Anxiety and Weight Loss

Chelsea_Laura

Anyone trying to lose weight while struggling with anxiety? It feels like two battles inter-connected. Anyone have insights or stories?

buzzerj

Hey I can appreciate people having anxiety. Sometimes unfortunately people have to live with their brains. And sometimes people's brains work overtime. I'm not a psychologist so I should shut up and accept you have some real issues you are struggling with. You've actually most likely have got a good head on your shoulders. Now use it. The mental, psychological, guilt elements of a weight loss journey are sometimes profound so your attitude is really everything. What I'd say is relax, as best you can. Attack this counterintuitively. Make this not a failure. Make this your life going forward. If you can't stick with a diet then don't. Make the diet stick with you. Who's in control anyway? Don't expect the diet to force you into something you really don't want to do. Not going to happen. What really needs adjusting here, your dietary intake or your attitude? Right, its your attitude. You want to slim down. So let me tell you a secret. You can actually do this! How? Try by working at it seriously. It isn't going to be easy, you've got bad habits resulting from stress, contributed to by your anxiety no doubt. But you know what? The information and feedback you get from this MFP app will help you guide your progress. Stop tracking your intake and exercise at your own peril. Become a cereal success, rather than a fat burger muncher. It isn't really rocket science here. If you reduce or replace fat in the diet (1 gram fat = 9 calories) and maintain a given level of exercise (move around) then you will lose weight. Want another secret answer? Lose weight s l o w l y. Nobody is sticking a gun to your head saying you need to lose 20 lbs. in 30 days. So relax and program your weight loss to a gradual pace say 0.5 lbs per week. The key is not to lose weight fast because then you when you convince yourself you've been a success and quit, you will be apt to gain it right back fast. Lose weight slowly so you get used to lower calorie intakes. Make this a permanent lifestyle change, not a crash diet. If it's a permanent lifestyle change, then it's really no longer a diet. It's what you live by. Don't address your weight first. Address the bad habits you fell into. Your weight might start to correct itself. Realize that we are surrounded in this modern world with bad dietary choices. Fast food = fat foods. There are smart choices and smarter choices. Learn what the bad choices are (by calling them up in this app and looking at the fat and calories) and decide what your choice will be. I've lost weight this past year. I'm out of the obese range and now I'm in the normal weight range. And you know what? I'm eating the same volume of food as before. It's just better foods for me. I've substituted and have changed what I eat to what's good for me. I haven't sacrificed taste or quantity and I haven't had to increase my exercise levels at all. There is such a thing as healthy eating. Become interested in habits that are good for you and focus on them. It's not that you shouldn't have habits, it just to substitute good for bad. Hey, it's your life. You're a smart girl. Why not you beat the failed weight starting now? I just want to tell you it can be done. It can be done by you. Will diet contributed disease or degeneration of a once healthy body be in your future? I hope not. it certainly doesn't have to be. People look at me now and ask me if I've been sick. And it's the best laugh I have when they say that. I say no, I've got well. Your mind is your greatest enemy at times, make it your #1 ally. Adjust the attitude and get to it. There can be a better future. It's just your choice. I can't will it on anybody. I made that choice. It's worked for me. I feel good, I got a new wardrobe out of the deal, I have more energy and my heart has a dramatically reduce workload. I didn't need the weight and I convinced it that it didn't need me either. I got convinced that I didn't need diabetes either. I took charge and found out it didn't need me. Time is not your enemy, time is your goal, good health is your goal. You've already realized you don't need your weight and that you'd like to really wear smaller sized clothes. So go buy something two sizes too small and make it your goal to fit into it in a year or maybe less. Time is on your side. MyFitnessPal could be your best friend, it was mine. I basically lost all my weight in the first 6 months but I still track today. Because hey, it's my life now. Give it a shot and make it yours. There is no way I'm going to bet you can't do it. I don't like to lose money. You go for it. You know what, maybe by having success at reducing your weight will give you a positive reinforcement that will reduce anxiety. It just might. All the best.

friedasofia

hi! i haven't logged my food for a couple weeks. the doctoring for my knee is just ongoing with no resolve and that together with the 'normal' stresses of things my grown children are going thru, as well as other family and last but not least.......work and the stressers that it brings...........omg! talk about anxiety?! probably some, no! for sure, some depression too. i've so felt like throwing in the towel these last days. it's like, ok, it's my turn to get a break here. i hate feeling misunderstood, unappreciated and i've always been way too emotional. wrap all that up and it really makes me feel so NOT motivated. worry?! yea, all the time. even though i know it may be something i have no control of. really, if people would just do the right thing! then you watch the news and things like Nancy Grace and the recaps and salutes to heroes and survivors of 9/11. sorry - i feel like i'm not even making sense. just rambling. but hey - that's what friends are for, right? friends, we gotta take ONE DAY AT A TIME. it's more than plenty. find something to be thankful for, share something with someone who is less fortunate that you or just needs a little sun in their day. so, on wednesday this week, i got on the scale (i normally do it every friday). in the last 2 weeks, i've lost 12 lbs! on the up side, hey it's 12 lbs, but on the down side...........it's a heck of a way to lose. i couldn't do that on a regular basis. tired of pouting and feeling sorry for myself. gotta get up, brush off and keep going. we gotta do this for ourselves. find our strength - we all have it. i have 2 grand children and they are such a blessing! i'm so glad it's the weekend. no work, a chance to regroup, have small family get-together/lunch on sunday and just enjoy the early Fall weather. i welcome a conversation and hope in some little way..........those of you who are really struggling and reaching our for support........well, i hope i can give you a little. take care my MFP friends :-)

WannabeStressFree

I can relate! I realized feeling anxious does not mean I'm hungry! I make it a point to NOT binge when I'm feeling anxious or blue, I used to, ate mindlessly especially at night.
I think what helped me is trying to keep my life as low stress as possible. We can't control our surroundings, but we can control our reaction to events around us.
Everyday is a struggle, but also, exercise helps relieve stress! So it's a win-win!

I'm not on meds, I refuse them, I sometimes contemplate if i should try, but NO! I'm totally drug free and plan on being so.

Eating balanced has helped so much! I no longer expect fast weight loss results, though I'd love it that way, I realize this is just another journey I've taken on, like going to college or starting my career. It's for life!
Good luck, feel free to friend me ;-)

duna_pruna

I developed horrible anxiety during pregnancy. We were afraid of losing the baby. I had the opposite reaction. I couldn't eat anything. I would throw up. If your eating disorder is as bad as mine was, I really feel for you. I used some self help books and practiced some visualization and flooding. I hope that knowing you are not alone may be of some comfort. Best wishes. P.S. I got better

dakotababy

Oh my, I can definitely fit into the anxiety/weight loss mess. Simply put...i ate because I was anxious. I have discovered I have GAD as well as I am noticing I have some major signs of Social Anxiety. I have always had it...but never connected the dots. Then I found out about anxiety, and realized that it described me 100%...then I was in denial about it.

I enjoy self-help anything. Reading about the Cognitive Distortions of Anxiety really helped, especially when I started to keep track of when I would have a distortion...which was ALL THE TIME!

Ahhh anyway. If you want the weight to stay off ... you have to deal with the underlying issue.

rireland39

I have anxiety, I have had it in regular cycles for years.
I have binged, to make myself feel satisfied, happy, to occupy myself, out of boredom.

I find tracking works really well for me. If I know I have to write it down, then it does make me pause before eating it.

As for the anxiety, I find medication has helped. I use a few techniques to reduce my anxiety, being aware that I am feeling anxious and like one of the previous responders said, consciously not eating and knowing that I am feeling anxious not hungry.

I have found doing something like crocheting or knitting or word puzzles in the evening whilst watching tv in the evening has helped keep me busy during the evening blitz.

A;lso not staying up watching TV in the evening, going to be by 9:30 has helped keep me more balanced.

I am still on my weight loss/ healthy eating journey and I wish you all the best on yours.

Feel free to "friend" me.

Rebecca

jenilla1

I must not be typical, because stress/anxiety kills my appetite. Probably why I've been thin all my life. Exercise helps immensely - for me, running especially.

Majda1234

YES! I actually hit my goal weight and maintained it for a while BUT became so anxious, stressed out and had lot of fears regarding some thing that i didn't even know bothered me until starting therapy. For two months i was bingeing on 6000 calories every third day, sometimes even fe days in a row. Starting therapy i hit my first week free binge. Then i binged on 6000 for two days again but hey it is a progress. So my suggestion is if you have the time and resources go to therapy it is extremely relaxing. I don't think it is all about relieveing stress from your life because life IS stressful and there will always be some stress in your life. On therapy however you deal with the problem that i cusing the emotional eating but also learning other ways to cope with emotions/stress etc.

prosperkat

I have always struggled with dealing with stress and my coping mechanism was to try to retreat from the stress - hiding at home, eating to try fill a bottomless pit of anxiety.

I have finally figured out that I can not hide from stress. The way for me to deal with the anxiety is to exercise off the adrenaline that it pours into my body and to increase my confidence by succeeding in the one area of my life that I can truly control - what I eat.

Now I can challenge myself to face my fears because I can better deal with the "pit". Now I am living instead of hiding.

WannabeStressFree

I must add that sleep helps me so much. Without it, my entire balance of life starts to fall apart, and all kinds of anxieties seep in.
xoxo

diannethegeek

I'm an anxiety eater. One of my biggest issues has been that I use my weight to "hide" myself from the world. The more people noticed me the more I wanted to eat. I could never have lost the weight I've lost without addressing my emotional issues before and during my weight loss.

Like others, I try to keep myself busy during the days. Reading, crafting, starting a hobby business, anything to give me something else to think about. I also find myself looking for reasons to leave the house and run errands in the evenings to get away from the snacks. Drinking tea when I'm out of calories, loading up on veggies, all the little tricks people use to try and silence that nagging voice that says "eat." For me, the tricks get me through the day, but they've never stopped the constant, jittery feeling I get when I'm anxious and not eating.

On the flip side of things, working to decrease my anxiety has helped tremendously. Medication and exercise, journaling, therapy, surrounding myself with good friends I can trust and talk to. Every so often I relapse and there's that little voice inside my head telling me to get fat again so people will stop noticing me. With a little help and a lot of willpower I can usually get around it but it won't go away completely unless I address the insecurities and anxiety building up.