Throughout my life I have experienced periods of stress eating, eating as some conscious or unconscious means of increasing my energy, eating because I had a huge desire to add to my hypomanic/manic pleasure (though sometimes the opposite happens), means of giving me pleasure during periods of depression when I experience too little, and probably other self-medication. However, when I am doing quite well mood-wise, and have determination and energy, I eat a lot less and tend to focus more on healthier eating. Having good energy and motivation encourages my passion for cooking and dancing (exercise). I know how to cook and eat well, but it certainly is difficult when my moods are quite off. When well, I have the motivation to plan meals, buy the right ingredients, and create and put them on the table. If I thought cheeseburgers, fried chicken, pepperoni pizza, donuts, and macaroni and cheese were "normal" foods to eat regularly, I'd have a problem.

Of course some medications have been weight unfriendly for me, but I feel my mood issues have been my greatest foe, in terms of healthy eating/weight. I was doing quite well a couple months back and lost 7 lbs in a month dieting. I was on 500 mg of Seroquel XR and my other meds then. I'll admit that when on 600 mg, dieting is much harder. Stress developed, and I gained back four pounds. It's eased, and I've lost what I regained. I've been doing better these last few days and am again back on plan. I know that if I can stay stable with good energy, that I can lose more weight on my mix (still including 500 mg of Seroquel XR). I must do it by watching my eating and getting exercise. I can't expect for it to just melt away with zero effort. I'm not 16 years old anymore. Most people my age must diet to lose weight, including people who barely even take a vitamin, let alone psych meds.

bphungry, I'm glad you brought up this topic. Way too often psych medications are blamed 100% for weight gain. That's dangerous, in my view. Bipolar illness must receive a lot of the blame, as well. Of course if side effects add to hunger, they must be addressed. I try to look at the big picture. If I quit my medications, I'd likely start drinking heavily again (to self medicate) and my moods would get way out of control. The combination of the right stabilizing medications, with the best side effect profile, and effective use of coping skills, makes a real difference for me. Plus effort.