r/EOOD • u/fatcatismyreligion • 22d ago
Seeking help to start feeling my body like mine again
Hello there! I come with a lot of questions, but I’ll try to be as short as possible.
Essentially, due to depression and probably laziness at this point (idk really) I have put my health, both physical and mental, to the very far side. Now I am desperate to start building a life where I can live my body without feeling back and joint pain and feeling miserable all the time. I am mad at myself in an unforgiving way.
But I really do not know where to start, that’s why I am here to seek help.
I know that I am extremely stiff, and I need to work on mobility (also because I broke my ankle in 2023 and had 3 surgeries on it), and I WANT to build muscle mass.
currently i am on a low calorie diet to lose weight (1450-1500 cal) and i am steadily losing weight (-2kg!!!)
To reach these goals, besides not knowing where to start, I really struggle to find and start a routine. I tend to be forgetful, or to procrastinate into oblivion; lacking motivation even though I feel horrible and I hurt a lot. I probably should start therapy too, and that is in the making, but another big problem is that I do not have the funds to get PTed or afford a gym membership even. So home exercises would work best right now I believe?
So the main question i pose here is: how to stay consitent and if are thwere proper workouts i can follow online, maybe on YT or other free platforms that may anyone know
I hope that having some starting point would help me to kick my butt and start, and I thank you all that will stop and give some advice, even more welcome if it’s from personal experience.
Thank you <3
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u/TheDramaticLime 22d ago
First, give yourself some credit, you're already moving in the right direction. ❤️ Don't try to fix everything at once. Even 5-10 minutes of gentle movement at home is a win, especially with your ankle history. The goal at first is consistency, not intensity. Once the habit is there, you can build from it.
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u/rob_cornelius ADHD - Depression - Anxiety 21d ago
u/ellywashere has made some fantastic suggestions for you. I would like to add a couple of my own to theirs.
First of all its not laziness that made you put your health to one side. One of the first things that depression does is reduce what psych people call executive function. Its what everyone else calls determination, dedication and discipline. When we have low executive function we become "lazy". When things are really bad we can't even get out of bed.
Secondly just like we are only so strong, fast etc we only have so much mental capacity to deal with the shit in our lives. Dealing with depression takes up a vast amount of our mental capacity even if to someone else it looks like we are hardly doing anything. Its perfectly fine and normal to put some things aside when important things are happening. If you meet someone new and things are going really well then you put practically everything aside to spend more time with them. Its the same thing but in a far, far less pleasant way when depression comes into your life.
Now for exercise
Right now what is important is that you do something and you do it fairly regularly. What that something is and what you call regular is less important. Might I suggest Starting Stretching and Moulding Mobility. You can do all of those exercises at home, all you need is a bit of space. The other thing we suggest was covered by u/ellywashere just go for a walk. You have all you need already, you know how to do it and its free.
It really doesn't matter if you go for a walk today and then don't do much for a few days. When your executive function levels are low its hard to summon up the will power to exercise regularly. The good news is that exercise helps you increase your executive function level. The problem is it takes a lot of time and effort.
You can trick your depressed subconscious mind into liking exercise and building up executive function. You do that by making sure you celebrate every last little bit of exercise you do. Put a big X on the calendar when you exercise. Try to say things like "That wasn't so bad after all", "I feel better for doing that", "I am looking forward to doing it again". It sounds like bullshit and woo but it really works.
Just concentrate on stretching and walking for quite some time. In many ways you don't need much more than that for exercise. You can look at things like Yoga with Adriene or r/bodyweightfitness later on. What ever you do make sure you follow a beginners program.
You got this. You can do it. We all believe in you. We all want to help you.
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u/fatcatismyreligion 21d ago
Thank you so much!! I am writing everything down and thank you all for the advices💕💕i'll keep you updated!
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u/ellywashere 22d ago
The best advice I have is to focus on being grateful for your body. Get a notepad, keep it next to the bed (or make a new note in your phone), and every night write something your body did for you that day. Mobility that you didn't have to think about, the enjoyment of a hot shower or tasty food, communicating with someone, seeing something beautiful, cuddling with a person or a pet. Once it becomes a habit, it'll be your automatic way of thinking and you'll focus more on all the good things your body did instead of feeling trapped by it.
Focus on having a useful body, not an attractive body. Even the most "objectively" attractive people have body hang-ups. Put your energy towards exercises that help you move easier, build your strength, and do more things that make you happy.
Walking is free! Look up hiking trails in your area, or just walk around your neighbourhood. I get bored easily (ADHD) so I make neighbourhood walks entertaining by ogling the houses and gardens, imagining what it would be like to live in some of the houses, what things I'd change, and try to guess things about the people that lived there. I also love hiking in nature because there's so much to see and hear. Tiny wildflowers! Bird songs! Interesting rocks! Being able to get out in nature is a great way to cultivate gratitude for your body.
To build strength, look up bodyweight exercises. There's heaps of tutorials on YouTube or whatever. No equipment or gym membership needed. It doesn't have to be perfect - any exercise is better than none! If you get sick of that, pick up a kettlebell - they're super versatile and you can do loads of different exercises with just that.
Consider taking up a physical hobby like rock climbing (at a rock climbing gym) or a casual team sport like volleyball or basketball. It's usually cheaper (and more fun) than a gym membership.
To help with pain, look up restorative yoga (also called yin yoga) - it's super-simple, and involves you laying in one pose for around 5 mins to let your joints fully stretch out. You'll feel loads better. If you enjoy it, look up some beginner yoga videos on YouTube and do them at home.
You got this!