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Whatsup guys?
Here’s the deal. I’m 19 years old. Been following Matt’s advice since July 2013, almost 6 months now. Went from 155 lbs at 5’8″ to 210 lbs. Still not feeling so great (fatigue, soreness, acne), but definitely doing a lot better than I was 6 months ago!
My pops is vegetarian for the most part. My mom is an ex bodybuilder. Throughout my whole life it was drilled into me that “you are what you eat.” I never ate enough food growing up and I tried all kinds of diets. By the time I was 18 I was miserable. I postponed going to college because I felt so bad (Depression, fatigue, terrible cystic acne, horrible sleep, fat-skinny, etc). I pretty much looked and felt like total shit.
Here’s my question: My folks think this whole metabolism thing is ludicrous, especially my pops. They don’t see any way that the weight I’ve gained could be a good thing. It seems like they think I’m making this whole thing up as an excuse just to eat normal food. They think I should go back to eating a vegetarian diet and start taking antidepressants.
They want some kind of a diagnosis from a doctor to support the info I’ve given them (Eat for Heat and Diet Recovery were not enough for them). I really want to get that for them if I could because I am still financially dependent on them and I fear that they will eventually threaten to kick me out if I do not take their advice. And before you ask, I’ve attempted 5 jobs this year and could not go longer than a week at any without having a total breakdown. So are there any kinds of doctors out there that I could work with?
Thanks for reading, Any advice is appreciated. Happy new year!
Hey mmmfood,
Sorry for your struggles, it’s very difficult when family doesn’t support you.As for a doc, there is Dr Garrett Smith (drgarrettsmith.com). He is an ND (naturopath), as opposed to an MD, but that might be sufficient for your parents… The reason I recommend Dr Smith is because he and Matt recently wrote a book together so he’ll definitely be in line with Matt’s philosophy. He’s in Arizona, but he does distance consultations via Skype. If money is an issue, you might just show your parents the book he wrote with Matt to show a doc supports these ideas.
If you want someone local, a naturopath (ND) might be a bit more likely to be open to Matt’s ideas. Or you could also look for an MD that practices functional medicine (when doing a search you might also type in the terms holistic or integrative).
Not exactly sure what kind of diagnosis your parents are looking for and from what type of doc (psychiatrist? Endocrinologist?). A traditional MD likely is not going to tell you to Eat For Heat unless you’re anorexic.
You can also point out to your parents that you ate their way for years and clearly their way of eating was not sufficient because you were still sick. Do your parents know that even though you aren’t completely “cured,” that you do feel better than you did 6 months ago? Have you been taking your temperature periodically- an increase I’m temp could provide some evidence for you.
Also, there was another person posting about difficulties with her parents- her mom did not approve of her weight (and I think threatened to kick her out if she didn’t lose weight). I know a lot of people responded with comments/suggestions, but I think that post was on Matt’s blog as opposed to the forum. The blog is now taken down- but you might ask rob (Matt’s assistant) if he still has the post with the comments for you to check out.
Good luck! Hope some of this was helpful, or at least gets the ball rolling.
Anna, thanks so much for the response. I was feeling so down until I read your message.
My parents are really rigid people. Cut and dry I guess. They love labels. If there is a diagnosis or title for what is going on, they accept it, no research necessary. If I give them books full of info, but there is no diagnosis by an MD, they think it’s all made up crap to sell books. Makes no sense. I do my best accept them these days no matter how unbelievable it gets, it only makes things worse if we argue all the time. All I want is to be healthy so I could manage to go to school or get a job and leave the small city I live in for some more open minded folks. All in time I guess.I’ll email Rob about that.
Thanks again
I suggest a way to get independent. With what you posted I can maybe ask if you have a mood disorder. I have Bipolar and once I was on the right stuff I can hold a job. Try not to take your parents attitude so serious. It is what it is. If you accept it disappears if you resist it persists. My 2 cents.
Glad I was able to help a bit. Because you are working to become independent and move out, and because you say you are experiencing depression regularly, it might be helpful to talk to a psychiatrist of therapist (you can find one with mainstream credentials so your parents will approve). Even though the therapist probably won’t know about Matt’s approach and Eating for Heat, it could be very helpful for you to have someone to talk to regularly and give you some insight or suggestions on becoming independent and moving out.
Hey guys,
I’ve been going to therapy for a couple of years now. I started seeing someone new a few weeks ago who specializes in Somatic Experiencing Therapy and healing developmental trauma. I didn’t have much luck in the past, but I have a really good feeling about this new therapist. I was planning on asking her about medication next week, as well as give her the run down on my history with dieting, etc.
I like your take on things Brainacid. Acceptance is key.
I know that a lot of things that happened to me when I was younger and even more recently contributed to my depression, anxiety, etc and I’m working on that. But I’m also wondering how much low metabolism and dieting could contribute to a person’s depression or mood disorders? What do you guys think?
I guarantee that poor physical health contributes to depression and mood disorders. It can go the other way too, which can create a nasty cycle.
I already posted something to this effect in another thread where you posted, but I’ll say it again. You might want to consider an exercise program, which in addition to helping with your physical health might boost your confidence and help you become independent. Do you currently exercise? If so, what do you do and how long and how often?
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