Getting fat

[fuzyon]

Because of my anxiety I obviously started to spend a lot of time at home, usually watching movies or tv shows that would take me away from reality. That's not the best thing to do if you're trying to stay in shape because for the better part of your day you're sitting down without moving. That combined with the fact that I completely didn't care about what I eat made me gain 25 pounds in a little over a year, it could've been even worse but I've been going out more lately. Still, I'm not where I want to be when it comes to my body.

 

[WorkAtHomeGal]

Since leaving my call center job in 2014 I started pursuing working online. I am slowly trying to find a part time job outside the home but with anxiety and depression it is not easy, combined with issues leaving the house some days... I think I gained close to 20 lbs since 2014 but it could be more now as I have not weighted myself recently. Either way it is not good. I did try walking but have trouble with that because of living on a busy road. I also tried Zumba at home when I was alone but I am not sure if it is helping...

 

[joshposh]

You got complacent in your comfort zone and then got use to eating your comfort food. I notice that people that stay home a lot and don't get stimulated in the brain will resort to sugar stimuli in the form of sugary foods. That same receptor that gets affected by laughing, is affected by sugar. The pleasure center if you will.

 

[liselle]

When I get comfortable, I don't think about my weight. I only do that when I have to be in a social setting or meet with ofhers. I honestly feel like I could be skinner and healthier in general but I never really acted on it. Being aware of my appearance also contributes to my anxiety when I have to be near people who are attractive.

 

[amy88]

I actually found that a lot of my anxiety makes me not feel like eating...it's interesting to me that everyone reacts so differently to their anxiety. At my worst anxious moments, I miss meals, I just want to hide and sleep...and food tends to be the last thing on my mind. I find when life is going more smoothly that tends to be when I am just eating whatever I like and maybe a few pounds tends to creep on.


But a big part of managing my anxiety has been working out, too. So that could be part of it.

 

[John Snort]

The fact that you don't go out much shouldn't mean that you don't exercise at all. You don't have to go a gym to work out. If you still aren't ready to be out and about then you could exercise at home. Do some push ups, sit ups, etc. There are lots of people who stay fit using just body weight exercises. And as exercising will probably make you feel happier, you'll probably want to start going out more often. Two birds killed with one stone.

 

[hades_leae]

Well, for me it was much worse. I gained that inside of one month. I had this job where everyday I was working more than 13 hours, and it was nice because I made good money. I gained a lot of weight because I had a break every 2 hours, I was a forklift driver and I did not know that it was taking a tole on me.


I would eat a lot of food everyday, I felt depressed because I was alone while working, and I was left to my thoughts a lot, when I get like this, I become hungry, and I found myself while working eating snickers, and other snacks that I was not supposed to have while driving forklifts. It was a position where I had no supervision for 95% of the day because all I needed to do was pull orders.


I just got depressed and thinking back to that time, I don't believe it was really because I was alone while working, it was because I had so many life problems at the time that I was so unsure about.

 

[Alex]

The weight can pile on because she lose the motivation to move even at times. Some people lose weight, but many gain through binge eating and side effect of meds as well. It can also happen so quickly that you don't notice and then it becomes a struggle to lose the weight and that causes more anxiety.


What I tried to do when it has happened to me is to cut down on snacking (not have them in the house) and eat boiled eggs when you are hungry. They are low in fat and are easily digested, plus are full of protein and fill you up.

 

[gracer]

I on the other hand gained 28 lbs after I gave birth and I haven't lost the extra pounds until now. Just like @liselle I sometimes get anxious about my body shape whenever I'm around people who are slim and more attractive to look at. I guess this is one of the reasons why I don't fancy going out anymore.

 

[emuzeskylow]

Since leaving my call center job in 2014 I started pursuing working online. I am slowly trying to find a part time job outside the home but with anxiety and depression it is not easy, combined with issues leaving the house some days... I think I gained close to 20 lbs since 2014 but it could be more now as I have not weighted myself recently. Either way it is not good. I did try walking but have trouble with that because of living on a busy road. I also tried Zumba at home when I was alone but I am not sure if it is helping...

Some indoor exercises too could help. So, instead of not doing anything at all few indoor exercises a day could do a lot better and you wouldn't have to worry about gaining few pounds as these help you to keep in shape. And also dieting too would go along way reducing some fat in the body. Take less of fatty food. Place yourself mostly on fruits. All these things helps.

 

[Robilas]

That's not the best thing to do if you're trying to stay in shape because for the better part of your day you're sitting down without moving.

Try to exercise indoor. A lot of people don't like going to the gym because they feel judged or embarrassed, or simpley they don't want to leave home, and same story for jogging or running outside. However you can still do a lot physical exercises without leaving your house. All you need is a treadmill or a cyclette, a yoga mat and you are golden.


Combine some indoor exercises with a healthier diet and you will start loosing weight. You don't even need to exercise for a lot of time, one hour everyday is enough, but having a strong will is essential.

 

[pwarbi]

A lot of people will have fallen into the same trap I think when it comes to anxiety, and when you are first diagnosed with it or know yourself that your suffering from it, we do tend to try and lock ourselves away from others and start to spend more and more time at home, dealing with it in our own way either through medication or simply just hoping it will pass. While you're spending all that time at home though it's all too easy to turn to food as something to make you feel happier in yourself and while that may help you mentally, it does little for you physically only make you gain weight.


Your image is an important part of who you are, and if you're not happy with the way you look, even though people might say it doesn't matter, in your own head it does and that can then make your anxiety even worse because you not only don't feel like going out mentally, you'll start to blame the way you look as well and so that then makes the anxiety a thousand times worse.

 

[richj8am30]

I've let myself go due to my depression. It hasn't been going well, it started at first with my girl hinting to me that she wanted me to start working out. We were going through a very rough time with my jealousy issues and I rebelled against everything especially the idea of getting in shape. It was like I was trying to stop from ever being wanted by anyone because I thought that every relationship would end in that person cheating on you with someone who she was more built physically,not to mention she ad her own issues as well. Any time she hinted to other men in any way being physically attractive because of their physique, I would push her away. My eating habits have catapulted my weight and my family has been commenting about it I just dismiss it with them being shallow, but I have started working out. My girl's still in m life despite how fat I got and has not cheated on me, so I guess I was overreacting.One thing is that you have to do it for you, not anyone else.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I understand you, it's really easy to let your health decrease when you have anxiety issues... And I have done that a lot, I don't eat well or do exercise ... But luckily my metabolism is kind of fast and even if I don't really take care of what I eat, I'm still a really skinny guy. But I am still trying to progressively get better when it comes to those habits, because my metabolism is not always going to work like this, and I need to think about the future.

 

[WorkAtHomeGal]

Some indoor exercises too could help. So, instead of not doing anything at all few indoor exercises a day could do a lot better and you wouldn't have to worry about gaining few pounds as these help you to keep in shape. And also dieting too would go along way reducing some fat in the body. Take less of fatty food. Place yourself mostly on fruits. All these things helps.

Yes those are good tips. I use to have a workout routine where I would go on our exercise bike every 2nd day, walk outside when I could and increase my walks by 5 minutes each time. It got to the point where I was walking faster and quicker and doing 40+ minutes of walking it was nice. I would do pushups and Zumba and cardio workouts. Thankfully with Youtube Zumba and cardio videos are really easy to find . One reason why I don't eat fruits is because if the price. I will buy watermelon and others in bulk when on sale. When my parents garden is ready to harvest I will be eating a lot better.

 

[justsayyes]

I understand, when you're dealing with anxiety or depression, your health usually takes a backseat because you're constantly worrying about other things and working out and eating healthy are the last thing on your mind. I've been there but now, I'm actually more conscious about my health, i guess this is just a phase and will probably fizzle out when my anxiety and depression would take over my life again, for now, it's just mild anxiety but i can always expect it to take over my life again. It's a vicious cycle.

 

[Panic57]

I have about ten pounds that I gain when I'm depressed because I don't move out of my bedroom and eat a lot of sweets. Then I lose that weight when I'm anxious because I don't eat or I eat really small quick meals. I also move a lot more when I'm anxious because it makes me fidgety. I'm sure the constant yo-yo weight lost and weight gain is bad for my long term health but I can't seem to be in one mood long enough get more than ten pounds off.

 

[Roscas]

Anxiety does not always cause weight gain but weight gain may be symptomatic of anxiety, especially long term or lingering anxiety. There is the stress hormone cortisol which is released when stressed. Cortisol causes fat to accumulate and build up mainly around the stomach or midsection. Then there is the tendency to eat more because stress can trigger excess eating. When this happens, eating becomes a coping tool or trigger more hunger. It can be both. To add to all of the above, when we are stressed, we tend to feel better when immobile. We prefer not to move. We'd rather sit, be a couch potato, lie down all day and all night. We become inactive and tend to eat more while lolling away. More fat is stored in our body, nothing is being burnt.


It is better to make a mental note that when we sense stress or instinctively feel anxiety is about to come (nobody knows our own bodies but ourselves), it is better to be ready with coping mechanisms that would benefit our body more. Stressed out? Put on dance music and dance by yourself....just swing those hips and move your shoulders, kick those legs. Does not matter if you are in the beat or not. Just move! Have Fun! Enjoy the beat. Or when anxious, start to walk around, pace yourself, breathe and pace yourself faster and faster. Or think of something or anything else you can have fun doing to release the stress and put anxiety in-check.


It does not have to be movements and coping mechanisms that you need to do as a routine, a regimen. What is important is whatever you think of, you have got to have fun doing it. If part of the movement and made-up coping mechanism is simply to force yourself to laugh loud like crazy while shaking your arms to and fro (be careful though if you're neighbors are quite near or beside your room or house) and continue doing it until you reach that point when you are actually laughing at yourself..... GO! Do it. We need laughter and fun in our lives so much more when we are stressed and anxious.


If we don't find other alternatives, then we gain weight, we become fat and believe me when I tell you..... anxiety and stress will never leave us for as long as we can breathe. When we gain more weight, we will gain more stress and anxiety and it becomes never ending. So..... we move on and we move forward

 

[djordjem87]

I have been blessed to be slim, fit and in good shape overall. It's not that am great genes but I really do workout a lot. However, I have several friends and the are all female friends actually who have this type of anxiety and it happens that I cannot recognize them sometimes. Most recently, one of them was feeling anxious for a long period of time and we only exchanged some messages over Facebook. She was like that for over a month. When I saw her after that period she had over 20 kg more. I couldn't believe and she told me it was her reaction on anxiety. However, she never told me if it was from overeating or she just got fat. I heard that people get their hormones messed up when they are under great pressure or stress for a long period of time.

 

[SirJoe]

Fortunately it's never been as easy to keep in shape as it is now. There is a lot of equipment that you can buy that will help you keep in shape without you having to leave the house. I personally think that if someone is going through this they shouldn't become complaisant with this condition and should try to get out of the house, even if it is for a little while. Something like low impact aerobics or a exercise bicycle is a great way to start.