Relapse -need help with basics

 I am one year out. I lost to 10 pounds above my goal in the first 6 months and have been stuck at 150 to 153 ever since. Last December I visited the NUT who told me my carbs were too low and my calories were too low.  OK, so I started eating some healthy carbs. A slice of very low carb bread, some fruit. As I started trying to eat with my family instead of eating different food, logging became difficult because no one in my family uses recipes, and it was hard to figure out the calorie counts of foods. BUT I didn't gain OR lose.

I've been struggling with depression, anxiety and chronic migraines. My headache doctor told me to stop all caffeine, and suggested a change in my antidepressants. I've been really tired, more depressed, sleeping a lot with HORRIBLE head hunger. The day before yesterday I weighed in at 158.

I see my psych. Tues. and will ask her if she thinks it's the change in meds or the depression. So can anyone give me a very simple summary of a day's menu that is under 1000 cal. And less than 60 grams carbs? 

When you say dense protein -some examples? For example, I had 3 oz. of a turkey/beef meatloaf, it does have some oatmeal as a filler. Is that dense protein? is cottage cheese?  

One night when I got the munches I made a protein shake and that totally satisfied me. I use unsweetened almond milk in my shakes, usually 12 oz. at 45 cal. For 8 oz. No I have not been exercising -I am depressed so I sleep.

Sorry for the book and thanks in advance for your help. I just got on the scale and was 144.6 so I feel a little better.

BIG hugs to you!!  I know how depression can be so debilitating.  I don't have any helpful advice to help you with the depression, other than what you probably already know.  However, I will try to offer some advice for the eating.  I am in the same boat as you as I never did get those last 10 pounds off and I am also battling a couple pound weight gain, but these are some things that have helped me and hopefully will help you.

Dense protein are things like steak, chicken, pork chops, etc.  Cottage cheese is a soft protein.  I think the meatloaf would be considered a dense protein.  I can give you an idea of menu ideas but I don't know the values, you would have to plug those in yourself.  But some ideas would be:
Breakfast
Egg
low carb toast
or greek yogurt with berries

snacks could be things like beef jerkey, almonds, greek yogurt, cheese, lunch meat, egg.  I like to take a piece of turkey lunch meat, spread a little cream cheese on it and then roll a pickle or pickled asparagus up in the meat.  I can usually only eat two of these.  Some people say to make sure your snack has some protein in it so if you have some fruit, have a piece of protein, as well.

Lunch/dinner
Any type of protein with some veggies.  Tonight we had stuffed salmon.  I could only eat about 2 ounces.  A couple spears of asparagus and I a couple pieces of a pasta salad I made.  Also, chili or stews would be good for a meal, as well.  I also like to make frittata's and these can be as creative as you want them to be.

Elina has some great soup recipes on her page.  Here is the link http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/elina_7/

I cook regular meals for myself and my whole family.  I just make sure that protein is always the center and that is mainly what I eat.  I might have a couple bites of whatever else I make but I always eat the protein first.  

I hope this helps with some eating suggestions.  Now, I do want to just mention (in the most loving way possible) that exercise can help you feel better.  Even just getting outside and walking around a bit can release some endorphins that will help you feel better. 

Good luck to you and please feel free to come by more often, even if it's just to let us know how you are doing.  Take care!

 Thanks so much. When this depression kicks in (and I'm sure it's the med changes) if anything doesn't go well I feel like a failure, then I sabotage myself and/or self medicate with food. The life I have with this new body is worth fighting for.

It sounds like you have better restriction than I do. I have no problem eating 4 oz. of steak. I even wondered if I should do things backward and eat veggies first so I can't eat so much of the protein (which I love) because they have less calories.

Another question - why not drink 30 min. Before eating? After I understand. You'd think that having read the sleeve forums for 3 years before my surgery that I would know this stuff!

I am not sure about the 30 minutes before hand.  I think originally it was so we would have room for food.  I don't adhere to that rule but I definitely adhere to the no drinking 30-45 minutes after eating a meal.  I do have great restriction with dense protein so 2.5 ounces is really about all I can eat.  I think, if I were you, I would stick with protein first, however, eat a couple bites of veggies then eat your protein.  My exercise trainer has told me to eat veggies first and occassionally I will do this, but not often.   I have started incorporating salads as a lunch option, especially with chicken.  I will have a bit of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and some type of protein..  I will aslo add cheese.  This makes for a great, filling lunch and I get veggies.  

{{Hugs}} I struggle with depression and anxiety, but thankfully my current medication regime is marvelous. I remember how I felt before though.

I'd start with 2 things:

First, dense protein each meal. Dense protein = meat, mostly. A little filler like the oatmeal is OK, but not much. Less dense protein like cottage cheese is OK for a snack. A protein shake satisfies me as well; as long as you are having it instead of a meal rather than in addition, that works too.

The other thing I can suggest that is a lifesaver for me is to log your food on some site like myfitnesspal.com. At first it might sound like that would be a hassle, but truly once you get the hang of it you only need a few minutes a day and then you don't have to fret over what you're doing - it tells you your protein grams, carbs, calories, etc.

Plus, there are a group of us on myfitnesspal that support and encourage each other daily, which I find marvelous.

 Ditto to what the others have said. It doesn't really matter, if you can eat 2 or 4 oz of steak, since dense protein is more filling. What does the damage is the other stuff that you are eating i.e. empty carbs, sweets,  lack of exercise, etc.

Also, all research does recommend exercise as an addtional aid to decreasing depression. It works to improve mood, as well as to improve your physical well-being. Just start with a short walk. 

Hugs and wishing you the best. It is a battle.

I don't know what type of medication that you are taking, but some antidepressants can put weight on.



Gail

 The thing with drinking before you eat is that it helps food to slide down...so if you drink before you eat something dry is slides easier...this is what I have come to believe...if you really don't drink and then have something that is dense...like dry chicken...or dry turkey...and I mean dry...not deli sliced which is often moist...or tuna with the water really drained out of it...then you should definitely feel restriction...
cottage cheese and yogurt are slider fooods...you can eat much more...
let's put it this way...a dense food is something you can put in your sink and run water over it for ever and it will never disolve....soooo...your meatloaf will disolve because it has bread and stuff in it..but if it is really made with just egg and meat then it will stand up and you should be able to eat only about 4 or 5 ounces...if your steak has lots of fat in it then it will slide and you can eat more...because the fat will make it slide...oatmeal is NOT  a dense food and it is not a protein so if you are trying to lose I would get  rid of that...protein shakes are great but they won't really fill you up as they slide as well...so if you are really trying to go for that full feeling which when we are depressed is comforting then I would stick to eating meat as often as possbile...and shakes...depression sucks but it passes...
eventually...work with your doctor to get the antidepressant right...best wishes...SEAVIEW

Sorry to read about your issues.

Has your doctor checked your thyroid function panel? Normally test results say that a TSH of up to 5.0 is okay, but the truth is that if you have anything above 2.0, you can have terrible side effects as I did - including not being able to lose weight, chronic depression and the list goes on...

Worth checking although most doctors and even endocrinologists are mistaken with the lab results and are not good at treating it... took me months to find a good doctor.

Also, I am taking Lexapro for depression and depression, it's the one that works for me. My doc gave me one before that was terrible, so if not working, definetly worth a change.

Good luck!

Maybe not what you asked for but I have struggled with depression myself and found this book of immense help. It is a free download. http://www.thewayup.com/upfrmdwn.htm

I have been using her amino acid therapy for 4 years now and swear by it. I weaned off of my prescription anti-depressants and tried this before I went back on prescriptions and it worked.

Good luck to you.

 I saw my psychiatrist today and she says that although weight gain is one possible side effect of the antidepresessant I am using, so is weight loss. She thinks it is more likely that I am comforting myself with food. This is my gut feeling as well - no pun intended.

THANK YOU for the reminder about slider foods. That is a really good visual for me.

My last TSH was 1.5 so I can't use that as an explanation.  About 2 years ago I asked my doctor to do a full thyroid panel, because my hair was getting so thin, but all was WNL.  

I know, I know - exercise is as effective as meds for depression. DH and I did go to the gym yesterday and it felt really good.

Is the amino acid stuff covered in the book referenced in your post? This is intriguing. Did I spell that right? 

Thank you all so much. I do think my comfort carbs and too many slider foods are my problem, and being so sedentary of course.