When you feel like crap, it’s almost impossible to do anything exceptionally well, much less to stay consistent. When someone is depressed, they’re more likely to pick a box of chocolates over going to do some burpees in the gym any day because it is a delicious escape from reality. While breaking a sweat during a workout tends to release some feel-good hormones, some people who are dealing with depression, anxiety or just plain sadness cannot muster the energy required to workout.

One of the biggest drivers of obesity is stress and some people turn to food as a coping mechanism. Hi, I am some people, lol. Now, of course everyone is different and for some people, they lose weight so quickly once they get sad or depressed. I actually have a friend who sometimes sounds like she’s craving a heart break whenever she packs on one too many pounds because once she’s sad, the fat melts off quite quickly. Clearly, there’s people on two extremes and everywhere in between. This article therefore applies to people like me – emotional eaters. Those who usually accept the “Death by Chocolate” dare.

When you are trying to lose weight, certain sacrifices will HAVE to be made and sometimes, what you need to give up are those comfort foods. Yep, those same foods you have turned into emotional blankets might have to go. I don’t know what those things are for you but for me, it tends to be some Ferrero Rocher, chocolate cake, brownies, you get the drill, anything chocolatey. Luckily, I have never been a drinker because that would have been a deadly combination. I remember a time in my life when I was so sad, I would drive to the mall to buy Ferrero Rocher, a box of 16, the price was friendlier that time, and I would consume all of it within an hour, sometimes less. During the time it took for me to finish that box, I’d forget about my problems and instead focus on enjoying that smooth, yet crunchy and nutty premium chocolate. How I’d feel afterwards is a story for another day. And I’d do this at whatever time I so pleased, even if it was at 10PM, which I have now learnt, is the worst time to have such quantities of sugar. And just in case you were thinking there was ever a good time to ingest that much sugar, there isn’t. It is always a bad idea, but some timings are WORSE than others.

Anyway, I found that addressing the cause of my sadness was what I needed in order to start making better choices in life. I talked about my issues with friends and family, sought out therapy, and fixed what I like to think of as my “software”, my brain. Once I was in a better spot mentally, I instantly had the zeal to fix my “hardware”. Because when you are feeling premium internally while looking like scrap metal, best believe you will channel your energy towards looking exactly how you feel – and maintaining it. And so, I went for it, I went all out attacking the excess fat on my body and one of the tools I used is intermittent fasting. For the sake of those who are new to this space, intermittent fasting is not a diet. Rather, it is a way of life which restricts the time you spend chewing to a specific window. The most common type of intermittent fasting is the 16:8 window whereby you fast during a 16-hour window and then you eat during an eight-hour window. But there are other fasting options which are much longer such as Alternate Day Fasting (ADF) whereby you eat on one day and fast on the next day (which I have tried and will tell you about my experience soon), 48-hour fasts, seven-day fasts, etc. The amount of strength you need to pull off such fasts cannot, at least speaking from my experience, be mustered when you’re not feeling your best.

Additionally, one thing I have discovered is that several aspects of our lives and our health are so interconnected that failing to care for one aspect can greatly affect other things. And you know what? Simple things like taking a walk in nature can greatly improve your mood and further sharpen your will power to make better choices. One of my favourite humans in the world, Cardiologist Dr Pradip Jamnadas actually backed this up with some science in one of his lectures, he said;

“Everyone must learn some form of relaxation, meditation included. It is a lovely way to manage stress and in it, I also added biophilia. Do you know what biophilia is? Bio means life or the environment then philia means love. So, when you go for a walk in the mountains, in the hills or in the park or even on the beach, why do you feel so good? Is it because you went for a walk? No. Because you could have gone for a walk in the concrete jungle of down town, I don’t think you will feel that good but biophilia is something special, a feeling of restfulness, a wonderful feeling that you get because you are also taking in some bacteria…you want that, because you want the biodiversity in your body because it is always looking for ways to become stronger.”

I can attest to this. Back when I was weighing over 115kgs, I began to take some walks and thankfully, I live in a farm area where the environment is as close to nature as possible. I found that after 30 minutes to an hour of walking, I’d feel so good and make plans on what else to do in order to reach my weight loss goals. Walking, fasting and a low carb diet have been my magic combination. Just remember that whatever it is you are trying to do, your chances of succeeding are much slimmer when your mind is going off a cliff. It is cardinal that you are in control so that when you go to that workshop and at tea break, everyone around you is eating muffins, sandwiches and biscuits or mini pizzas, you will tell your mind to think about something else and not cave into that temptation. Or when it is a holiday and all your mates are having some beers, you’ll be able to look the other way because your focus is on something else. I strongly believe that doing something from a point of tranquillity sharpens discipline.