Day 5: Talk Yourself Better (Part 1)
Ta-da! The new book cover is ready. It is like a burst of sunshine, signalling that brighter days are ahead. It should be up on Amazon in the next day or so.
And, though this is currently a diet blog, mental illness has more to do with the diet than you might think. I was always skinny until I was put on antipsychotics during my nervous breakdown, at which point I put on five stone. The leaflet for the drug, olanzapine, basically said THIS WILL MAKE YOU FAT! Then I went online and everyone on olanzapine said THIS MADE ME FAT! But I didn't have a choice, because it was either be fat or be in such excruciating mental agony that I didn't want to be alive.
I'm now on three pharmaceutical drugs, all of which are associated with significant weight gain. Thankfully I'm on very low doses of them (I was originally on 10mg of my antipsychotic, which is enough to knock out a horse. I'm now on 2.5mg, which I take at night, and it sends me off to sleep). The drugs still make me hungry - and worse, I never feel full when I'm on them. I just don't get those signals from my body, so can eat a 12-pack of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and still have room for more.
I didn't do that yesterday, though. I ate really sensibly, which I find is easier to do the hotter it is. I just don't feel like pigging out on carbs when I feel all sweaty and listless.
My restraint has paid off: today I weigh 72.1kg, so have lost 1.2kg in five days (a little off 3lbs).
Here are my Apple Watch readings for yesterday:
I hope that my weight revelations about pills don't put you off taking them if you need them. At their best, as they are for me, they are absolutely lifesaving. Sure, I'd rather not be on them - I don't know what their long-term effects will be, so I try to lead a healthy lifestyle (Krispy Kreme doughnuts aside, ahem), and the weight loss is part of me trying to be healthier as well as look better. But the fact is that I need my drugs to function - and so do millions of other people.
Talk Yourself Better, though mostly about therapy, also has a chapter on medication. It weighs up the pros and cons of taking pharmaceutical drugs, and features the stellar line-up of the amazing Stephen Fry, Guardian journalist John Crace, and consultant psychiatrist at the Maudsley, Professor David Veale. Contributors to the book's therapy chapters include the brilliant Black Mirror writer Charlie Brooker, comedian David Baddiel, journalist Dolly Alderton, magazine editor James Brown, journalist Cosmo Landesman and writer Jean Hannah Edelstein. Every contributor very generously gave their time and insights for free so that others could benefit.
I am so proud of this book, and so excited about it. I really think it's going to help a lot of people. The cover isn't up yet, but you can pre-order your copy here now.
And, though this is currently a diet blog, mental illness has more to do with the diet than you might think. I was always skinny until I was put on antipsychotics during my nervous breakdown, at which point I put on five stone. The leaflet for the drug, olanzapine, basically said THIS WILL MAKE YOU FAT! Then I went online and everyone on olanzapine said THIS MADE ME FAT! But I didn't have a choice, because it was either be fat or be in such excruciating mental agony that I didn't want to be alive.
I'm now on three pharmaceutical drugs, all of which are associated with significant weight gain. Thankfully I'm on very low doses of them (I was originally on 10mg of my antipsychotic, which is enough to knock out a horse. I'm now on 2.5mg, which I take at night, and it sends me off to sleep). The drugs still make me hungry - and worse, I never feel full when I'm on them. I just don't get those signals from my body, so can eat a 12-pack of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and still have room for more.
I didn't do that yesterday, though. I ate really sensibly, which I find is easier to do the hotter it is. I just don't feel like pigging out on carbs when I feel all sweaty and listless.
My restraint has paid off: today I weigh 72.1kg, so have lost 1.2kg in five days (a little off 3lbs).
Here are my Apple Watch readings for yesterday:
I hope that my weight revelations about pills don't put you off taking them if you need them. At their best, as they are for me, they are absolutely lifesaving. Sure, I'd rather not be on them - I don't know what their long-term effects will be, so I try to lead a healthy lifestyle (Krispy Kreme doughnuts aside, ahem), and the weight loss is part of me trying to be healthier as well as look better. But the fact is that I need my drugs to function - and so do millions of other people.
Talk Yourself Better, though mostly about therapy, also has a chapter on medication. It weighs up the pros and cons of taking pharmaceutical drugs, and features the stellar line-up of the amazing Stephen Fry, Guardian journalist John Crace, and consultant psychiatrist at the Maudsley, Professor David Veale. Contributors to the book's therapy chapters include the brilliant Black Mirror writer Charlie Brooker, comedian David Baddiel, journalist Dolly Alderton, magazine editor James Brown, journalist Cosmo Landesman and writer Jean Hannah Edelstein. Every contributor very generously gave their time and insights for free so that others could benefit.
I am so proud of this book, and so excited about it. I really think it's going to help a lot of people. The cover isn't up yet, but you can pre-order your copy here now.
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