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Scared of depression - bad experience with lchf


doughty_m

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Good day all, 

 

Some background on myself:  Over the past few years I have lost 113 lbs on a low-carb, low-fat way of eating.  I felt great, had much more energy than I could ever use up...everything was super.  Then I started with arm and shoulder pains and had to stop exercising, which started a downward spiral in my moods, my sleep and the pain sapped all my willpower away.  I have re-gained some of the weight, but the worst part is that I have lost the vitality and the energy...the good mood and the happy days I had before.  Those are what I would like to get back.

 

I read the Wheat Belly book which sounded ok to me...lots of things that I could agree with, some I wasn't sure about (fake sugars, no fruit, etc).  My husband and I decided to try it and he did great.  I, on the other hand, went into the biggest depression of my life.  It got to the point that I got into the car to drive myself to the hospital.  Instead, I bought all the anti-depressant supplements I could find and  stopped the WB diet.  It did give me quite a scare.

 

I now want to try this Whole30.  I agree with everything in the book.  I can see myself in the descriptions of the "typical person", etc.  I am aiming for Jan 1.  While I have done a 21 day "detox" that was practically identical and done well with it, I am scared of the depression I experienced last time I drastically changed my way of eating.

 

Does anyone know what could possibly have been the cause of the depression on the lchf and if I feel myself sliding downhill, is there some "tweaking" that I can do to not keep sliding down...I don't know...maybe cut something else, or add something, or make sure I am getting enough of something?  Just trying to prepare myself.

 

I appreciate any tips and ideas.

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Whole30 is not intended to be particularly low carb. While there are people who go very low carb, intentionally or not, there is no particular limit on the number of carbs you can have in a day. What's limited is where you get those carbs. You can have starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, plantains, winter squashes like butternut or acorn or spaghetti squash, potatoes, and root vegetables as sources of carbs. You can also have 1-3 servings of fruit every day (see the meal template for more on serving sizes). Generally, most people do well with a serving a day of some kind of starchy vegetables. People who are active and women who are going through PMS or are pregnant or breast feeding are encouraged to have more, and there are many discussions here on the forums about people finding that depression and anxiety are greatly helped by making sure they have starchy vegetables every day, although you may need to play with what is the right amount for you.

 

You should probably check out this article about Whole30 and depression. You can also google Whole30 depression for more discussion about this.

 

I have some issues with depression, and was on an antidepressant for a while. I feel better eating at least a serving of starchy vegetables every day, and sometimes I have more, just because I like them. I'm not terribly active and I definitely have weight to lose, so based on what ISWF says about consuming starchy veggies based on activity levels, I probably shouldn't have as much as I do, but I continue to lose weight at a steady (but not very fast) pace. 

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