Ever since I've started this diet I have noticed I've been really depressed and I can't seem to shake it. Has anyone else experienced this? It's gotten to the point where I am like either go off and be happy or keep on it and continue to be depressed and I really don't like feeling this way.

Sorry to hear about the trouble you are having. How long have you been on the program? I had a few rough weeks in the beginning. It helped me to find out that fat stores hormones, so when you start to burn off the fat those hormones are released causing a wave of different emotions. My mood has been good for the last month at least (i've been on IP for 2 months as of yesterday). Make sure you keep an eye on it, maybe try recording your moods each day to make sure that you are seeing an improvement? IP is amazing, but losing weight this quickly is bound to have some side effects, only you know if it is worth it or not.
PS, yesterday I had all this great stuff going on and although I wasn't unhappy, I was kinda "blah" and weepy, for me this usually means I am having a good weight loss...I WI this morning and lost 3lbs...which seems to be the threshold for when my mood is effected. Sorry for blabbering on, hope you find something in what I said helpful. This forum is great for supporting people, I've really found it helpful.

It may be related to the extra hormones running through your system - women store estrogen in their fat cells, so when you drop weight quickly it rushes your system. That's why we can get very moody on the diet or experience wonky TOM, and why it's EXTRA important to use protection in addition to the pill for birth control while you're on the diet. You should talk to your doctor about it, there may be other things going on that need to be treated or addressed - but that's one possible cause.

You are not alone! For me, I know "the blues" I felt during the beginning of this diet were due to a couple things - hormones in fat, AND (very important to recognize), many of us are "emotional eaters" - I used to stuff down my negative emotions & "numb myself out" with carbs...crackers, potatoes, nachos.... When I stopped self-sedating with food, it was challenging to actually experience all the negative emotions (fear, anger, boredom, loneliness...you name it). Have you ever thought of keeping a journal? I have found it very helpful. The other thing that helped me was being able to talk about the negative feelings with good friends, my coach, my spouse. It helps to find something to replace the food...a yoga class, crafts (my choices - find what works for you) - just keep your chin up, treat yourself gently & with the love & respect you deserve. I described it to my husband as feeling "fragile" - like I was wearing all my emotions on the surface of my skin. *Hugs*

I have been on the IP for 1 week. Feeling great! went for my weigh in yesterday and was down 2lbs. My waist down 4cm. I thought for sure it numbers would be better than 2 stinky lbs. I went through a huge adjustment over this first week of what I call SHOCK and never cheated once. I suffered a migraine, vomitting which passed after 1 day. I really felt great.

I don`t know if my mood is related to my disappointment with the scale numbers or what but I can not beleive what I have turned into. I am ready to physically kick somebodies butt! it is horrible!

If I know there will be an end in sight and this is normal until my body adjusts to the diet, fine. BUT if I will be feeling like this all the time, I just can`t do it.

Is there a way to cope or add something into the diet to take `the edge off`

Boy, this is SO true, and one of the biggest challenges I'm trying to keep in mind as I go through this process, because I DO NOT want to revert to those habits when I move to Maintenance! I've spent my life stuffing emotions with food, and it's painful to actually face some of those feelings. I think there's also an element of grief - Like all that junk food used to be my best friend, my reliable companion, and now that's gone. Sick as it sounds, somedays I miss curling up on the sofa with Ben & Jerry and making the world go away

I felt depressed for about the first month on IP, for the reasons listed by the others (no emotional eating now, and hormones) this diet took away my coping mechanisms for dealing with stress and on top of it made me more emotional. I began taking the Omega 3 (just one of the horse pills not the 3 daily as recommended) which I had heard could help with mood (may just be a placebo effect though) and I did "come out of it". I think beginning to see the weight loss for myself helped to. What I had to realize was that for me this was a HUGE life change where I was not only going to lose weight but have to relearn ways to cope with stress and life in general as my ways before helped but were not that healthy. Hope this helps you at all. You are not alone and like the rest of us you will get through it but on your own time and your own way. Only we know what is best for ourselves.

I can totally relate. My first week was all kinds of misery believe me!! I really suffered - I was quasi vegetarian and suddendly had all this meat I had to consume, I never cooked and suddenly had to cope with that as well (I know only once a day, but for me that was a lot), and I stuck to the program religiously and lost 1.5!! I was DEVASTATED. I was asking all the same questions you are. I almost cried on the way home in the car asking why I put myself through all that misery for that!!

But I persevered, got used to cooking, found some easy recipes that I really liked, and the second week I had a 4 pound loss which was phenomenal for me.

So hang in there, for some bizarre reason, some of us don't see the big drop in Week 1. My measurements didn't move either.

Thanks for all the responses and words of encouragement. I am hoping that in time it will get better and keep reassuring myself that it will be worth it in the end. I am glad I am not alone in this though as these mood swings were making me feel crazy lol.

carbs also increase the production of serotonin, so the lack of carbs could explain a bit of depression as your body gets used to the diet

i take meds for my depression, and i promise it gets easier and your mood will lift

For all the folks struggling with the emotions accompanying weight loss, I bumped a thread from earlier this Fall, "Emotional Impact of Weight Loss" - check it out!

*Honestly, I am not usually this active on 3FC, but has been one of my larger hurdles...

sugar... this is something I posted back in July on the "Emotional Aspects" thread... hope it helps.

"Oddly enough...family & friends do have to get used to the changes in US when we change our approach to how we take care of ourselves. One of the very big changes in me is how many emotions I exhibit. I used to use food to "stuff down" anger, sorrow, frustration - without food as a crutch, they all come bubbling up to the surface - and I have begun letting them! As a result, my husband and my 12-year old have probably seen me express more emotion in the past 7 moths than in the years preceding my self-care journey!

As I lose weight, I am actually "controlling" my emotions less - I am trying to express them and process though them more. If I take them out of my "dark hole of a head" and pull them into the sunlight - unwrap them, reflect on them & get to know them- I can change the way I think about them. If I fear them, run & hide from them, eat to "banish" them...I am going to end up where I was. I was raised NOT to exhibit "negative" emotions, with messages that I was "faking it" when I cried, and that guilt was preferable to expressing anger - guess what, as a 42 year old woman, I have decided - THAT'S BULL****! I would rather externalize my feelings than internalize thousands of calories to try to suppress them."

@GEMIAM - i SO AGREE! everyone trying to lose weight has emotional eating issues, or at least everyone I've ever met. I have not experienced too many downs since the first week of IP and that was the adjustment, shock and awe to my body.
My biggest issue has been insomnia. I moved the protein to the lunch time to see what happens and to see if I can sleep better tonight. Have a weigh in tomorrow and Im excited and anxious all at the same time.
THis lifestyle change brings such a wide range of emotions!

Oh I'm letting my emotions out alright! I just feel like a crazy person with NO filter on my mouth. Things are flying out and then I feel bad for saying it the way I did. A work in progress I suppose. Yesterday I had a rather ugly spat with a family member and in hind sight I probably could have phrased some things differently but I am not backing down from my point.

@ GemIAm thank you so much for that. It is exactly what has been going on with me. Very, very insightful! I really feel like I did use food to curb my emotions. Hopefully, I can learn to try to deal with all these new found emotions in a better way.

@Ontchick88 I also am feeling like a crazy person w/ no filter. I feel like a big bully sometimes taking my emotions out on people who don't deserve it. But, like you said this is a work in progress.