starpirate555 Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 what is the best diet for lithium? low carb low fat low calorie drinking water all day small, frequent meals ketogenic diet atkins diet pritikin diet scarsdale diet raw food diet low sodium diabetic diet low glycemic index diet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netsavy006 Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 I don't follow a special diet on Lithium and I do just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpladybug Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 Your normal diet, but drink a lot of water. That's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarie Posted August 10, 2010 Share Posted August 10, 2010 Are you trying to loose weight? If so, the diet that's always worked for you in the past is apt to work best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6un6silent6 Posted August 15, 2010 Share Posted August 15, 2010 Your normal diet, but drink a lot of water. That's all. Good advice, but a lot of us never really had a normal diet. I've went from 175 to 186 in two months partially from water-retention/gain and I think also I've increased my consumption of salty/fatty/sugary foods. I'm doing my best to eat small regular meals, cut out the junk food, and keep the water intake high. I'm concerned that my weight gain will increase but I'm not willing to stop my medication because of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domovoi Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 normal diet i would say... just drink healthy amounts of water and salt intake.. actually you listed atkins there but atkins results in muscle wasting... just for heads-up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpladybug Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 Your normal diet, but drink a lot of water. That's all. Good advice, but a lot of us never really had a normal diet. I've went from 175 to 186 in two months partially from water-retention/gain and I think also I've increased my consumption of salty/fatty/sugary foods. I'm doing my best to eat small regular meals, cut out the junk food, and keep the water intake high. I'm concerned that my weight gain will increase but I'm not willing to stop my medication because of it. Well that sounds good. I try, (but sometimes fail) to eat protein, vegies, and fruit. Keep the carbs to a minimum. That prevents weight gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6un6silent6 Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 I'll try the high protein/low carb thing as well. As it stands I'm gaining about 2-3lbs/week and I'm starting to be miserable from it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BPCharlotte Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 I find it doesn't matter much what I eat as long as it is enough in terms of carbs to stop me feeling sick. A full meal is good just before taking it, or I get stomach problems. In terms of weight gain, I compensate by eating less during the day and eating a good meal before taking my lith. It's not easy, cos I'm a food junkie, but I hate being fat and refuse to put on weight. If it means only eating one meal a day to take my meds with, I will. So I'm not the best person to offer advice, but hey, that's how it is for me. I may not be the best person to advise you, but I figure you want advice from real people, not just what the docs would say, right? All the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6un6silent6 Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 I find it doesn't matter much what I eat as long as it is enough in terms of carbs to stop me feeling sick. A full meal is good just before taking it, or I get stomach problems. In terms of weight gain, I compensate by eating less during the day and eating a good meal before taking my lith. It's not easy, cos I'm a food junkie, but I hate being fat and refuse to put on weight. If it means only eating one meal a day to take my meds with, I will. So I'm not the best person to offer advice, but hey, that's how it is for me. I may not be the best person to advise you, but I figure you want advice from real people, not just what the docs would say, right? All the best The problem I have with eating one time a day (which I did to drop from 205 to 174 in 4 months) is that if I don't eat I'm super shaky and feel dizzy/anxious. Once I eat I feel better. I'm still on the upslope of weight gain it seems (going from 174 to 185 in 2 months time after my 600->900mg increase). A lot of that is water weight but I've noticed huge increases in cravings for junk food/sugars/etc. I exercise about an hour a day (cardio/weights) but I still seem to have a hard time from staving off the gain. I may switch to eating 3-4 small meals a day (even protein shakes or bars just to keep my body happy). As much as I like the fact I'm stabilizing the weight gain sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisy Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 I don't know about Lithium, but if you are trying to lose weight, I always recommend Weight Watchers to people. It's a healthy program; it's not a diet, but a lifestyle change. I lost 30 pounds on WW and have kept it off for 3 years. In fact, I actually lost more during that period of time without trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 The problem I have with eating one time a day (which I did to drop from 205 to 174 in 4 months) is that if I don't eat I'm super shaky and feel dizzy/anxious. Once I eat I feel better. [...] I may switch to eating 3-4 small meals a day (even protein shakes or bars just to keep my body happy). As much as I like the fact I'm stabilizing the weight gain sucks. Eating once a day (or for some people more than once but still too many hours apart) can have that problem. I definitely feel like crap and can't think as well if I don't spread my food out enough through the day. I am all in favor of smaller meals but more of them and/or snacks. Another thing is that it's generally worse for losing weight and being able to maintain it. It's similar to the problems with losing weight by drastically over-restricting your caloric intake, where your body ends up going into starvation mode and burns fewer calories. If you eat the same total amount as that one large meal but spread it out more, it keeps your metabolism going better. You don't have to eat a ton or anything, just enough to keep your body working properly, and yeah, protein is rather good for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laume Posted August 24, 2010 Share Posted August 24, 2010 Here's one for you... Food has been making me really sick. The idea of cooking meat is barf-tastic, and eating most foods seems like a huge chore - except for fruit and veggies. I was slightly food-obsessed before (I would get all anxious if I knew there was no crap food in the house) and was a major emotional eater. Is it possibly that with the Li, I am thinking more clearly and those old needs are gone and my body is trying to eat a bit of its own energy for awhile? Or is it a side-effect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BPCharlotte Posted August 26, 2010 Share Posted August 26, 2010 I don't necessarily WANT to eat, but have to if I want to take the meds without MAJOR stomach upsets. It sucks. Sometimes, I admit, I don't take the Lith cos I already feel sick. Not ideal, but I know I don't want to feel worse so I don't. What it does to my blood levels, I don't know, but I have this every 3-4 weeks where I just can't contemplate taking it cos I feel so crappy already. I am scared to stop taking it altogether, cos I feel it has done me a world of good relatively speaking. I don't think I'm doing the right thing with playing around with the doses. But until I see my psych doc, I'm kinda stuck with it. And there lies a whole new problem, cos my docs so far have been so reluctant to prescribe ANY meds unless they have to, and I know I need something more than anti-depressants, so it's a leap of faith to tell them I can't tolerate Lith long-term. I am open to trying new meds, new treatments, new therapy, if only they would offer them to me. For those of you who don't know me, I'm in the UK on the National Health. If only it was so easy to have faith in the system. I know I should feel lucky that I don't have to pay for healthcare, but so far all it has meant over the last 7 years is a total lack of choice or options to find a doc who truly listens. I guess you get what you pay for, and in my case, that's very little. Pity party over! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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