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Depression affects weight

So last weekend, my husband and I dropped our kiddo off at the in-laws and swooshed off to Vermont for a weekend get-a-way. We went with friends and family, ate and drank a little more than we should have, enjoyed fresh snow and outdoor activities- it was wonderful!
My husband stated that I probably threw my diet in the dumpster and gained back everything I had lost. Well, even though that's rude and extremely negative to say to someone struggling with a weight issue, he was wrong. I had balanced my drinking and eating and activity level well enough to only see a normal 1lb fluctuation.
This week and weekend however, I fought off a nasty 'mood'. I struggle with depression, and it often rears it's ugly head to try to suck me into it's quick sand. Late sleepless nights, late mornings that I don't want to get out of bed, tension headaches. And, of course, the urge to binge eat. To eat outside of my windows, to eat prohibited foods, to even have an alcoholic beverage while sitting in my pajamas on my couch on Sunday afternoon. I wanted pizza, I wanted tacos, I wanted donuts. It was a bad weekend. AND IT SHOWED.
It is Wednesday and I am still 3lbs up since Friday morning. Even though Monday I got 17,669 steps. (I should have marched around for the 18,000 while scrolling Facebook before bed!) Even though Tuesday is a 20 hour fast day. Even though I have had my Metamucil every day this week.
I know I ate irresponsibly, but now I'm STUCK with it. Anxiety and depression cause stress, stress causes cortisol, cortisol hangs on to unnecessary fat.
So, to pull myself up out of this funk, I need to think about what I can do to CHANGE the game and REVERSE the weight gain.

#1- DRINK MORE WATER
Raise your hand if you drink enough water- 8 8oz glasses a day? ANYONE?? Now raise your hand if you forget the last time you had a full glass of water. Maybe at a restaurant when you didn't want to pay $3 for a glass of soda? Maybe yesterday at 3 int he afternoon when you were slumping- nope, that was coffee. I try to log my water, and I am lucky to get 16ozs a day. That's pathetic. By not drinking water, you are slowing down metabolism. It doesn't make it any easier to drink water, but it gets you thinking. Adding water is the easiest way to boost metabolism. The fiber in Metamucil can't go anywhere if there's no water to lube the passageways. Poop matters when it comes to weight loss.

#2- GET MORE STEPS (EVERY DAY!!)
Sunday- 4,719 steps. Monday- 17,669 steps. Tuesday- 8,014 steps. Wednesday... to be determined.
One or two days of above average stepping isn't enough. 10,000 a day is NORMAL. Less is inviting and accepting that sludge life. My personal goal is 12,000 a day- which falls short of record setting 38,000 days.

#3- ADJUST MY SLEEP SCHEDULE --AND STICK TO IT
About 75% of my days, I fall asleep well after 11pm. And most days I'm not truly out of bed until 8 or so unless I have to, such as on days that I work at 7:30. And even then, it's begrudgingly. 11 to 8 is 9 hours. I know that I probably only need about 7.5 hours. I feel like I should be in bed with no technology by 11 at the LATEST, and up by 7/7:30 regardless of schedule. Sleeping too long makes you feel more tired and, for me, makes me want to stay in bed. Even if the baby is calling or the alarm is going off.

No where did I say starve myself for 36 hours, or only drink water for the next 24 hours. Now that I have put those words on the screen, the ideas son't seem so bad. But my point here is, is that I am battling more than just fat. I am battling the two headed beast of anxiety and depression. This battle directly influences my battle against my weight. Hopefully killing two birds at once is the fresh kick in the ass I need to move forward.

Raise that water glass-- CHEERS!

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