About a month and a half ago, I went to my doctor to find out why I was tired. Not a physical kind of tired, more like I am tired in the head. He happened to have a female med student do a triage of sorts. By the time he came into the room, I had started telling her about the violence in my block that had recently occurred. The shooting was someone I went to elementary school with and who was basically an OK guy.  He was killed a few doors from his aunt’s house, which is across the street from me, and I heard all four shots that took his life.  The thought still haunts me occasionally.

Then we looked up the last time I seemed to be depressed enough to be on medication, and it was after Hurricane Katrina 2 years ago.  So now I am back on a nice antidepressant, and life is much smoother now. I’m staying on top of things, rejecting negative activities as much as I can, and feeling more positive about the world. Last week, I went back to my doctor for a checkup and we reviewed how I was doing. One question begged to be asked, “My appetite is almost gone. Is it the meds?” He doubted it. So another question begged to be asked, “Do you drink coffee?” Now, I am going to freak out. He told me to gradually change to decaf, half and half for a while and then all decaf. Doing it cold turkey would not be a good idea.

Then he told me to get on a 2200 calorie diet. I asked if I should schedule this just to make sure I do eat. He told me I could eat four Big Macs in one sitting if I wanted to, but he didn’t recommend it. Okay. This seems easy. Plus, he said, eating fat free is more expensive than eating all the fat that I want. If you don’t mind glancing at the labels when you shop, getting what you need to gain weight is easy.

So now I have find a calorie calculator so I can look up foods that I like and will give the most of what I need. The whole point is to stop trying to gain weight, but actually putting on the pounds.

I know this sounds a major conflict because I am on an antidepressant and have to gain weight. How’s that going to happen? The easy answer is that depression takes you to extremes… lows or highs. Mine were lows. So the antidepressant lifts you up just enough to function and engage in the world again. When the antidepressant is doing its job, you know it because everything feels right. You can think again. It is not a high, just a leveling off and clearing away the cobwebs mentally.

If you are in the same boat, so to speak, and are looking for help in gaining weight, I’m with you. To start, I have found a great online calorie calculator at The Calorie Counter. They have all different types of foods and even how you cook it. I didn’t know that chicken filet sandwich with cheese is a whopping 632 calories. KFC chicken 494 calories. Eating cooked frozen beef patties is more caloric than ground beef fried in a pan. This past weekend I went through every Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, and Women’s Day magazine in my house and clipped high calorie recipes. You would be surprised at some of those.

Do you have any helpful advice to share on gaining weight?