SCIENCE, HEALTH
Are you overeating because you’re depressed, or are you depressed because you’re overeating?
It’s not an easy question to answer, and, in reality, it is probably both. Our Relish Life program takes a “whole person” approach to healthy, sustainable weight loss. Both anecdotal evidence from our personal experiences and scientific evidence has informed our program’s multi-faceted approach, with “happiness” being a guiding principle.
Why happiness?
Research supports the strong correlation between specific mental health issues and weight. If we fail to address these issues, you’ll find yourself regaining any weight you may have lost, potentially more, and become even more frustrated and unhappy than when you started. It’s a vicious cycle, and we’re determined to help you break it.
Several cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have observed a bi-directional relationship between mental health and weight, meaning the relationship is a two-way street, each contributing to the other. Without addressing one, you cannot resolve the other.
Depression and anxiety are the leading culprits in this cycle. In one study, depressive and anxiety symptoms were present in approximately 64% of people who fell into the clinical category of obese to extremely obese. Across multiple categories of depression and anxiety, overeating and emotional eating are present as forms of self-medicating. These individuals have a 10-20% higher daily caloric intake coupled with a lower caloric output from movement and exercise.
Additionally, MRI evidence from individuals with a BMI greater than 30 shows ineffective negative emotion regulation. More recent studies have also identified an alarming trend that adolescents treated for depression are significantly more likely to become overweight later in life. While more research is needed, we’ve learned that treatment with antidepressants alone fails to prepare individuals with the appropriate coping and self-regulating skills required to navigate life in a healthy, effective way.
So, what does all this have to do with losing a few pounds? A lot.
Your body is like a well-oiled machine. When all systems are working correctly, they’re supporting each other. Your body is sending signals to your brain, and your brain is responding with the appropriate response to help regulate everything from your body temperature, to hormones, to hunger responses. However, when something like depression interferes, those signals get confused, and our brain misinterprets what your body needs, cascading various issues into the cycle. That is why it’s so important to reset your hypothalamus, the part of your brain sending the signals, so you can reset your metabolism, balance your sleep cycles and overcome negative eating habits.
Let’s take a slightly closer look at the impact of the depressive-obesity cycle.
Fig. 1 – MDPI
Fig. 2 + Fig. 3 – Cambridge University
All of this leads us to understand that your long-term success depends on going to the root cause of weight gain and using multiple modalities to achieve a whole system reboot. That means regaining or boosting your happiness through proven, doctor-prescribed medications, therapy, a nutritionally balanced diet, movement you enjoy, and the support of the Relish Life community.
Ready to break the cycle and Relish Life? Check out more resources below!
As a critically acclaimed circus acrobat and elite athlete, Shannon did what it took to maintain the weight to look the part, no matter how unhealthy the path to get there. This led to disordered eating – a common issue in the world of professional athletics – and a loud inner critic who constantly told her she was never thin enough, never small enough, and never quite good enough, either.
When she became a mother, her struggle with “bouncing back” and weight gain contributed to her feelings of failure at this new chapter in life, which led to depression and an inability to be fully present for herself, her life, and her family. She needed to make a change to save her life and reclaim her happiness, so she embarked on the journey of redefining what it meant to live fully and win in the ways that matter most. Shannon rose to a place of sustainable health and self-love and began guiding her clients through the same journey with incredible and lasting results that didn’t feel like work, sacrifice, or suffering.
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