by Agatha Singer
Contributing Author, Conscious Reminder
Your mental and physical health have an unbreakable connection. It is therefore little wonder that both having excess weight and losing it affects you on both the physical and mental and emotional levels.
Understanding this connection can help both speed up your weight loss program and boost your recovery from mental issues associated with obesity.
It is hard to define the connection between weight loss and mental health because this can change depending upon the situation. One thing which remains solid is that the connection exists and one part of it can directly affect the other.
We often see mental issues like depression or anxiety go hand in hand with obesity. And when this happens, the mental condition makes it harder to lose weight and thereby improve your well-being.
A study published in Obesity Science & Practice clearly shows this part of the relationship. Our mental health at the time at which we begin a weight loss program directly affects how much weight we can lose.
There are situations in which the weight gain itself can be caused by a mental health issue. This might be an eating disorder or depression which makes it much harder, and sometimes impossible, to stick to a healthy diet and lifestyle.
And there are opposite situations when excess weight is the thing which causes your depression or anxiety in the first place.
The lack of confidence in your looks, low self-esteem, bullying, or myriad other factors can all contribute to this dreadful situation and make it harder for us to lose weight and to deal with the mental issues which accompany our weight gain.
But don’t despair! There are ways to beat this vicious cycle and to create a weight loss program which will not only have you losing excess weight but will also work to improve your mental health.
A weight loss plan that will boost your mental health as well
The weight loss plan that will improve your mental and physical health is in fact pretty simple. It consists of only three steps. You should eat a healthy well-balanced diet, exercise regularly, and meditate.
But the most important part of this weight loss program are the things you shouldn’t do. And these are:
- Trying any fad diets and meal plans that are unhealthy and unbalanced.
You need all your essential micro and macronutrients to stay healthy physically and mentally when losing weight. Do not forget that scientists proved that depression and, potentially, other mental health conditions can be caused by poor gut health. - Working out too hard in super-intense programs like CrossFit to achieve weight loss faster.
Go steady to achieve more should always be your golden rule. Exercise at your own pace and you’ll get to where you need to be when you are ready for it.
Exercise is an essential element of this weight loss program, but you only need about 150 minutes of medium-intensity training a week to get positive results. When you exercise with purpose and tools to match, you are not only burning off excess weight but also improving your well-being.
Physical workouts release endorphins, which literally make you happier. Thus when we exercise we acquire the extra power to beat depression, anxiety and other mental health issues.
Sadly, one of the reasons why suffering from a mental condition whilst also trying to lose weight makes it so hard to achieve your goal is that the condition often causes you to lose your motivation and drive to exercise.
We’ve all been there and had days when nothing you do just seems good enough and it’s impossible to get yourself motivated to exercise. This kind of apathy is a common symptom of depression.
And this situation is doubly sad because exercising is what can help you to get through depression and to improve your mental and physical well-being while burning off some fat to boot.
And this is the thought we need to keep in mind on days when this happens. It makes for a wonderful mantra, which you can repeat to yourself during meditation to regain your motivation.
Speaking of meditation, it can help you a great deal because not only does it help improve your mental health but it also boosts your weight loss efforts. We often struggle with weight loss because of binge eating episodes and various eating disorders.
Meditation can help control these urges and it is often used to enhance therapy treatment for these conditions.
Weight loss and mental health are connected, but it’s a good thing because we can use one to improve the other. When armed with a healthy weight loss plan, nothing will stop you from achieving your goal.
About the Author: I’m Agatha Singer, a work-from-home mom of two little nuggets. My interests range from the latest business management trends to healthy living and adventurous traveling. I always stay open to new ideas and expertise to make my writings handy and captivating for you. I’ll be happy to see you on my blog: http://www.agsinger.com!
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