I wanted to share my personal experience with the struggles I faced in losing weight and with mental health. After high school, I gained about 25 pounds. It could have been the stress of college, or simply my metabolism catching up with me, but regardless, I found it distressing. I graduated college in only three years, and at one point I was taking eight classes at one time. I graduated a quarter later and married on the same day.
It was an immense relief to finish college, and I went on a ten day honey moon in California and I had a great time, but when I came back, it was such a shock to have nothing going on. I had finished my degree in Dietetics, and I wanted to create my doula business while I waited to apply for my internship program the next year. I had to get my certification and I started working on my nutrition master’s degree online, so there was much to do, especially given that we just moved into our first home.
struggled with the lack of structure in my life after all of the busy stress I had been dealing with in the years before. I felt useless and sunk deeper and deeper into depression. I wanted to go to the gym in the mornings, but I could not pry myself out of bed before 10:30 now matter how hard I tried. It seemed that the more time I had, the less that I could accomplish. I applied for nutrition jobs, but all of the jobs required the RD credential which I did not have.
There were many days where I would have my whole house a complete mess, laundry not done, and dinner was not ready when my husband came home from work. The crazy thing was, I was actually busy working on my business or one chore all day. Everything seemed to take at least two hours to complete. It caused conflict in my relationship and added much stress and guilt on my part, and increased my sense of purposelessness.
Circumstances prevented me from applying that year, so I ended up having to wait an additional year to start my internship. March of the year I was supposed to start my internship, my father-in-law got very sick from an eating disorder (depression) that made my husband and me need to go to Brazil. For weeks we suffered there (this was probably the worst few weeks of my life) and my father-in-law passed away. Things were very dark for a while, but we all seemed to fall into a pattern in Brazil. We would naturally get up around 7:30am and go to the bakery down the street to get bread for breakfast, and the days began to follow a pleasant rhythm. I would help my mother-in-law cook and do chores.
When we finally got back to the US, the routine seemed to follow me. A few months later, I began my internship. I found that I was getting up early and having less time to do things around the house, but strangely enough when I got home I was able to complete nearly all my tasks in a very short amount of time. I found that I had more leisure time, and for the first time, I felt that I had permission to enjoy myself in the times when I was free. I felt happier than I had in years. I also began to sleep more and get up earlier in the day, and I started incorporating my nutrition knowledge more in my daily eating.
I used the plate method when preparing my meals (half of the plate is vegetables, a quarter starch, a quarter protein), and I was paying more attention to my satiety cues (eating until I was about 80% full). This tactic is simple, yet extremely effective. It’s also very easy to remember.
The Plate Method
1. ½ plate : fruit or vegetables (fresh, frozen, roasted, sautéed, dried, steamed, or raw)
2. ¼ plate: grains (make at least half of this whole grains, and limit refined, high sugar options)
3. ¼ plate: protein (seafood, beans, peas, eggs, soy products, low fat dairy, lean meat and poultry)
· It is also encouraged to limit saturated fat, high sodium items, and sugar sweetened beverages.
· Choosing low fat/ fat free dairy products also will help keep saturated fat and calories down.
I began losing weight, and I felt motivated to apply the nutrition knowledge that I attained in my education. Eight months later, I lost 22lbs and went from a body fat percentage of 23% to 18%. Seeing these changes further motivated me to continue my efforts.
I found that the most significant motivator for personal change, for me, was having a routine. Having a huge life event pushed me towards this change, as I knew before that I needed a routine, but it was not enough to make me feel up to doing it. Depression is something I have always struggled with, but learning how to manage it and keeping myself on a routine and busy have helped greatly in managing it. I know that if you are struggling with depression or a sense of purposelessness there is no one thing that I can say to motivate you to change- just know that, when you feel ready, having a routine greatly helps you create an environment that allows you to more easily attain all of your goals.
References
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Eat Right with My Plate. Eat Right Web Site. https://www.eatright.org//media/files/eatrightdocuments/nnm/eatrightwithmyplate.pdf?la =en&hash=4EF4A4D188452B3AC90AFC465248B3BA03F21835. Published 2015. Accessed April 25 2019.