I am always ready to drop around ten pounds when I start, it is not stressful and I don't put myself on a deadline.  I don't use any diet pills or aids, mainly just stop eating as much.  After a few weeks, I will start to loose 1 or 2 pounds per week.  Then  I am almost close to my goal weight thats when I start getting manic.  Can't figure it out.

If your mania is not a response to the positive feelings and possible energy increase due to losing weight, then you might consider seeing a doctor about this issue and the possible causes.  Otherwise it might be a psychological trigger due to your feeling about losing the weight.

You might also consider if the medications you are on are contributing to your weight gain and if there are alternatives to them that do not result in weight gain or have less of a side effect.  You may also question whether your medication is sufficient to prevent your mood swing and needs to be changed or adjusted.

There is no reason for you to always be overweight.

You may be right about the medication aspect.  For 25 years, I've taken lithium and it works well for me, but I know gaining weight is a side-effect.  I changed to depakote a few years back,lost 10 pounds or so, but then mania struck again.  So now I'm back on 600 mgs. Lithium.  Thats all I have to take since my stress level is way down since I moved out on my own again.  I know theres a new mood stabilizer on the market thats susposed to help with weight gain, but I'm leary of anything new because of what happened with the Depakote.  Let me know if you have info on this new drug.  Thank you for helping me out.  CM 

I have found that when I lost weight, it seemed to go hand in hand with a manic episode . . . but only if I lost a lot in a short period of time.  A little bit at a time may be better!  It's hard.