September update (bad news...)

So it's September, and what's the bad news?  I gained.  Not just that I gained a little, I gained a lot.  5 kilograms.  Why so much in so little time?  My new antidepressant, that's why.  Basically, being on Mirtazapine, I think about food differently.  I had some coffee and peppermint slice for lunch, so what's wrong with eating it for dinner too?  Stuff like that. I'm currently 13 kilograms over goal weight.  That's a lot.

Like is full of learning experiences.  The truth of the matter is that I never expected to gain with my new antidepressant.  The reason for that is I've had about 7 before Mirtazapine (none of them were effective in reducing depression, by the way) and I've never had weight gain as a side effect before.  I've been gaining about one kilogram a week, that's very quick.

I've had all sorts of strange side effects with antidepressants over the years.  Excessive yawning, murderous thoughts (yes! - it's listed in the side effects of one which is why I recognised I'd had it), a flickering of my vision when I walk into a dark room, inability to have an orgasm (sadly a common side effect).  Now weight gain.

Mirtazapine also improves my sleep quality significantly, which is something new.  To say that I've had broken sleep is an understatement.  Not any more.  Not even a middle of the night trip to the bathroom.

But weight gain was unexpected.  Also I sort of (really - definitely) was in denial and didn't weigh myself for about a month.  That's never good.  But normally I'd expect to gain one kilogram in a months time, this time it was about 5 kilograms.

Most problems have solutions, and my solution is simple.  I now photograph everything that I eat.  I've been doing this for a few days so far, it's helped in diverting me from going to the supermarket and buying lots of nice but fattening foods.

I won't post the photos here, simply because I don't want to clutter the blog with a 200-300 photos of every single thing that I buy or get given.  But people do get to see the photos, which helps.

As for what I'm planning, back to basics, which means the best diet I've ever been on.  Unlimited vegetables and unlimited sardines.  I'll also have reward meals every half kilogram.

I'll leave it at that and update you all on how it's going soon.