I feel like I have a lot of shame around my body, and I don’t have a lot of motivation to change it. I’m heavier than I’ve ever been, but I have a hard time staying consistent with working out.
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I got you on this, been in that exact same position weighing 260 pounds and I decided that it was enough, took me a lot of courage to start working out but that was the Best decision I’ve ever made. Now I’m on 190 pounds so it is possible my Friend, do your best not to turn to food whenever you feel sad, anxious or lonely, that was my problem but once I identified I did better at handling My emotions
Hey friend,
As @lg95 said, if you struggle with eating at some point (not assuming it’s your case as you didn’t share about it), it can be helpful to take some time to identify the reasons why you eat. For example by journaling during a certain amount of time, without any pressure: what/when you eat, in which circumstances (is the environment relaxing? Are you focusing on your meal or something else like a TV or else?), and how you feel at the moment. If you can access to it, don’t hesitate to be helped by a nutritionist, (even if with quarantine it may be a little bit difficult).
More generally, making this whole process as much stress-free as possible is, to my opinion, a very important priority. Give yourself the time you need, the grace you need. Give your body the time it needs as well. Everytime you make a step towards your goal is a success to acknowledge, something you can be proud of! You’re not exercising regularly for the moment? Well… let’s be honest: it’s difficult to create a new habit, especially one that implies to be active. So, maybe you can take a moment to think about what is not working to you right now, also what are the most challenging aspects for you. Do you think your strategy could be changed? Is your workout schedule realistic? I’m just asking because sometimes we can be willing to achieve our goals all at once and do too much, while we need to do things progressively so we don’t get discouraged. Just step by step, day by day.
You’re from Tomination community! It means that you can receive some great advices there as well, about workout and achieving your goals. It’s an awesome place. Lots of kindness and very wise advices. Don’t hesitate to keep sharing about your possible questions and struggles on stream.
If you’re interested, there are also live workouts sessions every Tuesday and Thursday on the HeartSupport IG account. You can get more informations here: Non-Profit Community Support for Mental Health | HeartSupport - instagram.com/heartsupport - Some sessions are also available already on the support wall: https://forum.heartsupport.com/c/lifestyle
Definitely a good occasion to exercise along with a community and support each other while doing it! I personally struggle with being active again (I was in the past, but definitely not anymore), and knowing that I’m not alone to do this definitely helps to be consistent!
I know it’s frustrating not to see the changes you expect as fast as you want. And feeling ashamed about yourself because you don’t feel comfortable in your own body is a very difficult feeling. I’ve been battling with a similar feeling for years. It made me feel like I had to hide myself, like I was unlovable by extension. But I was mistaking my own worth with my appearence. And something we need to be reminded sometimes is that we’re not our body nor our appearance. We’re so, so, so much more.
Somehow, I thought that I would feel better if I would reach a precise weight. But the truth is it’s never satisfying enough and those are just different goals. If you feel vulnerable in your own body, maybe it could be great for you to take some time to question what are your goals behind losing weight. Is it about changing your appearence? Loving yourself or being loved? Feeling more confident? Being more healthy? Wearing those old clothes in your wardrobe? It’s only examples to say that those are very different goals and, depending on what you expect from losing weight, the journey can be easy or difficult. It’s hard to accept that you and your body needs time to change, and in the meantime, working on taking care of yourself, working on this feeling of shame, could be a good thing too.
There’s an exercise that has been added very recently on the Support Wall. I only read it, but I think this could be highly useful for you right now, to reflect a little bit on yourself and your personal goals. Don’t hesitate to give it a try, if you feel comfortable enough (no obligation/no pressure at all!):
https://forum.heartsupport.com/t/when-body-image-issues-are-hitting-you-hard/14953
Just a reminder here: you have worth and you matter, friend. Right here and right now. I hope you will succeed in reaching your goals. I hope you will take care of yourself as much as you need during this process. You are loved. And there’s a community right here to support you through all of this (and much more!).
Sending tons of hugs and motivation your way! You got this. 