The fat content is fairly low, but the book recommends you have two to three tablespoons of olive or canola oil a day. If you starve yourself of fats too much, especially the good fats that your body needs, you begin to feel really hungry! I'm not sure of the exact number of whole grains, but you basically eat from 10 to 12 pieces of light whole grain bread a day (not regular, 100 calorie per slice bread) in the form of sandwiches or toast for the first two weeks, and then you substitute whole grain pastas, brown rice, or other whole grain foods for the bread according to the conversions given in the book. You eat very little sugar so I've been using sugar free jam on my toast and sugar free maple syrup on my whole grain waffles and they taste great!

I'm not sure if this is allowed, but I have a website about this diet and I'll post it only because there are very few other sites out there that have info on it.

http://iheartcarbs.net - At the very least, you've got to appreciate the cute layout. It was so fun to make! :D

I'm bipolar disorder 1, rapid cycling, i have obsessive compulsive disorder, avoidant personality disorder, and I have social anxiety (what a brew eh, kinda makes people wonder how I ever got married, or even met my husband in the first place). Here is my current list of meds (I was only diagnosed roughly a year and a half ago, so it isn't very long).
1. Prozac-nada,zip,zero,squat.
2. Lexapro-have you ever met the devil? I almost decked my grandmother while I was on this stuff
3. Zoloft-OCD into overdrive, I about shot my husband when he knocked over the stack of quarters on our dresser, and my SI upped itself tremendously, I looked like a carved up holiday ham
4. Celexa- zombified
5. Currently, Effexor, and I'm cycling down from a manic episode last week (I caused a fistfight at school...whoops) to a major depressive crash this week. I have an appt to talk to my doc tomorrow, my poor husband is scared to death I'm going to hurt myself again.

So, yeah, no success so far.

pills are the pits. if there was a way i could do this without pills believe me i would. i hate the side effects. and i hate having to remember to take them but on the whole i am better with than without

brytax. rapid cycling isn't too common. i guess they have sent you to a plethora of therapists to help you manage all that stuff? i know i have been to a whole army of them. mostly i ended up fighting with them

I have Bi-Polar II and have been taking Lamictal 150mg for about three years. I did gain some weight, but it was better than the mood swings. My psychiatrist just added Wellbutrin (severe depression for about four months) and I'm at 300mg and feel pretty good. It's also helped me quit smoking.

I just recently started taking Lexapro, almost finished my initial 2 weeks, havent really felt any different besides not wanting to cry so much. I took Paxil for about 8 months a couple years ago and hated it, I felt very blah, no emotion whatsoever.

I have been on Prozac for about 7 years now. I think I'll always take them. I used to cry everyday since I was a teenager and felt suicidal from time to time. I was miserable and miserable to be around. I finally swallowed my pride and told my general practitioner about my problems with depression. She prescribed Prozac and I could not believe the difference they made in my life. I have tried to wean myself from Prozac several times because I am cheap and don't like to pay for the prescription every month. Being miserable is just not worth the savings though. I am a much better wife and mom since taking them too. The drawback to taking Prozac is that it does tend to dull some of my creative energy, but I am willing to be a little numb in exchange for some peace in my life.

losing creativity etc
 

Originally Posted by Quirky1:
I am willing to be a little numb in exchange for some peace in my life.

hmmm you see that's an issue for me... i don't like losing my creativity or feeling a little numb. i'd rather have the excitement of creativity and i miss the intense emotions:dizzy:

Originally Posted by sweet_pea:
hmmm you see that's an issue for me... i don't like losing my creativity or feeling a little numb. i'd rather have the excitement of creativity and i miss the intense emotions:dizzy:

I know what you mean. The few times I have stopped taking Prozac I have enjoyed my old quick wit and creative bursts. I will never miss the anger and despair though and I just can't put my kids through the bad times that I have without Prozac.

I wish they made an anti depressant that helps with creativity and increases libido and helps with weight loss! :dizzy:

i know!!! it would be great. mind you that's probably why people take cocaine :rofl:

i used to eat a lot of chocolate and wine to boost the creativity and libido. but i quit the wine as it's not a good plan

Originally Posted by Quirky1:
I know what you mean. The few times I have stopped taking Prozac I have enjoyed my old quick wit and creative bursts. I will never miss the anger and despair though and I just can't put my kids through the bad times that I have without Prozac.

I wish they made an anti depressant that helps with creativity and increases libido and helps with weight loss! :dizzy:

I am so with you. It really bothers me that my creativity is curbed when I'm on meds, but as you say, it's better than being angry and desperate. :yes:
While my children are young, I can't afford to go off the meds. Without them, I'm in danger of harming myself and possibly my kids. :( It's just not worth it.
Someday... after my kids have left home, I'll try going med-free.

I actually felt more like my creativity was curbed when I wasn't taking medications. I was so frustrated when I'd try to write something! When I had to write something for my creative writing class it turned into an intriguing ghost story into an emo-tastic suicide fest. Eeeep.

I've been taking this new medication now starting today that has made me feel waaaay too good. The scary thing is, the first four letters of the name (which is long and unmemorable) are "meth"!! I think the doctor said it was similar to Ridalin, and I'm taking it to help my concentration. It also has helped my energy. I feel very much revived. We'll see how it goes.

so lessthan do you have ADD?

i am a author by profession and my creativity has taken a huge nosedive. not just that my intelligence in general and comprehension etc as result of all the pills.

No, I've just had a lot of concentration issues since this all began. My doctor said a lot of people with depression/anxiety have this problem. I used to sit down for hours plugging away at homework, and now it is very difficult for me to understand difficult concepts or to write long papers.

Although, at times I really wonder, lol =P

yes i had those problems too. i am getting better at concentrating but not as good as i'd like to be that's for sure

I really hope my concentration recovers soon because I do have to graduate and college will be really tough. I'm going to be enrolled in the honors program there and I don't want to drop out of it now. I'm going to take the minimum number of credits my first semester and take just one honors class to see if I can handle it. I don't want to take a huge load and stress myself out like my brother did. I felt so proud to wear my new University of Minnesota t-shirt yesterday, too :) Whoo I'm going to college!!