How to stay motivated while being depressed/after a relapse?

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  • nenshali
    nenshali Posts: 331 Member
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    :flowerforyou:
  • Gypsybird87
    Gypsybird87 Posts: 7 Member
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    Thank you so much for posting this. I'm struggling right now and needed all those reminders.

    I was very successful with my weight loss until last April, when I went through a very traumatic and sudden divorce. I lost about 13 more pounds very quickly (mostly from stress/not eating), then leveled off. Though I wasn't eating as healthy, I was busy and working out a lot, so my weight maintained where it was for quite a while.

    Now... not so much. Being newly divorced and alone through the holidays was tough. I got really depressed and lost all my motivation to work out. I started eating crappy food again. I've put back on the 13 pounds and a little bit more. Over the last few weeks I've started working out again, but I'm still eating bad food, even though I know it will make me feel lousy. Overall I'm just having a really hard time getting back into the groove of living and eating healthy.

    You've inspired me to really work at getting back on track. Thanks!!:smile:
  • nenshali
    nenshali Posts: 331 Member
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    Thank you so much for sharing your story :flowerforyou:

    I am so sorry to hear of your struggle, this divorce must be devastating for you, I can't even imagine. I respect your strength and how you handle it, I'm so proud! :flowerforyou:
  • nenshali
    nenshali Posts: 331 Member
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    :flowerforyou:
  • Forral
    Forral Posts: 4
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    Hi, I just found this thread and wanted to say thanks. I believe I've been struggling with depression for quite a while now and been over eating and over sleeping due to that. To add to this I also have very painful plantar fasciitis in both feet which ma key the prospect of exercise extremely off putting.
    As you can imagine this is not a great combo and has led me over the years to put on 50lbs over my ideal weight. Today after seeing that has been a low point.
    However, I'm seeing someone on Monday about the depression and someone on the 26th about some painful injections into my feet which hopefully help my feet. And I will be keeping the advice from this thread in mind, so thankyou!
  • elghee123
    elghee123 Posts: 489 Member
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    well written. I agree!

    I went thru burnout and a bit of depression (as per a psychologist).
  • elghee123
    elghee123 Posts: 489 Member
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    @Gypsybird87

    Sorry to hear about the divorce.
    If you feel down, why not write about it, in a blog.
    It might help.
  • nenshali
    nenshali Posts: 331 Member
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    I saw some posts here and thought, I'd dig this thread out again. Maybe it helps someone :flowerforyou:
  • Dewymorning
    Dewymorning Posts: 762 Member
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    I saw some posts here and thought, I'd dig this thread out again. Maybe it helps someone :flowerforyou:

    :flowerforyou:
  • Remilia_Scarlet
    Remilia_Scarlet Posts: 55 Member
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    Hope I'm not doing anything wrong by bumping this! I found your advice very insightful, but I have a few questions.

    Does anyone have advice on how to function on really low days? I barely made it to 500 calories yesterday because eating seemed so exhausting, and it was just crappy frozen food. I tried getting up to eat something else in the evening, but when I made it to the kichen I just kinda gave up and laid on the floor for four hours because I was just too tired to move.

    Also, does anyone else feel like exercise is draining? I feel like I have to budget my energy around exercising because it takes more energy than I can recharge. Not necessarily in the cardiovascular sense (on really bad days I can hardly move enough to raise my heart rate), but I just feel so heavy and hollow that it's difficult to move. I feel like I have to choose between exercise and being a productive human being, because if I work out I'm usually too drained to do anything else that day. Which is weird, because before the onset of my depression I used to work out 5-6 days a week because it made me happy and energetic. I think I've probably lost the capacity to feel good at all anymore. How do you keep going when it makes you feel worse?
  • Noogynoogs
    Noogynoogs Posts: 1,028 Member
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    I once read an article staying when in depression treat you body as if you had flu. Eat better, rest and just focus on recovery of the mind. I found meditation works wonders.
  • mcspiffy88
    mcspiffy88 Posts: 90 Member
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    Motivation doesnt come by itself. It just means you don't want it enough/dont care enough about it.

    btw thats some wall of text ...
  • Sinisterly
    Sinisterly Posts: 10,913 Member
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    I drink coffee if my body wants to send itself to sleep mode.

    Lots and lots of coffee, but perhaps to an unhealthy amount.
    Trying to cut down. Slowly. Tried cold turkey, that was a mistake.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    Motivation doesnt come by itself. It just means you don't want it enough/dont care enough about it.

    btw thats some wall of text ...
    It's not a wall of text, it was formatted nicely for easy reading.

    ETA: and wanting something "enough" or caring about success etc has nothing to do with clinical depression.
  • LifeReinvented
    LifeReinvented Posts: 6
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    Thank you for this thread.
  • finallyfitcanuck
    finallyfitcanuck Posts: 9 Member
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    If you seriously feel you can't do much, then at least do the bare minimum. I have dysthymia (low-grade depression) and I feel worse guilt after an episode of no exercise at all.

    And if eating seems like too much, at least keep nuts and fresh fruit around. They're easy to eat and the healthiness of the food might make you feel better.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
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    bump
  • melissa7072
    melissa7072 Posts: 4 Member
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    Thanks for this post. I know it's old but I just joined MyFitnessPal yesterday. I saw your answer on this post (https://community.myfitnesspal.de/en/discussion/comment/18911024/#Comment_18911024) first. You stated all this so well, it felt like you were talking DIRECTLY to me.

    Immediately after exercise I feel good, and then as the hours go by more and more depressed. The day after (on rest days) are the worst. It's not "negative thoughts", it's the body-mind whispering "stay in bed and forget even trying to shower", type of darkness.

    The best thing I have found to help this on rest days or even evenings on workout days is walking 5 to 10 km at a meditation pace (not fast enough to sweat). Something about the rhythmic pace and not needing to think helps a lot. At first I have to talk myself into it "one more block", or "just to _X_ landmark"... but after 20 or 30 mins my mind seems to relax and let go. And, as you mentioned, trying my absolute best NOT to let work-outs become a form of self-punishment.

    ... hmmm.... actually, something must be changing because I have never been the type to share my mental health struggles with a bunch of strangers... I actually wrote / deleted this 3 times already. Way outside my comfort zone right now.
  • Pav2019
    Pav2019 Posts: 13 Member
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    melissa7072 wrote: »
    Thanks for this post. I know it's old but I just joined MyFitnessPal yesterday. I saw your answer on this post (https://community.myfitnesspal.de/en/discussion/comment/18911024/#Comment_18911024) first. You stated all this so well, it felt like you were talking DIRECTLY to me.

    Immediately after exercise I feel good, and then as the hours go by more and more depressed. The day after (on rest days) are the worst. It's not "negative thoughts", it's the body-mind whispering "stay in bed and forget even trying to shower", type of darkness.

    The best thing I have found to help this on rest days or even evenings on workout days is walking 5 to 10 km at a meditation pace (not fast enough to sweat). Something about the rhythmic pace and not needing to think helps a lot. At first I have to talk myself into it "one more block", or "just to _X_ landmark"... but after 20 or 30 mins my mind seems to relax and let go. And, as you mentioned, trying my absolute best NOT to let work-outs become a form of self-punishment.

    ... hmmm.... actually, something must be changing because I have never been the type to share my mental health struggles with a bunch of strangers... I actually wrote / deleted this 3 times already. Way outside my comfort zone right now.

    This is a great thread, thanks for bringing it up.

    I found your post useful too, so glad you posted! It echos many similar things i face, i'll try out the advice.
  • Meldylla
    Meldylla Posts: 1 Member
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    melissa7072 wrote: »
    Immediately after exercise I feel good, and then as the hours go by more and more depressed. The day after (on rest days) are the worst. It's not "negative thoughts", it's the body-mind whispering "stay in bed and forget even trying to shower", type of darkness.

    The best thing I have found to help this on rest days or even evenings on workout days is walking 5 to 10 km at a meditation pace (not fast enough to sweat). Something about the rhythmic pace and not needing to think helps a lot. At first I have to talk myself into it "one more block", or "just to _X_ landmark"... but after 20 or 30 mins my mind seems to relax and let go. And, as you mentioned, trying my absolute best NOT to let work-outs become a form of self-punishment.

    I want to thank Nenshali and Melissa7072 for these posts...I just googled "I feel more depressed after exercise" and found this thread (and I've already been using MFP off and on for a while). Because I've been beating myself up for not exercising...and then I've worked out the last 4 days and now all I want to do is cry, even though I'm also angry with myself for not working out "harder".

    I'm going to try your idea, Melissa7072.

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