Coming Back from Depression and Weight Gain: My Dr Oz Story
I'm depressed.
I haven't been diagnosed, mind you, with any type of clinical depression. Still, I feel so many times at varying points in the day that something just isn't quite right.
I don't feel as if I'm enjoying my life to the extent that I would like. Days seem to melt into one another in this pot of responsibilities and "tasks." Get up. Go to work. Get home. Take the kids here. Take the kids there. Do laundry. Do housework. Go to the grocery store. Make dinner. Go to bed. Get up. Do it all over again.
In this day and age practically every woman on the planet could say those words or something similar about themselves at some point in their lives. We are nurturers by nature and therefore, we can easily get caught up in taking so much care of others that we start to let go of ourselves.
We lose sleep. We don't eat right. We gain weight. We lose self esteem. We do it all over again.
In all this haze, though, I have actually found something good. I want to relate a story to you that literally changed my life.
One morning, I was feeling depressed as usual when I happened to turn on the TV to see someone talking about an exercise and diet program. Normally, I would have changed the channel and wrote it off as another in the long list of stuff that doesn't work, but for some reason, I watched. It turned out to be Dr Oz and Dr Roizen's "You on a Diet" plan. 32 lbs and a lot of self confidence later, I never looked back.
I have come to realize through this experience that we as women need to pay a lot closer attention to our diets. We tend to eat fast and eat poorly. Since I was always on the go, a couple of handfuls of chips used to be what I would call "lunch." Now I eat a veggie burger on 100 % whole wheat bread, a piece of fruit, and an ounce of raw nuts. I feel better about myself for making that choice and I have a lot more energy to boot!
As an integral part of healthy living, Dr Oz recommends staying away from 5 ingredients or what I like to call "nutritional thieves." They are: enriched wheat flour (white flour), high fructose corn syrup, sugars, saturated fats, and hydrogenated oils. Unfortunately, we are bombarded with these culprits in just about everything lining the shelves of our grocery stores. This is mostly because these ingredients allow those shelves to be lined a whole lot longer due to their staying power in the processed food business!
Finding the good stuff is an uphill battle. You have to do your homework and you have to read a lot of labels. Take it from me though; it's definitely worth the climb. Good nutrition can play a part in fighting depression and anxiety. It can also help to boost your energy levels and self esteem.
I must admit, I do "fall down the hill" from time to time. Reaching for that bag of chips is always a temptation for me. What keeps me going is that I know I will feel so much better when I close up the chips and reach for the apple.
In addition to good nutrition, there are other ways to help cope with feelings of depression and anxiety. Light therapy (light therapy products such as the Phillips Golite Blu) and homeopathic supplements (Vaxa's Deprex, for example) are good alternatives to pharmaceuticals without the risks of severe side effects. Check with your doctor before starting any therapy!
If you would like to find out more about Dr Oz and Dr Roizen's "You on a Diet" plan as well as other tips from the "You" docs go to:
http://www.realage.com/ct/shape-up-slim-down/you-on-a-diet/
For more information on other natural therapies go to:
http://www.lighttherapyessentials.com/
Resources:
"Dr Oz's Food Hall of Shame" health.msn.com
I haven't been diagnosed, mind you, with any type of clinical depression. Still, I feel so many times at varying points in the day that something just isn't quite right.
I don't feel as if I'm enjoying my life to the extent that I would like. Days seem to melt into one another in this pot of responsibilities and "tasks." Get up. Go to work. Get home. Take the kids here. Take the kids there. Do laundry. Do housework. Go to the grocery store. Make dinner. Go to bed. Get up. Do it all over again.
In this day and age practically every woman on the planet could say those words or something similar about themselves at some point in their lives. We are nurturers by nature and therefore, we can easily get caught up in taking so much care of others that we start to let go of ourselves.
We lose sleep. We don't eat right. We gain weight. We lose self esteem. We do it all over again.
In all this haze, though, I have actually found something good. I want to relate a story to you that literally changed my life.
One morning, I was feeling depressed as usual when I happened to turn on the TV to see someone talking about an exercise and diet program. Normally, I would have changed the channel and wrote it off as another in the long list of stuff that doesn't work, but for some reason, I watched. It turned out to be Dr Oz and Dr Roizen's "You on a Diet" plan. 32 lbs and a lot of self confidence later, I never looked back.
I have come to realize through this experience that we as women need to pay a lot closer attention to our diets. We tend to eat fast and eat poorly. Since I was always on the go, a couple of handfuls of chips used to be what I would call "lunch." Now I eat a veggie burger on 100 % whole wheat bread, a piece of fruit, and an ounce of raw nuts. I feel better about myself for making that choice and I have a lot more energy to boot!
As an integral part of healthy living, Dr Oz recommends staying away from 5 ingredients or what I like to call "nutritional thieves." They are: enriched wheat flour (white flour), high fructose corn syrup, sugars, saturated fats, and hydrogenated oils. Unfortunately, we are bombarded with these culprits in just about everything lining the shelves of our grocery stores. This is mostly because these ingredients allow those shelves to be lined a whole lot longer due to their staying power in the processed food business!
Finding the good stuff is an uphill battle. You have to do your homework and you have to read a lot of labels. Take it from me though; it's definitely worth the climb. Good nutrition can play a part in fighting depression and anxiety. It can also help to boost your energy levels and self esteem.
I must admit, I do "fall down the hill" from time to time. Reaching for that bag of chips is always a temptation for me. What keeps me going is that I know I will feel so much better when I close up the chips and reach for the apple.
In addition to good nutrition, there are other ways to help cope with feelings of depression and anxiety. Light therapy (light therapy products such as the Phillips Golite Blu) and homeopathic supplements (Vaxa's Deprex, for example) are good alternatives to pharmaceuticals without the risks of severe side effects. Check with your doctor before starting any therapy!
If you would like to find out more about Dr Oz and Dr Roizen's "You on a Diet" plan as well as other tips from the "You" docs go to:
http://www.realage.com/ct/shape-up-slim-down/you-on-a-diet/
For more information on other natural therapies go to:
http://www.lighttherapyessentials.com/
Resources:
"Dr Oz's Food Hall of Shame" health.msn.com
