Mental Health Transformations/Changes - What's Your Story?
As a mental health professional, I'd love to hear the stories about how changing your relationship with food has affected your mental health (for good or bad).
Please tell us some of your reasons for starting on a different path, how your relating to food has changed, and what impacts it has had on your mental health.
Looking forward to hearing what you have to say!
IS
Comments
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From a large family of slim kids, I was the fat girl in the family, and have carried that self image and lived up to the term all my life. Always 25-30 lbs overweight though healthy and active.
I began reading about longevity and CRON, and found Cronometer about 7 years ago, and have always done well holding myself accountable to logging in diet and exercise. My PT calls this putting your health.
Last few years, hand arthritis left me feeling useless and depressed. I started walking to blow off steam. Low and behold, when they weighed me before surgery last year, I had dropped 20 lbs without realizing it, just eating right and walking.
So I found something positive in the midst of the hand problems. I could take ownership of my health and body, and become fit. Back on board with Cronometer, walking and tracking my foods.
Today, I am content with myself, in a healthy weight and fitness range, and optimistic about the future.
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I have gained and lost up to forty kilos several times in the past decade. The past three years I have been stuck at my upper end but past week on Keto Vegan and I feel full of energy and optimism. I AM BACK on know track and know I will lose it and get back to my OLD SELF (but the new improved version). Week 1 and I am 4 kilos down!
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Social media made me compare myself with all the models out there and I started to starve myself to lose weight. After a while, I started to have some signs of BPD and I understood this isn't ok. I went to a nutritionist and she recommended me a healthy and good diet that became a lifestyle and change me completely. I started to feel better in my body and my confidence went up. Of course, that took time but now I have better mental health and I remained shocked how much does food influent our lives and thinking.
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I have always had an unhealthy relationship with food. This year after all of the holiday celebrations, I was at the highest weight I’d seen in some time. I found your app on tiktok in the galveston diet. I was so motivated to get my fiber, omega3, vitamin D, and magnesium that I began searching for foods that did just that. I’ve also been eating the same number of calories and exercising moderately each day. I have lost 8 pounds in 2 weeks, and i feel the best I’ve ever felt. I’ve passed on pizza and candy. I don’t feel deprived- I feel empowered. The processed food was making me depressed- affecting my already out of whack hormones. I am feeling so much better mentally. Thank you!!
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Changing my relationship with food has been a game-changer for my mental health. I used to stress-eat a lot, and it took a toll on my emotional well-being. Eventually, I decided to make healthier food choices and practice mindful eating. It wasn't easy, but over time, I noticed a significant improvement in my mood and overall mental state.
I also found that regular exercise played a crucial role in managing my anxiety.
If you're struggling with your mental health, I'd highly recommend exploring different avenues like therapy, meditation, or even looking into what are the top 10 medications for anxiety, if necessary. -
A few years back, I found myself struggling with my mental health, particularly with symptoms of PTSD. For me, food became both a crutch and a source of anxiety. Neither approach was sustainable or healthy. But as I began therapy and learned more about PTSD, I realized the profound connection between my mental well-being and my relationship with food. I started seeing food as nourishment for both my body and mind rather than just a coping mechanism. If you're curious about PTSD or want to explore treatment options, I stumbled upon this resource that might be helpful: https://restore-mentalhealth.com/ptsd-treatment-in-south-florida/. It's essential to find what works best for you and to remember that healing is a journey, not a destination.
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A product of two alcoholic parents, my drug of choice was food. I have always been active, but struggled psychologically due to many contributing factors, so I ate to soothe myself. I would diet, get my weight down, then some major stressor would arrive and I would respond by giving up and eating.
I followed many programmes and read a lot; I knew a lot about nutrition, but more often than not, I did not have the mental energy to make good choices. And, I was fighting the weight-gaining and immobilizing influence of various mental health drugs. My weight was always up and down; and even though I was now off those medications, I recently got up to 225 pounds (not my highest ever, but in quite a while). I started losing weight last fall.
Then this spring, I developed a digestive problem. I have had to drastically alter my eating habits while I wait for corrective surgery. I now have difficulty eating enough calories every day, Cronometer has been a lifesaver, allowing me to track everything I eat and figure out what worsened my symptoms. It makes it easy to track my nutrients to make sure I am getting what I need.
I have to eat every two hours. I MUST keep my percentage of calories from fat under 30% to keep my symptoms controlled, and Cronometer lets me 'test' food choices to see how they will impact my day. It helped me figure out how much vitamin supplementation I needed to improve my sleep. Better sleep has meant increased mental resilience, much needed as I navigate my medical care and face the delays in our poorly-managed health care system.
I have now dropped 30+ pounds and I am back to being active. I have improved my BP, and my cholesterol, and have been able to decrease the amount of medications I need. Knowing that I am making healthy choices for myself has been a boon to my mental health. I have a laser focus on keeping on track. This spring was the third time cancer was suspected but ultimately not found, and I figure I'd better try to put everything I can on my side and improve my health.
I am sleeping better, and I am stronger. I am now motivated by getting my steps and exercise minutes in, and losing as much as I possibly can in the time before surgery, but in a healthy way. I have even started trying out intermittent fasting, and Cronometer makes that easy as well.
Knowing that I am doing good things for myself, making healthy choices for myself, has a value that can't be counted. And my spouse is happy to see me back to the active woman she met 30 years ago
