[Tucson]

Some here have said that diet along with exersize and good coping skills can help a great deal. The part I cannot figure out is how diet can impact my BP.

I am ready to change my diet. I purchased a fruit and vegetable juicer. I am thinking of making only one meal a day with chicken or fish and no red meat. I have started to take a multivitamin.

The problem I am having is med induced weight gain and a lack of energy. I am thinking that a good change in diet may help this.

Any thoughts?

PS: Some of the vegetable juice cocktails smell and taste something like rotting flesh. LOL

[jelly-bean]

Many of the meds we take can cause weight gain. I am sure that a change in diet will help with the problem and the exercise is a great idea too. I think, that rather than one big meal a day you should try several small meals and/or snacks during the day. That way you don't get the humgry feeling that makes you eat too much.

[hamster-bamster]

I would return the juicer to the store. And red meat provides iron pretty much like nothing else (oysters provide more, but... you get the point - among common foods, red meat provides most iron and iron in red meat is bioavailable, unlike iron is leafy greens etc). So if you have a lack of energy, which, among many other factors, can be caused by iron deficiency type of anemia, then avoiding red meat is counter-indicated for you.

What you need to do is make a list of foods that you ENJOY. From that list, choose the foods or food combinations that provide your body with lasting energy. Then, see which of those foods/meals you would enjoy eating at breakfast time. And tackle breakfast, as the most important meal of your day, first. Do not plan to do a complete overhaul of the diet - not only it the task daunting (so you are likely to fail and feel bad about yourself and then more depressed, defeating the purpose of this undertaking), but most likely it is unnecessary.

So focus on eating a good healthy breakfast first, and come up with several doable options so that you can rotate through them to get variety.

E.g. steel cut oatmeal with some maple syrup and a whole fruit each morning, varying the fruit, would do the trick. If you feel better after eating protein, alternate omelettes and steel cut oats as your breakfast choices. Oatmeal can be eaten with dried berries, dried fruit, a bit of applesauce. You can have an omelette on Tue and sunny side up eggs on Thu, and you finely can chop chives to sprinkle on your eggs, for extra vitamins and aesthetic appeal.

Moving from processed breakfast cereals and even quick oats (also highly processed) to steel cut oats is a huge step in the right direction. So I would start there, literally from the beginning (breakfast being the beginning of the day).

[~Christina]

Avoid carbs and sugar....Eating carbs depress the hell outta me.

I eat a high fat, moderate protien and low carbohydrate diet and it has helped me. Mood changes went from daily to every other week.

[nicole84]

I also have an ED along with bipolar - I don't actually know which one is worse or *feeds* the other to an extent. So my diet is completely whack. I am trying to eat more 'healthy' foods though and at least get some nutrients.

As Christina said above with carbs and sugar - they make me depressed as all hell. But it could be the ED there too.

Exercise definitely can help mood, when you have the motivation to do so. As we all know, this can be nearly impossible sometimes. Sorry I'm not much help..

[hamster-bamster]

Do you live alone or with family or with roommates?

the reason I am asking - if you live in a household of many people, there is a pretty good strategy of buying fruit from Costco weekly, every week a new fruit. For a one person household, it is not working (I tried) because there is too much fruit and it would rot, but I know people who use that strategy in a two person household (married couples) and it works really well for them. You get the variety of nutrients and eating experiences, and, importantly, the process is streamlined - you go to the store once a week, get the fruit, eat it during the week, and then go again

[Crazy Hitch]

Hi there Tucson

I don't have too much to add.

But I'm pretty sure in the long run it must play some role.

I saw a nutritionist around 3 years ago.

I followed a very different eating plan.

It made an incredible difference to not only my overall well being but my general mood too.

Good luck moving forward with this.

[Standup2me]

Coffee - cut out coffee.
I cut it out 10 months ago, and I feel so much better for it

[Standup2me]

Originally Posted by Hooligan

Hi there Tucson

I don't have too much to add.

But I'm pretty sure in the long run it must play some role.

I saw a nutritionist around 3 years ago.
I followed a very different eating plan.

It made an incredible difference to not only my overall well being but my general mood too.

Good luck moving forward with this.

Did you find a nutritionist who understands the needs of a bp person?
Where there certain criteria that you looked for when finding one?