Exercising can do a lot for your self image and overall mental health

I've read a lot of stories about people being depressed and how every day of their life seems to be a struggle. When I read further into these stories one common thing seems to be involved in nearly every situation: These people are generally not very physical in their day-to-day lives.

I went through something similar when I was in my early 40's. I had spent the previous 5 years living very irresponsibly. Then a relationship that I was involved in came to an abrupt end after what I thought was 5 years of relative happiness. It all came as quite a shock to me and no, I am not trying to correlate the relationship with the nearly 50 lbs I put on during it. It was just a coincidence and my choice to live a lethargic life was by my own choosing, it was not her fault.

When all of this came together, I was very unhappy with the person I had become. I was fat, I was now feeling lonely, and I never really cared for my job that I had at the time either. I could have just gone to a psychiatrist and gotten on some sort of anti-depressants but instead I decided to start working out and getting myself back into shape.

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At first, it was very difficult, just like it would be for anyone that was around 60 lbs overweight. I had a plan though, and this helped me a lot. I didn't try to go on crazy runs or do crazy lifts at the gym at first but I did find that i was able to use my depression to my advantage: it kept me motivated to carry on, even though it would have been a lot easier to simply sit at home on the sofa or go visit friends in the bar. I STILL did those things also but I also integrated diet and regular exercise into my life. I started small, and kept adding a little bit more to my routine until I started to actually enjoy it. At first, exercise absolutely sucks and it can even be a bit embarrassing to be in a gym with really fit people when you are a fat ass.

It took a while, several years actually, but I eventually got almost all the excess weight off by sticking with and evolving my plan consistently, and by keeping very close records of all of my activities and for the most part, keeping track of what I ate and keeping certain things like carbs and especially processed sugars to a minimum. I don't think I had ANY processed sugar on purpose for nearly a year.

Once the weight was shed, I actually started to like the person I saw in the mirror. I wasn't Brad Pitt good looking or anything like that and I certainly didn't have 6 pack abs, but I actually felt quite good about the shape I was in. My clothes didn't fit me anymore and it felt nice to need to go and buy new clothes because my old ones were not far too big for me.

I was smiling a lot more, was more fun to be around, and even though the heartbreak of the ending of my long-term relationship still lingered, I used that to my advantage in the gym. I used that anger and took it out on the weights. I recall absolutely refusing to stop on the battle ropes section of the gym and how every time I felt the burn in my arms I pushed just a little bit more. Eventually, I actually started to take pride in how I looked.

This confidence I had in my shape and muscle mass worked its way into all other aspects of my life. I became more talkative and it even resulted in me getting better employment over the years as well. I also saved myself from a very dangerous slippery slope into obesity but realizing the problem and deciding to do something about it. In many ways, that breakup that I did not want was the catalyst that started a process that is likely going to extend my life.

I know that now that I exercise regularly, I just feel better in a general sense. I didn't do this out of some sort of silly revenge on my ex either, it wasn't about that. Although I will admit that the breakup might be the best thing that ever happened to me as far as my health was concerned. I am friends with the ex (kind of) now and she has told me that my weight increase had nothing to do with why she decided to end things with me and I guess that was nice of her.

I just think that for people that are depressed for whatever reason, that maybe having a try at using exercise to improve your self-image and mental health might not be a bad thing to attempt. It worked for me and now I am achieving my goals with a much better sense of self-worth. Exercise can do that for a person, I think it can do it for almost anyone.