using stress for good instead of evil

ReadyToBeMeAt160

Currently I'm dealing with a bunch of stuff in my life. Generally this can go one of two ways:
1.) I obsessively go to the gym for distraction and eat very little
2.) comfort myself with food and being dormant

Lately I've been going the second route. Any suggestions on how to turn it around? Between lack of sleep and self esteem lately i'm having a real hard time of it.

grimendale

The only thing that ever works for me is to force myself to start working out with the understanding that I can quit after 15 minutes if I really want to. 15 minutes doesn’t seem so bad. I can do almost anything for 15 minutes. I did this last night. It was bitterly cold and the wind was like a knife, so I really didn’t want to go run. I promised myself that I could go home if I wanted to after 15 minutes. For the first 10, I hated it and wanted nothing so much as to go home and curl up under a blanked. Shortly after, however, I began to hit my stride. I warmed up, my muscles loosened up and I started to feel good. By the time 15 minutes were up, I had no intention of going back. I ended up doing 5 miles instead. I’ve found that this is usually the case. On the rare occasions where I am just not feeling it, I quit, knowing that I at least gave it a shot. It works for me, it might work for you.

gitnfit2

For me working out is the best stress reliever. Gives me time to think and clear my head away from the situation. I also find at times it helps me to think through a situation. For those that are anger stress well working out while I am upset helps give me that extra push to do a little more. I can't say that either extreme is good but hopefully you can find that combination that works best for you. The working out also tends to just make me feel physically better which is a bonus. Hopefully things will bet better quickly for you.

neandermagnon

Eating badly isn't evil. Maybe it's a bit careless, but it's not evil. Try not to fall into the whole sin/punishment mentality with health, fitness and diet as it's not healthy. A healthy lifestyle is not a punishment for an previous unhealthy one. YOu should enjoy your lifestyle, i.e. develop eating and exercise that are healthy and enjoyable and sustainable so you can maintain healthy body composition long term.

You need moderation. Both 1 and 2 are unhealthy extremes, actually 2 is probably healthier than 1. So you'd do better to combine the two, i.e. going to the gym a lot for stress relief (I find lifting heavy weights is best for that) and also eating plenty of food to fuel your body properly. This can include all the comfort foods you like, just watch the portion control, and make sure you're getting enough protein and healthy fat in the process.