I used to be rail thin. Skinny jeans and all. Ironically, since getting sober seven years ago, I’ve developed what might be mistaken for a beer gut. It’s not drastic, but I have definitely changed from a small to a medium shirt thanks to my potbelly. At 5’7”, I weigh 174 pounds, which is considered overweight by body-mass-index standards. It was a rude awakening when I recently had to check the box for “a little extra” on the dating site OK Cupid.
Nearly two-thirds of American adults are overweight: more than 70 percent of men and 61 percent of women. Nearly one-third are considered obese.
According to Psych Central, 35 percent of us bipolar individuals are obese, making up a larger population compared to other psychiatric conditions. That puts us at an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.
It’s a bummer that I’ve changed t-shirt size because I collect band Ts and am no longer able to wear my Foo Fighters, David Bowie, or Joy Division t-shirts. They rise up, exposing my mid-section.
And that manic suit I often refer to — the pinstripe Paul Smith I bought for $1,600 in the Great Major Manic Episode of 2008 — no longer fits, particularly the pants. I hope I don’t need to go to a wedding anytime soon, since I won’t have anything to wear.
To be honest, my diet isn’t the greatest. I subsist mainly on bananas, takeout Chinese, chocolate (a not-so-healthy cross-addiction), pasta, and pizza, and I don’t eat nearly enough vegetables. I’ve eliminated sugar from my coffee, using Splenda now instead of white granulated sugar, which I used to pile high in my coffee cup, so that’s a start. Consumption of and addiction to sugar are very real problems for me — sugary drinks being one of the unhealthiest offenders. I should cut out my daily afternoon pick-me-up of sweetened iced coffee.
As a single bachelor, it’s easy to eat whatever I want, whenever I want it. If I had a partner, I would cook for us and have a better diet. But cooking for one isn’t easy or fun for me.
In many of the bipolar Facebook groups I’m involved in, posters often bemoan the side effects of medication, particularly the mood stabilizer Seroquel and the antipsychotic Zyprexa. They deplore the weight-gain factor and increase in appetite.
Metabolism can be negatively affected because of meds like these. Hormones such as adrenaline and noradrenaline cause variations in metabolism. They also affect blood sugar levels.
I take Seroquel, which may cause me to snack more often than I would had I not been on it.
Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and have the munchies. When I’m at my worst, I order freshly baked yum-yums from Insomnia Cookies, an all-night delivery service that caters mostly to college students. The still-warm cookies arrive in a cute mini pizza box, the aroma immediately permeating my entire apartment.
This post originally appeared on the International Bipolar Foundation’s blog. Go here to read the rest of the story.
