How To Deal With Weight Loss and Depression
March 23, 2010 by admin
Filed under Motivation & Mindset For Weight Loss
Many people gain weight due to the most common form of mental illness: depression. According to research, one in three people would benefit from anti depressant treatment at some stage in their lives. This doesn’t necessarily mean long term but sometimes life throws us a curve ball that leaves us floundering around in the dark. Depression influences many aspects of life and weight gain can be one of the first signs of depression. Many individuals who suffer from depression will suffer from weight gain also because depression can cause them to find comfort in eating food, especially their favorite foods, which usually translates into foods that are high in fat, sodium, and sugar.
Weight loss and depression go hand in hand. Depression can also be experienced during a weight loss program. This is frequently due to their own expectations of their weight loss program. Maybe they feel that they are not losing weight as quickly as they want or perhaps it is due to them not losing the amount of weight they want to.
Losing weight requires time and a positive attitude. When trying to lose weight, you should constantly find ways to encourage yourself. Keep a weight loss journal containing your weekly weight loss achievements, changes in clothing sizes, bust, waist and hip measurments etc so you can see your progress as it happens. And when you achieve a major milestone like a drop in clothing size, treat yourself by going out and purchasing a new pair of jeans or whatever. This kind of encouragement will help you maintain a positive mental attitude to losing weight. Just because on week you lost four pounds and the next you only lost one doesn’t mean that you can’t lose the weight you want to lose. Remember that it is perfectly normal to experience weeks when you lose less weight. Look at the contestants on biggest loser, even they experience weeks like that. In particular, women experience this due to hormonal fluctuations. Men experience similar issues, though not caused by hormones. Things like stress levels, change in routine, change in diet or type of exercise. All of these can affect how much weight will be lost in any given week. Whether you lose one pound a week or seven, just be thankful for the weight loss as it brings you that much closer to your weight loss goal.
It is not really difficult to Stay positive during a weight loss program. Always remember to face one day at a time. Because that is the way time passes. You can’t regret what you didn’t do yesterday or stress about what you will do tomorrow. Just focus on your weight loss efforts for today. If you fall off the weight loss wagon one day by gorging yourself on a huge cream pie or being lazy about exercise, just resolve to try harder the following day… and do it!
Do everything you can every day to stay on your weight loss course. Be careful what you eat, exercise regularly (preferably every day but at least every second day), and always, always encourage yourself by considering the progress you have made so far.
Make every pound count. Set realistic goals for yourself and don’t try to do too much in too little time. For example, if you want to lose 100 pounds, don’t give yourself a time frame of 12 weeks to lose it… that would be more than eight pounds weight loss per week which would be almost impossible to achieve. If you set unrealistic weight loss goals and don’t achieve them, it will make you depressed, possibly even enough to give up altogether. Better to aim to lose two pounds per week, then if you lose five pounds in a week you will feel REALLY good about yourself. If necessary, set low goals initially then increase them as you find yourself able to accomplish them. The key is to focus on achievable weight loss goals that will help you maintain a positive attitude because you are seeing results.
Staying positive isn’t difficult. Focus on what you’re doing, encourage yourself with your achievements, work persistently toward your goals. In less time than you think you can be encouraging others and seeing them achieve their own weight loss goals. Remember, although weight loss and depression go hand in hand, it is possible to overcome the issue by focussing on the positives.
