand food being your comfort, Whenevere I'm in a mood (of any sort!) I turn to food to push any emotion down. Since I tried to stop I now get actual cravings for sweet pop (luckily low in cals the diet versions) I don't have any advice, I geninely believe one day the big reward will be a reward in itself and something in you will just pop and you'll be happy again and until then just grumble on :) Luckily now you have the forum to moan to rather than your loved ones and maybe you wont drive em so crazy.

CC promotes healthy lifestyle changes - not restrictive dieting.  You can eat anything, but you have to control the quantities so your calorie intake does not exceed the guidelines for your height/weight.

I chose the "CC way" because I could not face another restrictive diet.  No, I'm not short, but from the way I see it, at 5'10" 284 lbs, I was in pretty much the same boat as you are at  5'1" 191 lbs: OBESE.

Take the time and actually plan a week's worth of healthy, satisfying, nutritionally sound, calorie appropriate meals.  It can be done.  Chose foods you like.  And if you have calories to spare, allow yourself a small special treat.

Admittedly the first week was a bear.  After that it got easier and easier.  After almost 5 months I have absolutely no problems sticking with my plan at home - and I've lost 56 lbs. (I avoid eating in restaurants/fast food places because it's really hard to find healthy low cal meals and temptation is high).

One more pound and I will be at the halfway point toward my goal weight.

Depression? Eating healthy actually makes me feel good now. I admit it's hard to focus on the positive early on.  In my case, losing 4 lbs. didn't seems like such a big deal when taking into consideration the fact that that still left me with 110 lbs. to go.  However, once you lose 10 lbs. you should feel even more motivated:  you should be feeling better from eating better, aches and pains in knees, hips, back,ankles should start decreasing.  Your clothes should fit better and at 5'1" you may even have dropped a size or more. These physical changes should make you feel a lot better!

Being hungry shouldn't make you depressed. The hormone ghrelin that is produced when your stomach is empty works as an anti depressant.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7453516.stm

If dieting makes you feel depressed it's all about your attitude to food.  You aren't dieting to punish yourself, Make the most of your meals. Arrange your food attractively on the plate. Make sure you fill it up with lots of low calorie vegetables and fruits in bright attractive colours. Try to enjoy every mouthful. Don't eat stuff you don't like just because you think you should. Choose foods that you find attractive but look at the calories and decide whether you really think they are worth it. Look for foods that keep you feeling satisfied for a long time. I hate being hungry and I won't ever try to follow a diet again where I wait around desperate for the next meal. Food shouldn't be on the forefront of your mind all the time.

I come from a family with a pretty bad attitude to food. I started putting on weight when I was 9 years old and stayed with my grandparents for the best part of a year. My grandmother equated food with love. She gave out chocolate and biscuits instead of hugs and kisses. When my father realized how porky I was getting he told them to feed me less. They didn't know much about nutrition and healthy eating and I felt very strongly that I was being punished for getting fat. It took me quite a while to shake off the guilt associated with eating after that.

Maybe you use food as an escape when you feel depressed. I know I certainly do. Try to figure out what is making you feel down and whether you can tackle it instead of trying to ignore it and compensating by cheering yourself up  with food.