Anxiety Support Group
Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...
So I am prescribed lexapro 20 mg daily, which hasn't stopped me from being ABLE to lose weight physically but the cravings, appetite increase and binge eating has been unreal. I was never like this before the medication. I don't want to go off of it but it makes my anxiety worse when I constantly worry about gaining back the weight I worked SO hard to lose! This matter is making me miserable. Every time I eat well for a couple days I ruin it by binge eating past the point of no return for no reason and I can't stop! Does anyone know how I can manage this or stop myself so that I can finally get to my goal weight and not have to go off the medicine?
Have you read The Mood Cure? It has a lot of advice for avoiding bad mood foods and incorporating good mood foods into your diet. Bad mood foods include white starches and refined sugar. A good mood diet would include plenty of protein, fruits and veggies, and good fats like butter and olive oil. I've made some changes to my diet since I read the book and I find I'm a lot less hungry. Eating things like almonds, eggs, and lots of leafy veggies will keep you full. If you are restricting your diet to lose weight, you're definitely going to have more cravings for the bad stuff and that will keep you on a roller coaster of starving and binging. I've been there!
I basically refuse to diet. I got over an eating disorder when I was in high school and ever since I've tried to eat healthy food and stop when I feel satisfied but I don't keep track of my calories. I also try to exercise every day. I have had no weight problems in the twenty years since. One thing you can do is write down everything you eat every day for awhile. Not to count calories but just to be aware of what you are eating. It helped me to regulate and normalize my eating habits.
Here's more on good mood foods: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/stress-busting-foods