Advice on nutrition

[Angry Butterfly]

Ok I know I am realy asking for it, but after yet another dream where the prominenent theme was food, I am willing to ask for help. I know there are people on this list with Knowledge of nutrition. I think I *might* have a problem. I have been told for years that I should seek help but after seeing girls who were much worse than me I figured that as long as i wasnt dangerously thin, throwing up, or having kidney failure I was fine, but I'm not. I'm willing to admit that now. I have dangerously high cholesterol, and I can't seem to stick to A healthy diet for more than a week or so, then I binge, get depressed, and binge some more. I thought it was normal, but now I am starting to think it may be a problem. I am posting this here in hopes that I wont get stupid responses like people trying to sell me nutrasystem or join weht watchers or crap like that, or mabe I will get flamed and realize everybody does this, and I have nothing to worry about.

[bearsnest]

Hi--ive studied nutrition and diet for years. Not in school but in life. One thing I can say for sure, with out a doubt, and this may sound trite -We are all different. Have you read food for your blood type? To sum the book up, if your a O blood type you are a meat eater, B type is a dairy, A veg. and A-b type is vegan. Also there are allergies to consider. They can make you fat or thin, I would start by getting some consoling for your mind and then writing down every thing you eat and feel (don’t cheat) and go to a clinic and get a colonic and do a cleanse, you can change your metabolism. Read a lot of info on nutrition, the journal will help you to see a pattern. I could tell you a lot of stories but typing is a pain and as you can see im dyslexic. But I could try to help but you have to decide and do all the word. Because it is a mind set as well as a body thing. Oh yea Dr. Phil has a new book out he is great. Love Lynne

[J]

The book is
Eat Right for Your Type by Peter J D'Adamo
ISBN 039914255X

J

[bearsnest]

thank you-- did you read it ? what did you think?

[Kinetic II]

Sorry to be blunt but does that shit really work? I could give a damn less what some overglorified pufferfish type promoter wants to hype, I prefer word of mouth feedback. I'm A- and I've been thinking about going vegetarian for a while now. But living in the cow and chicken infested Midwest, giving up meat is tough. It's about as bad as finding products without high fructose corn syrup, or sodium lauryl sulfate. Almost freakin impossible. This is issue number one for me so pardon the hostility...I just want to find something that works! HELP!!!!

[J]

I didn't read it, I just work at a book store.

I've heard mixed things about it. Some people I've talked to it swear by it, others say the guy is full of shit. But the thing is a constant seller so there must be something to it.

J

[Alpha]

With all due respect I think that blood type plan is a load of crap. I've got O blood, which supposedly makes me a meat eater -- except the healthiest I've ever been in my life was when I was eating vegetarian.

AB, I would consider the role of seratonin in your depression/binge behavior. Eating certain foods releases seratonin into the brain, which then conditions us to eat when we're feeling down. There are a couple ways to approach that kind of problem, but they all deal with handling the depression swings first. Depending on your preference, that may mean counseling and healthy activities to get you on the right track and keep your body balanced. Or it may mean taking Prozac or another seratonin reuptake inhibitor, if you prefer a pharmaceutical approach.

Good luck,

Alph

[Kinetic II]

Having emerged from a personal hell with Big Pharma's "A pill can cure everything" approach to mental health management, I'd strongly encourage exercise over medical first. At least try it. Some people need the chemical approach but if you can avoid it I would certainly try to. Paying the premium on organic stuff and / or going vegetarian would be much cheaper than the approach I just got through with.

If you ever decide to ask your doctor about depression meds, please take the time and look up what your taking? rxlist.org comes to mind as a starting point. Do a Google search on the drug and see what the hits look like. I didn't do these things and I regret it. I essentially lost 2 years of my life in a deeper fog of depression than I was when I started. I don't want to scare you off nor did I mean to climb on the soapbox but I hope I can warn someone away from the personal hell I just emerged from. It's worth irritating a few people if I can save a few.

[brillig]

So here's my advice. I think you look fine.

To lower cholesterol, you might try regular cardio exercise. So how do you make it not boring? How about, buy a used stationary bike from Craigslist, set it up in your place, and do something else while cycling - read, watch tv, surf the web (I'm serious - with a lot of bikes, you just sit in the chair and don't bounce - if it's in your home, you can put a little rack on it to hold a keyboard).

Professor

[Angry Butterfly]

Having emerged from a personal hell with Big Pharma's "A pill can cure everything" approach to mental health management, I'd strongly encourage exercise over medical first. At least try it. Some people need the chemical approach but if you can avoid it I would certainly try to. Paying the premium on organic stuff and / or going vegetarian would be much cheaper than the approach I just got through with.

If you ever decide to ask your doctor about depression meds, please take the time and look up what your taking? rxlist.org comes to mind as a starting point. Do a Google search on the drug and see what the hits look like. I didn't do these things and I regret it. I essentially lost 2 years of my life in a deeper fog of depression than I was when I started. I don't want to scare you off nor did I mean to climb on the soapbox but I hope I can warn someone away from the personal hell I just emerged from. It's worth irritating a few people if I can save a few.

I was in that fog for over 10 years that is why I am trying other avenues. Recently it got pretty bad, and the day I decide to go back on the last meds that worked I woke up with the horible feelings that I hadn't had since I stopped them, that was the day I wrote this. I was on antidepressants intermittently form the time I was 14 till a couple of months ago and I think i would ACTUALY rather kill myself ( this isnt a threat or anything, it is just an expression of how badly I want to stay off antidepressants) Than be dependant on antidepressants again. My doctors used to justify putting me on them because it was "better than having me kill myself" OK, it's not, because I can control the suicidal thoughts a lot better when I am not on the antidepressants, or in counceling, Councelling DOESNT WORK for me, it made things worse, every time. I've had more shrinks than I can count, and they are all full of shit, the only thing that EVER worked for me was behavioral thereapy. In fact, I think Psyciatry in general ( with the exeption of behavoiral thereapy, which approaches the problem in a different way) does a lot more harm than good, at least it has in my life. I KNOW that exercise and nutrician works a lot better. I guess I should have put in my post that I work out a lot anyway. I guess I was looking for somethig beyond what I have read and stuff, I havent tryed the blood type thing. I guess I need to just get a job and shell out the money for a nutricionist, and i was wondering if anyone had any luck with that, and or knows of one they could reccomend in the bay area. I tryed jounaling what I ate to find patterns, but like most things i get lazy and quit. Its like anybody I know who has had any luck with changing their diet is COMPLETELY OBSESSED with it. The only thing I can be obsessed with is art, really. I actualy loose a lot of weight when I am working on my art a lot because I am happy even though I do stuff like skip meals and eat nothing but Taco bell for weeks on end. I was also the perfect ( helth wise for my height and feeling healthy) weight ( going up, in that case, I had been really small and sickly in high school) my freshman year at college, when I was on meal plan and I had no extra money so I just ate whatever was put in front of me, that was when I learned what an awful cook my mother was BTW, cafeteria food was SO good. I also Lost weight at burning man, Everybody does. I actually saw pictures of me at the beginning and end of the week where I looked completely different. I read that it takes about 30 days to start or break a habit, and I figure if I can forcibly remove myself from stuff that tempts me to overeat for a month I will be all set, so what I would like to do is get on the temple crew or the clean up crew and stay out there for 6 weeks or more, and I bet I could get healthy again.
BTW, No offence, and thanks for trying to help, but I don't think I could take a book by Dr. Phil Seriously. The guy is fatter than me and he is selling diet advice, WTF? I respect that he works for a lot of people, but I remember the first time I saw that guy on opera. I watched it because it was a special on add or bdd or some such nonsence, and I was diagnosed with whatever it was and they had some girl about my age on, and I rememer thinking that it was a good thing he wasnt MY shrink, because I would have gone crazier. Killing Spree Crazier. In one respect it did help me because it motivated me to take my own path, and made me realize that differnt things work for differnt people. Don't get me wrong, I used to be really screwed up, the binging thing is like my worst problem now, and i think even that is a lot healthier than standing on tall buildings and overpasses contemplating jumping, ( that was where traditonal psyciatry got me) It's cool that stuff works on some people, but the only shrink that ever worked for me had a VERY differnt personality and methodology than Dr Phil. As far as the whole depression recovery thing, I am kind of like some guy who used to be like 500 lbs and bedridden trying to loose the last 20 or 30 and run a marathon. Like if I seem depressed now, this is realy nothing compared to what I used to be like.

[amphitrite27]

I'm not a nutritionist either, but I am a biologist. Does that count?

Here's my major piece of advice.

Realize you will binge. accept it. in fact depending on how diet-y your diet is (aka no fat, no anything) your body may NEED that binge. if you can, control what you binge with. if you want something fatty and salty, nuts are great (preferably uncooked/roasted). they can actually help lower cholesterol while giving you that nice fatty salty craving. or replace white starchy items with whole grain starchy items. I've found that barley (slightly processed, but not too bad) works in noodle casseroles.

my principle of dealing with that stuff is binge (for a meal, a day or whatever) and then make sure that i end the binge with a big plate of fresh veggies and/or fruit. if i stay really cognizant ofgetting that freshness it makes it soo much easier to get back on the health wagon, because i feel better within a few hours of the meal.

your body may want/desire some comfort food, but generally it enhances my mood to eat very fresh and alive tasting things. i make deals with myself...i can have the cheesy enchillada, but i must have some veggies FIRST. i'm more satisfied by less of the comfort food, and after months of doing this, sometimes it eliminates the craving for comfort food.

whole grains. comforting, filling, cholesterol suck-up-ing.

and just realize taht you will slip, and try to forgive yourserlf (i know thats the hardest part). living healthy is about making better and better choices every day, every month, every year. make the most important changes first and just phase the rest in.