I have severe bi-polar disorder that is being controlled by medication, but still get down from time to time. My only comfort is food, and has always been. I started strong working out a year ago, but went on vacation, I stopped and haven't started back yet. What ways are you fighting depression, and how do you keep yourselves motivated?

There is no "right" answer to your question ... its HARD!!! My motivation is my daughter, and my future kids. I want to be healthy so that I am able to take better care of my daughter, and have the energy to play with her after work, and do physical things with her that she likes to do. I also want more children, that I can not have right now at this weight ... . I am also scared that if I do not get healty that I will not be around for my daughter as the years pass. I also have a few vanity reasons, I wanna look good in cute clothes, I want to have more confidence, etc.
People like us are always gonna have "bad" days. Where for no reason we are just sad, or mad, or whatever. I do not know about you, but I tend to sometimes majoryly overreact with my anger. I had a really bad Friday and Saturday this week. I ended up going to sleep at about 6pm Friday and not getting up until I had to go to work Saturday morning. I was really depressed and lashing out at everyone around me. And I wanted to eat everything in sight because I felt guilty about the way I was acting but could not stop. So maybe going to sleep was not the right decision, but it worked for me. I am not suggesting shutting out the world everyday and sleeping through a major depression, but it was a temp. fix for me. When I got home from work my husband and my friend went out of their way to make me feel better, and it worked. ... I really, truly hope it gets better and easier for you!!!

pink,
I agree with sodetermined, we will have our good and bad days. I think exercise really helps. That being said once out of the routine it's hard to get back in. I haven't officially worked out in 2 weeks after being so gung ho for a while. I notice I have so much more energy and stable moods when I exercise. I too had a weird Friday (not sure I'm recovered from it). My mania is anger and boy it struck something fierce but didn't last long (which is probably due to the fact I ended up walking for 8 hours that day) now I'm sort of in the I-don't-care mood so I haven't really been taking care of me, nor anyone else.

My doctor put me on a low carb diet as well. I've also read books that recommend low carb and no caffeine. My doctor said caffeine in moderation is okay. I have swapped out most of my diet soda for flavored water. Less stimulants are better for me, less aggression and believe it or not more energy. I went from being a slug (no exaggeration) to hiking and walking and biking. Now if only I can motivate myself to start up again.

I don't work, I am not socially able to. I'm not good around people, I usually flake out somehow. I've been thinking about getting a job, but I fear they wouldn't understand the many moods of me and truly if they don't understand Bipolar they won't understand an explanation. A lot of places I'm qualified for wouldn't take out the time. So I stay focused on me and eating right and doing my best to exercise. I take the moods as they come and do my best to ride them out. But I swear they are way better with proper eating and exercise.

Good luck