Anyone else trying to lose weight with anxiety/perfectionism?

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kiela64
kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm finding that trying to change my habits is triggering a lot of my anxiety! I am trying to get to the gym, but the more I want to the less I go because I worry about it so much! It's extremely frustrating to want something and feel very afraid or unable. Does anyone else have this experience, or any suggestions?
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  • ambernvarner
    ambernvarner Posts: 3 Member
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    I have anxiety and it sucks. A lot of things can be scary for many reasons, but when it comes down to it you just got to shut down the catastrophic/negative thoughts and force yourself to do what you need to do (like going to the gym). Also the more you force yourself into uncomfortable situations for yourself the easier they will become, especially if you make it a part of your routine. Eventually you will feel anxious about not going to the gym because you are so used to doing it every day or whatever.
  • DuckReconMajor
    DuckReconMajor Posts: 434 Member
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    Exercising and improving your diet will help with the anxiety, so take the first step and it will get easier. Break the cycle!

    I also deal with being a perfectionist which is why it took so long to get started on logging my food, something i've wanted to do for a long time. But just remember that doing something good 80% correctly is 1000x better than doing nothing at all 100% correctly.
  • boogiewookie
    boogiewookie Posts: 206 Member
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    I have bad anxiety issues in general but now that I'm working on myself it's gotten bad. I have a huge fear of eating everything in the house so when we have any junk food I get nervous walking into the kitchen. im good at staying away from it or having very small amounts but idk, I'm always afraid ill lose my self control. also if I skip a few workouts I can physically feel my muscles shrinking. my hubby says it's in my head but I feel it! also when I don't work out I get really tense and grumpy becase I don't want to slip back into my old habits. I wish I had done advice, I just wanted to tell you your not alone, I understand how frustrating it is
  • PinkDeerBoy
    PinkDeerBoy Posts: 89 Member
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    I have anxiety too, so I can relate a lot. Do you have any smaller gyms in your area? I used to be intimidated by things like the Y and other big gyms, so I was scared of joining any gym. Now I found a smaller gym, and I'm happy there. We have about a half dozen people in a class and it makes it where I don't feel crowded/overwhelmed but not too small to be awkward for me. Now that I am used to going there and more comfortable with who is usually there, it is a lot easier for me. I think part of it is that whole 'exercise is a great way to manage anxiety' thing that my therapist has always told me.
  • Gska17
    Gska17 Posts: 752 Member
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    I have anxiety. For me it took getting used a routine. For example, I remember the first time I ran outdoors I was so self conscious. I was convinced everyone was staring at me. It didn't take long for those feelings to go away.

    I don't currently belong to a gym but I remember how nervous I was before going. After a while it just went away. I went so often that I no longer thought of others.

    My advice might be crappy ("go do stuff a lot, over and over!") but it worked for me. Best of luck! :)
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
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    Yea-anxiety is a tough one to deal with. Just remember that the more you give into it-the worse it is. Just keep at it. I was having straight up panic attacks. Between my shrink and repetition it had gotten MUCH better.
  • noobletmcnugget
    noobletmcnugget Posts: 518 Member
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    Gska17 wrote: »
    I have anxiety. For me it took getting used a routine. For example, I remember the first time I ran outdoors I was so self conscious. I was convinced everyone was staring at me. It didn't take long for those feelings to go away.

    I don't currently belong to a gym but I remember how nervous I was before going. After a while it just went away. I went so often that I no longer thought of others.

    My advice might be crappy ("go do stuff a lot, over and over!") but it worked for me. Best of luck! :)

    I have social anxiety and ran outside today for the first time - I felt exactly the way you did! I'm hoping it improves quickly for me too. :)
  • Bsleeved
    Bsleeved Posts: 1 Member
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    I am in the same boat with the anxiety issues
  • Gska17
    Gska17 Posts: 752 Member
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    noobletmcnugget wrote: »

    I have social anxiety and ran outside today for the first time - I felt exactly the way you did! I'm hoping it improves quickly for me too. :)

    To give you a timeline It probably took about two weeks for me to just walk out the door without thinking. Good luck to you & keep us posted!
  • annaheyoolay
    annaheyoolay Posts: 100 Member
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    I too suffer from anxiety. I couldn't imagine going to a gym, so I didn't. I found a nice little lake by my house and started walking around it every day. Then I started, and finished C25k at that same lake. I still run around the lake most days but I've started to venture into other areas. I even took my first yoga class last week, and loved it! Fresh air, sunshine, eating better and exercise has made a huge difference in my anxiety and depression. I feel better now that I ever did on any medication. Baby steps, you can do this!
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    edited July 2015
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    I really want to thank everyone that posted here! I'm really glad I'm not alone (though it's too bad - anxiety sucks - you know what I mean). Just reading some of these comments this afternoon when I was feeling really bad about being too scared to go to the gym helped me first feel like it was okay, then feel like I could tackle it. I didn't do a big workout (the pool was too busy for me, unfortunately I can't share a lane without freaking out). But I got there & I did something :) I think you're right:
    Gska17 wrote: »

    My advice might be crappy ("go do stuff a lot, over and over!") but it worked for me. Best of luck! :)
    slaite1 wrote: »
    Yea-anxiety is a tough one to deal with. Just remember that the more you give into it-the worse it is. Just keep at it. I was having straight up panic attacks. Between my shrink and repetition it had gotten MUCH better.

    Continuing to try will probably make it all easier.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
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    annaheyoolay wrote: »
    I too suffer from anxiety. I couldn't imagine going to a gym, so I didn't. I found a nice little lake by my house and started walking around it every day. Then I started, and finished C25k at that same lake. I still run around the lake most days but I've started to venture into other areas. I even took my first yoga class last week, and loved it! Fresh air, sunshine, eating better and exercise has made a huge difference in my anxiety and depression. I feel better now that I ever did on any medication. Baby steps, you can do this!

    I absolutely love walking outside, and it's my favourite thing that doesn't involve a gym! Unfortunately I hurt my knee and I'm limited to short bits of walking. I did probably my max of walking today (~20 minutes) and it was awesome. Thank you! :)
  • Gska17
    Gska17 Posts: 752 Member
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    You did it! Nice job!! :)
  • vinerie
    vinerie Posts: 234 Member
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    Um, YES. My fears/worries consume me. It really manifests into overanalyzing,which I am doing right now in fact. (I should be getting ready for work.) I look at my nutrition charts obsessively and am really hard on myself when I fail. The fear of failing really prevents me from getting started on a lot of things :(
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
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    vinerie wrote: »
    Um, YES. My fears/worries consume me. It really manifests into overanalyzing,which I am doing right now in fact. (I should be getting ready for work.) I look at my nutrition charts obsessively and am really hard on myself when I fail. The fear of failing really prevents me from getting started on a lot of things :(

    Same. If I'm over my calorie goal I keep thinking "that's it, I failed, I'm a failure, etc." I'm really trying to think in terms of one of the comments here:
    DuckReconMajor wrote: »
    Exercising and improving your diet will help with the anxiety, so take the first step and it will get easier. Break the cycle!

    I also deal with being a perfectionist which is why it took so long to get started on logging my food, something i've wanted to do for a long time. But just remember that doing something good 80% correctly is 1000x better than doing nothing at all 100% correctly.

    For some reason that's some really hard logic for my brain to wrap itself around. :neutral:
  • chocolatemartini77
    chocolatemartini77 Posts: 17 Member
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    This is a great thread. Feels good to know that I'm not alone in dealing with this as well.
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
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    same. but actually the process of losing 100 pounds and adding in more and different exercise has helped me overcome much of my anxiety and its helped me manage my perfection tendencies in other areas. and SO MUCH OF THIS "doing something good 80% correctly is 1000x better than doing nothing at all 100% correctly."
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    Yes, me.

    Small steps. First thing I did was start walking and logging my food. That's it - no structured exercise and nothing too overwhelming.

    Then I started yoga and weighing my food - but still only fussing with calories.

    Then I started paying attention my macros and added in some dumbbell work.

    Kept tracking, and then joined a gym (8 months into it), transitioned to free weights, kept yoga and walking.

    You don't have to do everything at once. Get one new habit until control at a time.
  • DuckReconMajor
    DuckReconMajor Posts: 434 Member
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    kae612 wrote: »
    For some reason that's some really hard logic for my brain to wrap itself around. :neutral:

    Just saying:
    1. The exercise will help with the anxiety
    2. Doing something almost right is better than not trying it at all
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,154 Member
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    I have Asperger's and social anxiety. The trick is to try and make it work for you. Since I can get routinized, I work to set exercise and logging routines. It also helps to remember that failure is not a terrible thing (a huge problem for me). Failure is learning. If you're not failing at least sometimes, then you're probably not setting your goals high enough. I personally have found that a good sweat is about the best remedy for my anxiety. Going out into the garage and doing an insanity routine drives everything else out of my mind and when I'm done, I feel a lot more relaxed and in control.

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