Weigh-In Day and the Weekend From Hell

Hey all, sorry I've been slacking on my posts this weekend. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it on the blog yet, but I've decided to get off my antidepressants. I've got several reasons for this decision. A couple of the lesser contributing factors are that some of the research I've done has indicated that this particular medication can contribute to weight gain, and that I'm really trying to reduce the number of chemicals I'm ingesting. The reason that really triggered it, though, is that I have a friend who has been on the same medication that I've been taking, which is Effexor. She's being switched to a different combination of meds, and the withdrawals she's been going through have been horrible. She's been on it considerably longer than I have, and I want to get off of it now, before my system becomes that dependent on it. I've been on one antidepressant or another for the last six years, but this one seems to be by far the worst as far as dependency and withdrawal.

Anyway, I began tapering down off of it last week, and I took my last half-pill on Saturday. And thus began the weekend from hell, which seems to have not noticed that it should be over, since it's now Monday and I still feel awful. Saturday I got to enjoy a screaming headache most of the day in addition to the dizziness, nausea, irritability, exhaustion, and inability to think that I've had all weekend and still have. Anything that makes you feel like this when you stop taking it isn't something I think I want to be putting into my body in the first place.

Feeling the way I have been for the last couple of days hasn't led to a great eating or exercise schedule either. I haven't gone over on my carbs or anything, but it's been a little weird. I missed my afternoon walk on Saturday, which means I've missed my goal for October as well. Anyway, meals for the weekend...

Friday
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 pieces bacon - 1.55g
Lunch: Salad - 8.42g
Snack: 1 oz almonds - 2g
Dinner: Chicken with Red Wine Sauce, 1 1/3 cups frozen green beans - 12.97g
Dessert: None
Sodium: 2478mg
Veggies: 9g
Total: 24.94g

Saturday
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 pieces bacon - 1.55g
Lunch: None
Snack: None
Dinner: 8 oz sausage, 1 cup sauerkraut - 20g
Dessert: None
Sodium: 4437mg
Veggies: 8g
Total: 21.55g

Sunday
Breakfast: 1 egg, scrambled, 3 pieces bacon - 1.55g
Lunch: None
Snack: None
Dinner: 8 oz sausage, 1 cup sauerkraut - 20g
Dessert: None
Sodium: 4437mg
Veggies: 8g
Total: 21.55g

So although I haven't gone over my 25g daily, I also haven't exactly been sticking to schedule or eating healthily. Frankly, I'm just proud that I've eaten something and that I haven't fallen off my program. This morning's weigh-in showed a 3 lb. loss, so although the 5 carb increase I've been on this week hasn't resulted in more loss, it hasn't really resulted in less either. I'm a little disappointed that going off my meds doesn't seem to have resulted in additional loss, though.