I am currently thinking about trying to lose weight, because I think my health is suffering, but I am struggling with the idea that weight loss is even possible given that I suffer from depression and brain fog and am on medication associated with weight gain (an antipsychotic). I could use some encouragement/advice.
I am 44 years old, 5'6" and weigh about 226 lbs. I used to be around 145 lbs in 2006, but then I was put on an antipsychotic and it caused me to gain a lot of weight over the years. I have been trying to eat healthy - whole grains, vegetables, fruit, proteins - but I have bipolar depression and brain fog and have a hard time preparing meals (my partner has been preparing food and we get restaurant food too often). I avoid soft drinks, chips, candy, chocolate bars, that kind of thing. The heaviest I have ever been is 247 lbs. I tend to eat like crazy when in hospital with mania, so after the mania I have to deal with losing the weight, which sets me back every year or two. I have lost 15 lbs in the past year, but I gained 23 lbs in hospital before that.
I have developed a few health problems over the years and have developed new ones lately. Mostly they are musculoskeletal: food pain, butt pain, hip pain, leg weakness. The foot pain I have had since 2014, when I weighed maybe 200-205 lbs. I have not been told it is obesity-related, but it is strange and mysterious and no one seems to know what is causing it. It used to just be mostly in my heels while standing, but now when I walk it feels like the ball of my left foot is boring into the ground and the right arch is tearing. The butt pain happens when I sit, and I had it in 2016 but it went away, then it came back a few months ago. The hip pain has been the past couple months - the sides of my hips hurt while sleeping on them, and sleeping on my back is not that comfortable, so I often take painkillers. My quads are weaker than they should be - it hurts in the upper area when I get up from a chair or sit down. There is also a breathing problem when lying down that comes and goes. I have fortunately not developed diabetes or heart disease yet.
My family doctor tells me that my pain and breathing would improve if I lost weight, and he wants to put together a plan for me. He mentioned that the plan would include eating half of what I eat now, at least for stretches of time. He doesn't seem to want to entertain other reasons for me being in pain and having trouble breathing at times. He didn't even examine my hips today.
I am just not sure about all this. What if my health problems are not because of my weight? Like can obesity cause ALL THIS? What if the doctor is overlooking something? And what if eating half of my normal food makes me feel starving and sick, and unable to sleep?
I am also so foggy and depressed right now that I can hardly think about anything, much less achieve goals. I am just struggling to survive from day to day. Given my mood/brain fog/feet I am lucky if I can exercise 10-20 minutes for 3 days in a row. I can't even go for normal-length walks. Sometimes I follow YouTube bodyweight exercise videos. Often I can't get out of my chair because I am so depressed. I see a psychiatrist for bipolar disorder, but the meds are never right. I never feel like myself. I struggle to think and feel. It's hard to concentrate or care about anything. I feel quite zombified.
I am in near-constant pain. I don't even know when/how I will sleep from night to night, due to pain, and even with painkillers nothing is guaranteed. But I have this urgent feeling like I have to lose weight, that I have to go along with the doctor and give it a shot to the best of my ability.
What do you guys think? Has anyone here had such severe health problems simply due to being obese, or is it likely the doctor is missing something? He makes it seem like losing weight is a matter of small achievable goals, but what do you do when it feels like you can't achieve anything because of depression or brain fog? And does "eat half" really work, or will it set me up for a yo-yo in the future? If I restrict my calories can I expect to lose weight, even on an antipsychotic which causes weight gain?
I would appreciate any thoughts you might have.
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