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How Your Mental Health Affects Your Weight-Loss!

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How Your Mental Health Affects Your Weight-Loss!

Mental health is an often overlooked and poorly understood aspect of being fit and that includes the ability to lose weight and keep it off long term.

It isn’t always enough to just eat healthily and exercise. Taking care of your mental health is an important step in healthy weight loss.
How?

Mental health issues and weight loss issues are often complementary in nature.
If our mental health is not at optimum condition, it can either result in unexplained weight loss or an inability to lose weight or an unwanted increase in body weight.

Also on the other end of the spectrum, an unattractive self-image caused due to either an increased or decreased body weight or unpleasant body shape can give rise to one or many mental health issues, including depression and loss of self-worth.

Also Read:How Gratitude Can Change Your Life!

While mental health issues primarily affect our mood and emotional mindset, they can also cause physical symptoms such as trouble sleeping, digestive issues and/or changes in appetite.

A depressed or mentally unwell person may start eating too much or too little in quantity causing the body weight to either increase or decrease abnormally.

Individuals with mental health issues often tend to gratify themselves by indulging in binge eating on comfort foods.

These comfort foods which are normally highly processed foods laden with refined sugars and trans fats take the body towards unhealthy body weight gain and are, in long run responsible for many chronic systemic diseases.

Scientific studies have revealed that stress keeps the body in a state of “fight or flight” mode. When our body experiences chronic stress and emotional disturbances, the level of stress hormones such as cortisol in the blood is increased.

Stress keeps the body in a state of “fight or flight” mode. Chronically elevated cortisol levels can increase feelings of hunger and cravings for unhealthy foods.

On the other hand, people with appetite loss seemed to show a greatly reduced activity in the area of the brain associated with interoception, a sense that helps you feel and understand bodily sensations like hunger and thirst.

When eating doesn’t feel pleasurable, the person feels less inclined to eat thereby leading to unwanted weight loss!

Recommended Read: Perfecting The Art Of Mindful Eating!

Interestingly another scenario is witnessed at times when an individual is obsessively focused on their weight loss and when unable to achieve the target weight, develops feelings of underachievement, low self-esteem and anxiety finally leading to depression and other mental health issues!

They often promise instant life improvements, which may not be borne out in reality for many people.

Sometimes these unrealistic expectations can manifest as clinical diseases such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa.

In the worst-case scenario, rapid weight loss can be ‘addictive’, tipping people over into eating disordered behaviour.

One overlooked diagnosis is ‘atypical anorexia, in which a person experiences the same starvation behaviours and mental distortions as someone with anorexia, without being clinically underweight.

Ideally, people should be realistic about weight loss and be prepared for the challenges that show up.

Recommended Read: How To Prepare For Your Weight Loss Journey?

3 Practical Tips To Improve Your Mental Health:

While there is no quick fix or one-size-fits-all for overcoming mental illness, but there are some things one can do to cope with your symptoms and improve your quality of life. 

                 These are techniques that can help lift the emotional paralysis and overthinking that often accompany depression and mental illness. Both of which make it much more difficult to focus on the behavioural changes that are necessary to prevent a relapse. Luckily, there are ways to punch holes in the curtain of unrelenting darkness. 

Tip No. 1 Get Physical: 
No, not in the ‘fight mode’ kind. When a person is depressed, his physical activity graph goes down. There is fatigue, lethargy, and a general lack of motivation to do anything. But just as depression can impact your physical activity, you can use physical activity to fight depression. Researchers have found that establishing a regular exercise routine can actually reduce depression. Physical activity releases brain chemicals that relieve stress, promote alertness, and improve overall mental well-being.

THE HOW? 
The biggest hurdles are:
1) not having enough energy, and 
2) not knowing how to get started. 
     Interestingly, exercise does not have to be complicated, sophisticated, and very physically demanding. Introducing small changes that are maintained over the long haul will have a huge impact on keeping your mind and body working well. Routine physical activity can be simple, straightforward, and fun. 

-Physical activity needs to happen throughout the week. Aim for five separate 30-minute sessions each week.

-Variety is the spice of life. Make sure you vary your physical activity so that you don’t get bored. 

-To get the most benefit out of any physical activity, work up a sweat, and keep at it for at least 30 minutes.

-Think realistically about what you might be able to do. Tailor your plan to your needs and abilities.

-The ultimate goal is for physical activity to become a lifelong habit that you take pride in and enjoy and not just getting a six-pack or reducing 15 kgs.

Tip No.2 Eat Better: 
Food is your fuel. It’s where you get the energy to walk, breathe, and think. Food also determines how you feel, essentially because your gut and your brain are in constant communication. In fact, studies have shown that eating fast food and processed food i.e., foods high in fat, salt, and sugar can make you depressed. 

But what you eat can also be used to fight depression. For example, research has found that a healthy diet can help reduce the risk of depression. Common problems related to food when a person is depressed: 1) not eating enough, 2) eating too much, and 3) lacking the motivation to look after your diet. 

THE HOW? 
Eating healthy doesn’t have to be complicated or turn your life upside down. Small changes that are maintained over the long term can end up having a big effect on keeping your mind and body in tip-top shape.

-Start by eating raw fruits and vegetables that require no preparation.

-Try eating a bunch of small meals or healthy snacks throughout the day rather than focusing on preparing the typical three large meals each day.

-Avoid eating when you feel upset, bored, stressed, sad, angry, or lonely. It does not make those feelings go away.

-Try to limit mindless eating when you’re watching TV or at a computer.

-Reduce your intake of unhealthy and processed carbs, that have been stripped of all bran, fibre, and nutrients. Unhealthy carbs cause a “sugar crash” which ultimately makes you feel really tired.

-Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains in a variety of colours.

-Drink plenty of water, throughout the day.

-Focus on getting your vitamins and nutrients from a regular diet of wholesome foods rather than relying on dietary supplements.

-Avoid caffeine and Limit alcohol. It can actually contribute to depression or make it worse.

Tip No.3 Sleep Tight: 
Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. However, the way you feel while you’re awake depends, in part, on what happens while you’re sleeping. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. But when a person is depressed, getting good sleep can be tough.    When you can’t get enough sleep, you don’t act normal. You might have anger issues, feel tired and drained, get stressed easily, or have a harder time thinking clearly. Finding ways to get better sleep is crucial not only for managing depression but also for good overall health. Since we spend nearly a third of our lives sleeping – it’s important to get it right. Some of the most common problems related to sleep when depressed: 1) not being able to fall asleep, 2) waking up frequently during the night, and 3) not being able to get out of bed.

THE HOW? A lot of us often overlook the importance of good sleep; we plan our days, but not our nights. For the most part, sleeping well simply means putting into place some good habits. Making these small changes – and maintaining them over the long term – can have a huge effect on your quality of life.

-Don’t lie around waiting to fall asleep. If you’re not able to fall asleep after 15 minutes, try getting up and doing something quiet and relaxing instead, such as reading. Once you’re feeling tired again try going back to sleep.

-Limit bright lights. Bright lights can mess with your circadian rhythm and disrupt your sleep cycle.

-Avoid caffeine and nicotine. Caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and can make it tough to get to sleep.

-Make your bed comfortable. You’ll want a good bed and pillow for a good night’s rest.

-Get some sunlight. So, try to get outside when you can as sunlight helps keep your sleep-wake cycle regulated.  

-Reserve your bed for sleep. No doubt, your bed might be comfortable but you want your mind to connect your bed with sleep, not with lying around eating, watching TV, or working.

Recommended Read: The Ultimate Guide To Morning Habits!

Mental diseases are a diagnosable and treatable condition. There’s no reason to suffer in silence. Or to guess whether or not what you’re feeling qualifies as depression or any other mental illness. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, or someone you love is, we strongly suggest that you reach out to a qualified mental health professional.  

No advice or practice can substitute or replace the treatment offered by a qualified mental health professional. 

Recommended Reads:

Mental and emotional benefits of losing weight.

Does Being Obese or Overweight Affect Your Mental Health?