Youre Embarrassed To Go To The Gym
Ah, the gym: hall of mirrors, impossibly ripped testosterbros, models, and high standards, all of whom are prepared to gaze disapprovingly in your specific direction. Or so some people assume. In reality, the gym is full of people trying to lose some weight, build some muscle, and gnash their teeth in pleasurewrath at the latest episode of Hannity on Fox as they walk the treadmill. And most of them are just as self-conscious as you.
Embarrassment is another hurdle that cant be surmounted by tricks. You just gotta go for it. Before you know it, youll either be too fit and strong to worry, or youll have stopped caring. That said, there are a few strategies to ease your embarrassment:
Consider a trainer. A trainer will help you perform the lifts with confidence and grace so that you dont think you look funny .
Get a plan. Dont just go in and start doing strange things with the dumbbells. Follow a legitimate program like Starting Strength , Convict Conditioning , Overcoming Gravity , or Raising the Bar . Primal Blueprint Fitness is another option.
Go during off hours. You can get your workouts in relative solitude.
Work out elsewhere. Who needs the gym? Not everyone. Go for hikes, lift your own bodyweight, build a home gym, buy a few kettlebells and a sandbag and make a slosh tube or two, play sports. You dont need the gym to work out and lose weight.
Hashi Mashi Diet Sample Meal Plan
Drink a tall glass of water with lemon when you wake up.
Shoot for half your body weight in ounces every day.
The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends that men drink three liters of water a day and women two liters.
You will hit the restroom often, but be happy about that because your body needs water to metabolize fat out of your body.
Also, upping your water game is excellent for your skin, mood, and not to mention your kidneys.
Begin the day with a breakfast dish fittingly called Hashi Mashi an omelet with onions, greens, tomato, pepper, and hummus, and avocado on the side, and top it off with olives.
Hashi Mashi Breakfast
Or have oatmeal, peanut butter, and grapes, blueberries or strawberries, or an Ezekiel sprouted grain muffin, almond butter, with slices of red pepper and cucumber.
Have some blueberries, an apple, or grapes for a snack with walnuts or cashews.
You can have an avocado, tuna, tofu, chicken, peanut butter, grapes, or a turkey sandwich on sprouted grain bread with lots of vegetables for lunch, like spinach, tomato, red pepper, and olives.
Or a sweet potato and roasted cauliflower with a lean protein to keep it simple.
An easy dinner is sauteed spinach and garlic with rice and salmon.
I lost 75 pounds in 6 months using the above five fundamental lifestyle changes and meal template suggested above, and you lose the weight you want to as well. Anything that anyone else can do is possible for you.
Ways To Motivate Yourself To Lose Weight
Starting and sticking to a healthy weight loss plan can sometimes seem impossible.
Often, people simply lack the motivation to get started or lose their motivation to keep going. Luckily, motivation is something you can work to increase.
This article discusses 16 ways to motivate yourself to lose weight.
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Depression And Weight Gain
A common misconception is that depression just makes you feel sad and thats it. This mental and emotional health problem affects your wellbeing in more ways than one. Depression can jeopardize your health in many ways as its associated with a higher risk of many diseases and health conditions. But, what about weight gain? It appears that depression and weight gain often go hand in hand. For instance, studies confirm that obesity increases the likelihood of developing depression . Vice versa also happens, i.e. depression can enhance the risk of overweight and obesity. For instance, CDC reports that 43% of adults with depression are also obese and both problems were more common among women .
Despite the fact that two-way relationship between depression and weight gain has been confirmed by many studies the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. At this point, it would be difficult to pinpoint a certain cause of this relationship with utmost certainty. A combination of different factors could be to blame including stress, overeating to deal with various emotions, lack of physical activity, and many others.
Stick To Activities That Are Enjoyable For You
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Start With Small Steps
When you feel depressed, getting started with weight loss can feel daunting. If the task feels too enormous, it can be easy to decide its not worth the hassle. If you want to know how to lose weight when depressed, our best tip is to start small and build up gradually.
Starting small makes the challenge of losing weight appear less intimidating and is more sustainable and enjoyable than going on a crash diet and hitting the gym hard right from the off. Its also healthier to build up your physical activity gradually if youre unfit. Extreme diets tend to be low in essential nutrients and dont contain enough calories to make you feel healthy and energetic. This could make you feel even worse.
Instead of focusing on weight loss initially, instead focus on getting your body strong and healthy again. If you start to build up healthy habits, weight loss is likely to follow. Perhaps pick just one or two straightforward new healthy habits to begin with and then add to your routine when theyve become second nature. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
How To Get Motivated To Lose Weight When Depressed
March 30, 2021 By Hannah Stephens
Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses, and more than 264 million people experience it at any one time worldwide. In America, around 6.7% of people were depressed in 2017. This condition often coexists with anxiety, and there is some overlap between the symptoms of both disorders.
The symptoms of depression can make it difficult to lose weight and causes some people to lose motivation to take care of their bodies. However, recent research suggests that tackling obesity at the same time as depression can be beneficial. In this article, well explain how to get motivated to lose weight when depressed.
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Weight Management Tips For People With Depression
Are you up or down? It’s not just your mood, but also your weight that can be affected by depression. These tips can help you regain balance.
Which comes first, obesity or depression? Just like the chicken or the egg scenario, the underlying problem with depression and weight gain can be hard to tell. Symptoms of depression and weight management issues are linked, and the relationship is a two-way street. In fact, a study done in the Netherlands found that obesity increases the risk for depression in initially non-depressed people by 55 percent, and depression increases the risk for obesity in initially normal-weight people by 58 percent.
Why are depression and weight issues so intertwined? The part of the brain responsible for emotion the limbic system also controls appetite, explains Joseph Hullett, MD, senior medical director of clinical strategy for OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions in Golden Valley, Minn. When this emotional part of the brain gets disturbed in someone who is depressed, appetite gets disturbed as well.
In addition, some of the medications used to treat depression can have weight-related side effects, either causing weight loss or weight gain.
Depression and Weight Gain Versus Weight Loss
When depression sets in, the appetite control center of the brain can get thrown off in either direction. Some people have a problem with depression and weight gain, and other people have a problem with depression and weight loss, Dr. Hullett says.
How To Motivate Yourself To Workout When Depressed
Having the motivation to maintain a workout routine is not an easy task, especially when youre depressed. Exercising regularly can help reduce symptoms of depression, but sometimes its hard to find the motivation to get started. If youre struggling to workout because of your depression, here are a few tips that might help.
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Stress And Motivation: Lack Of Time
Stress can be a reason why you lack motivation. You may think it’s a reason why you may keep motivation, but too much stress can hurt you and make it harder to keep going. Feeling overwhelmed can cause physical pain and other issues as well. When you feel overwhelmed, here are some things you can do.
Improve Your Mental Health
On top of leaning out, achieving a healthy weight will help your mental health issues as well.
You can treat depression with or without antidepressants by changing your lifestyle, the type of food you eat, and how much exercise, even walking, you get daily.
Unlike obesity, while you might not be able to cure depression, you could find it easier to manage without antidepressants.
Giving up your reliance on antidepressants has multiple benefits:
- avoiding harmful side effects, such as obesity or the worst known side effect suicidal ideation
- less toxic drugs in your system
- spend the money on better quality food, a gym membership, and strength training equipment
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Socialize With People While You Are On A Weight
Second, take a break from the usual activities that you enjoy. If you have a hard time getting motivated to work out or do your exercises, try socializing with other people. Join a yoga class or connect with friends and colleagues. Whatever your situation, theres likely a way to motivate yourself. Remember, you deserve a healthy lifestyle, and you should never let it fade. Read this article for more information about the best ways to motivate yourself when depressed.
If you have friends and family, try connecting with them. If you have no friends, you can start connecting with them at the gym or sign up for a yoga class. The possibilities are endless! If you are not motivated to work out, try being active and having fun with your friends. Despite the obstacles, remember that your body deserves better and healthier you. If you want to lose weight, do not let your motivation fade.
Build Your Support Team
A knowledgeable fitness instructor and encouraging exercise buddies can help you feel more confident, have more fun, and stay on track when motivation dips.
With SilverSneakers, youll find both types of support. SilverSneakers members can take classes led by instructors specifically trained in senior fitness and have the opportunity to make new friends. Check your SilverSneakers eligibility here.
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Combine Your Exercise With Entertainment
Why Its Challenging To Lose Weight When Depressed
You are wondering about why is it so hard to lose weight when you have depression? Only a few people lose weight naturally when they are depressed as they may forget to eat or they may restrict calories. Generally, people suffering from depression observe a sudden rise in their weight. As there is a strong connection amid weight gain and depression. As per experts the time you are depressed, your body goes into fight-or-flight mode which can cause you to overeat as your body thinks the stress is causing you to lose too lots of calories.
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Tips To Overcome Barriers
You may have found that one or several of the common psychological barriers to weight loss look familiar to you. It is not unusual to experience multiple hurdles on your journey to a healthy weight. But these roadblocks don’t need to prevent your success.
Each of the tips and suggestions below can address multiple barriers. These suggestions are also healthy strategies for lifelong wellness that carry no side effects and are almost all completely free. Consider giving one or more of these solutions a try.
The First Thing You Should Do When Youre Both Overweight And Depressed
Emotional eating is one issue for those who are overweight and depressed. Heres what you can do to combat.
Shutterstock
Losing weight is hard enough when you’re happy, but it’s even harder when you’re depressed, as many Americans well know.
Rates of depression are higher in the obese and overweight than in people of normal weight, and while the numbers don’t track each other precisely, the incidence of both obesity and depression is increasing in the U.S.
Women, in particular, are more likely to be both overweight and depressed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And an underlying mood disorder may be responsible for 1 in 4 cases of obesity, some research suggests.
The presence of two health issues in medical lingo, comorbidity presents a challenge for both people who are overweight and their medical providers, and recalls the old quandary of the chicken and the egg. Do weight problems cause people to become depressed, or do people become overweight because theyre depressed?
While theres no definitive answer to that question, some obesity specialists say that depression and other mood disorders should be addressed before people do battle with the scale.
Starting an intentional weight-loss effort in the midst of a poorly managed clinical depression is like starting a marathon with a badly sprained ankle, Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, an obesity specialist in Canada, has .
Start with food
The exercise problem
Focus on happy
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Handle One Task/job At A Time
When you consider your extensive list of tasks to complete, any endeavor can appear to be a route of agony. Instead, consider what you must do right now and concentrate on that work until it is completed. Once you’ve completed it, cross it off your to-do list and carry on with the next one.
Focus on what you’ve accomplished instead of what you still have to do. Also, concentrate on the next thing you can cross off your to-do list.
Mental Illnesses Like Depression Can Severely Inhibit Weight Loss
First, consider whether you have an underlying mental illness. If you suffer from chronic depression, you may find it difficult to get motivated to exercise. Depression makes it hard to feel active, and you may feel like nothing matters at all. To overcome this, try being gentle with yourself. If you are struggling to motivate yourself, focus on what you can do. Celebrate that you have even gotten out of bed and are working harder than normal.
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The Complex Link Between Depression And Weight
Food and mood often go together. You might reach for a comforting bag of chips when you feel down. Or feel so stressed that you canât even think about eating.
Itâs normal for difficult emotions to make you overeat or eat too little. But if you live with clinical depression, changes in eating can be long-term and lead to drastic weight gain or loss.
Ask Yourself Why You Workout
Its important to find your reason for working out, especially when youre depressed. What are your goals? What do you hope to achieve by exercising regularly? Keep your goals in mind when youre struggling to find the motivation to workout. Remembering why youre doing it can be a powerful motivator.
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Exercise When Its Convenient For You
In most cases, people have a strict workout schedule. They exercise at a specific time of day every time. While for many people this type of schedule is practical, it may not be the case for persons with depression. You see, individuals with depression may feel even more stress that leads to loss of motivation if theyre subjected to a strict exercise schedule. Thats why persons with this common mental and emotional health problem should exercise when its convenient for them. Dont pressure yourself to exercise at a specific time of day. Give yourself some liberty to work out when you feel well enough to do so. This is important because some people find their symptoms are worse in the morning while others in the afternoon or night. So, one size fits all rule doesnt apply here. At the end of the day, it all comes down to how you feel.