My Routines To Battle Depression and Get Physically Healthier
Over the last five years, I have struggled with weight gain and unhealthy, destructive habits.
You can blame life changes, you can blame sedentary activities, you can blame my upbringing, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.
What I chose to do, or not do, about the problem was.
And I know first-hand how hard it is to make that choice when you are sitting at rock bottom, unable to get out of bed, and beating yourself up about feeling that way.
To be very clear, I am NOT saying it is a bad thing to carry some weight. I am not saying you need to be stick thin to be beautiful or healthy. I do not for one second believe any of that and think that modern-day beauty standards are bullshit.
I do know, however, that my lifestyle was NOT healthy, and I suffer from depression, and I know that physical health and mental health are extremely intertwined.
This year, around New Year’s of course, I decided to do something about it.
So I researched, I pinned on Pinterest, I read a TON of books, I listened to Podcasts, and I did all of the things to try to figure out what would make the biggest impact with the smallest amount of effort. And that is the information I am sharing here, not to lose weight, but to get healthier, and perhaps help someone else with their mental health too.
Please keep in mind I am NOT a nutritionist or exercise coach or therapist. I do not claim to be. I am just a girl who has struggled with my health, with my mental health, with my everything, and if I can save ANYONE any of the time I spent going through this alone, I will.
That is what this article is for.
Note: Everything I use is linked here, but I am not affiliated with any of these brands. I am sharing because I know how hard it is to narrow down brands and products when searching for these things and want to make it as easy as possible.
Supplementation:
Caveat: I was already taking a birth control pill (to help with endometriosis), high doses of fish oil, and magnesium.
Then everything I read said eating breakfast is a necessity to get healthier. But I hate breakfast and never have time for it.
The good news is that everything I read also said I should prioritize protein first thing in the morning. That I could do.
So every morning for one month, all I did was have a protein shake. I particularly like the Ghost Protein Cinnabon flavor mixed with 8 ounces of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. It’s surprisingly low in sugar for tasting as good as it does, and I have now been through 3–4 containers of the stuff.
I do use the whey protein version, but if whey products would upset your stomach, they do have a vegan option.
Shortly after I started doing this, I added fiber powder to my shakes. It tastes like nothing and fiber is another thing you’re supposed to get more of in your diet, so I did it.
Then it was a multivitamin. Then collagen, and step by step, week after week, my morning supplement routine has grown, and now looks something like this:
Protein Shake:
MCT Oil, 1 Tablespoon (make sure to add this ingredient first, otherwise your powder clumps)
Greens Drink:
Bolthouse Farms Berry Boost Smoothie, 6 Ounces (I know this has a lot of sugar, but drinking just plain greens doesn’t taste the best, so this is how I get it down).
Note: This morning routine is a result of information I found in Body Love by Kelly LeVeque, and it is a variation of the Fab4 ingredients she mentions to balance blood sugar and stay full (protein, greens, fiber, and fat).
Vitamins:
And at night, I am still taking my birth control, fish oils, and magnesium.
To be very clear, I have changed almost nothing else about my diet or what I put into my body. Just my morning routine and supplements have changed.
I made it as easy as possible to make sure my body is getting the bare minimum it needs to thrive, and this entire drink routine takes me about 10–15 minutes to put together.
I also know that this looks like a TON of stuff, and buying all of this at once may be unreasonable for both your budget and your willpower. I highly recommend you start like I did- with ONE thing you can do, the easiest thing you think you can handle right now, to try and help yourself get healthier and better.
Maybe it’s taking a vitamin D supplement every day for a couple of weeks before adding some protein into your breakfast, and then moving slowly onto other things as you start to feel better.
Maybe it’s just a multivitamin for a month, or just adding fiber into your morning coffee.
It does not matter which step it is that you take- just start small, and work your way up to the things that will make you feel more whole overall.
Exercise:
I am not someone who loves to exercise naturally.
I do not go to a gym, I do not go to yoga classes, and prior to this year, I only stretched when things started to hurt.
This year, however, I committed myself to do some strength training at home three times a week, as I know that resistance training is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your health (from all the books and research, this truth is universal).
I started with one workout once a week, then the next week I did two, and by week three I made it through all three of them. It took a while for it to really be a habit, and the only way I can stick to it is to do it first thing in the morning and get it out of the way, but it does get easier.
I should also point out that I used to power lift, so I do have more knowledge of exercises than someone who has never lifted weights before, but it was seven years ago, so I was a little rusty.
All of the exercises listed below came from one book only: Thinner Leaner Stronger (I read the one for women). There is a section at the end of the book for home workouts only including dumbbells, as opposed to needing a full gym, and that is where I pulled this routine from.
My routine is not complicated and can be done with a pair of 5-pound and/or 10-pound weights. I decided I wanted a workout bench to help with some of these and picked up this one that has been great for my small workout space.
I should also note it took me a couple of months before I was doing dumbbell deadlifts without a YouTube video guiding me through the form, but if you do not feel comfortable doing an exercise, there are plenty of other options you can look at that work similar muscles.
I highly recommend looking up videos of how to do anything the first couple of times you try something new, and maybe only start with one set to make it easy and work your way up.
Day One: Chest/Triceps
Bench Press: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each
Seated Triceps Push: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each
Lateral Raise: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each
Lying Triceps Extension: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each
Pushups (on knees): As many as I can get out at the end
Day Two: Lower Body/Core
Squats: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each (I do hold a dumbbell while I do these, it helps with balance and involves your arms in the movement)
Glute Bridge: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each (I also use a dumbbell or resistance bands or both here)
Heel Taps: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each
Crunches: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each (Having a bench makes this easier for me, but if you do not have one or do not want to do crunches, planks also work great)
One of the following: Fire Hydrants, Donkey Kicks, or Crab Walks, depending on what I am in the mood for.
Day Three: Back/Biceps
Dumbbell Deadlifts: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each
Bent Over Row: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each
Hammer Curls: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each
Bicep Curls: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each
Shoulder Press: 3 Sets of 8–10 Each
Other Things I Do:
If you have past experiences with eating disorders or restrictive eating, please take this with a grain of salt and a word of caution: I use the app Lose It to track my food intake (not to count calories, but it can be used for that).
I personally like that the app I use shows me my macros. No, I do not count macros at all, but I know how hard it is for people to get enough protein in their diet, so I use it as a way to challenge myself daily to get my protein intake as high or higher than my carb intake.
I also have a 40oz water bottle (no not a Stanley, I have never had one, but I love this one from Simple Modern) that I make sure I refill and drink through twice in one day so I know I am getting at least 80 ounces of water.
I have an under-desk treadmill, and while it is extremely hard to write or type while walking, browsing and engaging on Medium is doable, and I have started doing 20–30 minutes of slow-pace walking on there every morning (before strength training if it’s a lift day) while reading to make sure my step count is up.
I no longer go to an office or have a reason to get out of the house and walk around, and in Washington, the weather for walking outdoors is questionable at best 8 months out of the year, so this helps me get at least 7k steps a day.
When To Start?
There is a phenomenon in habit formation called the fresh-start effect. This is why the New Year is such a popular time for people to set new goals, but you don’t have to wait for January 1st to get things rolling.
I recommend you start where you are, with whatever small thing you can manage right now to make yourself feel better. Then, maybe as you start to add things to your health plan, you can utilize the fresh start effect of a new day or a new week to propel you into motion.
Do what works for you, but start now. Otherwise, you never will.
A Final Note on Mental Health:
I used to be one of those people who had a stigma toward taking antidepressants, thinking it meant I would have to be on them forever, that the side effects weren’t worth it, that it meant I was weak and had given up, and that they would make me “not myself”.
Then I hit a low point sometime last year and got scared of my own thoughts, and in my desperation made a virtual appointment with a psychiatrist. And he prescribed me antidepressants for the first time in my life.
I am not going to sugarcoat it- the first two weeks I had insomnia and it SUCKED.
Now I occasionally get night sweats, apparently as a side effect of my body producing serotonin like it was supposed to be this whole time (taking a shower at night or making sure I get movement in stops these, though).
But I am so incredibly thankful I gave these a chance. I should be getting off of them in a month or two since it’s been almost six months, but I cannot stress enough that if you do not even have the energy to try anything I shared in this post, if you have thoughts that things may never get better, one- I promise you that things do indeed get better, and two- there is help.
Depression (and anxiety) are medical conditions created by chemical imbalances in your brain, the same way that cancer is a condition created by the overproduction of cells in your body. It is not your fault. You would not blame someone for having cancer, and you cannot blame yourself for having depression.
What you choose to do with it though is up to you.
This post has been long, and heavy, and if you’ve made it this far, thank you for hearing my story and holding space for possibilities. I sincerely hope something in here helped you somewhere.
If you or someone you love needs assistance, please contact the 988 Lifeline, which provides 24/7, free, and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.
