I'm a psychiatric nurse. If you are 10mg Lexapro, you will probably be ok and not have too much discontinuation syndrome (it's rare that I have seen it with Lexapro, but some people do feel rotten), but be careful if you are on 20mg and definitely take michelem's advice and maybe drop to 10mg and then off. (having said that....you should always talk to your Dr. when stopping any meds....sorry...nurse in me)

My recommendation would be to not stop it until you have been involved in some type of talk therapy or have some other support group or coping skills in place. Most psychiatrists are going to prescribe meds rather than doing therapy so maybe get some recommendations of really good therapists in your area and let them know you want off meds due to weight gain. Some psychiatrists are good therapists, but in my experience.....just tend to write meds.

I don't know a lot about diets or recipes for depression....sorry but a holistic approach to therapy would look at spiritual, biological, physical, emotional, environmental issues and such.... so maybe when looking for a therapist, look for someone who does "multi-modal" approach to therapy instead of someone who maybe has a psycho-analytical approach (Freud).