“I’m overweight and it’s affecting my life!” We have some tips to help

Being overweight affects more than just your waistline, it affects your whole life. From your relationships to your self-esteem to the judgement and stigma that comes with being overweight.

However, it doesn’t have to continue this way. There is help for you if you’re willing to take it!

How to stop your weight from affecting your life

Relationships & confidence

More often than not, being overweight is a barrier to having a sexual and emotional relationship with your partner. If you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see, chances are you’re not going to want your partner to see your body either.

Because if you don’t like it neither will he right? With these thoughts start the spiral into a destructive cycle of self-hate, sadness and helplessness, using food to mask those emotions feeling momentarily better, then looking at yourself and starting the cycle again.

Not only is your self-esteem suffering, but your relationship with your partner also suffers too, when you start to withhold yourself from him physically, sexually and emotionally. Unfortunately, this pattern is all too common when moms find themselves much heavier than they were before kids.

Mental health

There is a large correlation between mental health issues and weight issues. Whether you feel bad about your body because of your own thoughts due to judgement or bullying from other people or whether your mental illness has led you to become inactive and overweight, there is a massive impact on you.

It becomes so difficult to see the solution to the situation, leaving you feeling not only depressed but helpless, frustrated and angry. 

The reality of being overweight

If you find this is similar to your reality we need to take a look at some facts:

• A 10-year long study by Harvard University among 170,000 people found that an overweight person faces a much higher risk of suffering 50 different health issues than someone within healthy weight ranges.
• Not only is heart disease, cancers and diabetes on the cards, so too are mental health issues and cognitive delay. Overweight people have up to 8% less brain tissue than healthy adults and on some tests, 1/4 of obese participants scored so low they were considered as learning disabled.

Make a change

It’s easy for the weight to pile on after having kids; with breastfeeding, the interrupted sleep, managing multiple kids with your own schedule, we can ignore ourselves and often put our health last. So it’s time to make some changes so you can lead a healthier life but also set a good example for your kids to follow.

Out of sight

You know the saying. Stop buying unhealthy snacks and eventually, you’ll stop craving them. Start small by excluding soft drinks from your grocery shop or chips or biscuits. If you find you automatically place them in your trolley from lack of willpower, shop online and get your groceries delivered or use the click and collect feature major supermarkets have available. You’ll find this also reduces your weekly spend as you don’t engage in impulse buying.

Move it

Unfortunately, there’s no way around it. You have to get moving. It doesn’t need to be intense immediately. Again start small by walking to the shops or work. Go for a walk with the kids instead of staying indoors. Unless you start some form of physical activity, you will not be able to change the mindset and waistline you find yourself with now.

Seek support

There is plenty of support out there for you, all you have to do is jump at the chance to the possibility of a better you. The Healthy Mommy meal ideas are a fantastic place to start, they are delicious and healthy (yes it’s possible!). Visit your GP for a more in-depth discussion of your health which may require you to get some tests done. Follow body positive social media accounts such as @thehealthymommy or @bodyimagemovement.

You are not alone. There are other moms who have been where you are and they are a testament to the fact that you can change for the better.

Connect with similar moms!

To connect with like-minded moms, be sure to check out our Healthy Mommy pages and support groups.

All our private groups are moderated every hour by our professional staff, to ensure a safe and non-judgemental environment.

To find out our more or to join one of these support groups, click here.