Maintaining a healthy weight is integral to your health and wellbeing. If you have just been through a traumatic experience, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy diet and exercise regimen. In fact, studies show that people who have experienced trauma are more likely to overeat or eat unhealthy foods.
Depending on the nature of your traumatic experience, you may need a period of time to heal. This could be as short as a few days or as long as a few months. By all means, it’s not wise to drastically cut down on your daily calories and exercise regimen. Your body needs time to return to its normal metabolic rate and become comfortable with the lessened stress on your body.
If you want to maintain a healthy weight, this means staying within your daily calorie limit and doing moderate-intensity activity. It’s a good idea to sleep in as much as you can and allow your body to become accustomed to your new daily schedule. Most people, however, will need to find a balance between getting back on track with their daily routine while maintaining a healthy weight.
What is a traumatic event?
Trauma is defined as an emotionally and physically upsetting event. Anyone can experience a traumatic event. Although it is rare, it has been found that some people become physically ill after a traumatic event. So whether you are following a healthy diet and exercise program or you are constantly denying yourself foods you love, you are essentially reacting to a traumatic event.
Trauma can be complex, but it is usually something that we can learn from and use to improve our future. By learning from our traumatic experience, we can become wiser and stronger people.
What to eat after a traumatic event
In your post-traumatic state, your brain might be sluggish from the lack of proper nutrition. It’s important to get adequate nutrients, and they are particularly crucial to recovery.
The emotional impact of a traumatic event
In your case, as a survivor of a tragic event, your emotions will be running high. And if you’ve suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, you’ll probably be afraid of being alone. Of course, you’ll want to spend some time with friends and family, but going out of your comfort zone can be difficult for you.
Tips to lose weight after a traumatic event!
Good nutrition is key. People who have experienced traumatic events have much higher risk of not maintaining a healthy diet and a high risk of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes. Although many people feel hopeless or they are angry or traumatized, doing the work to be healthy is essential.
Here are some tips:
- Begin by writing down the foods you eat in a day.
- Take pictures of your meals to check your intake.
- Make healthy substitutions if your healthy diet is one of your strong suits.
- Begin a mindful eating habit by visualizing your food choices in your mind.
- Go to the farmers market, choose and cook your own food.
The goal is to feel good and healthy without feeling guilty about the unhealthy habits you may have.
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How to find your motivation again!
For those that have just gone through a traumatic event, it can be difficult to find the motivation to start a new diet or exercise routine. However, you have to remember that in the short term your body can go through long-term consequences. If you are wanting to lose weight, you may need to adjust your weight loss plan for your body to adjust. An example of how this can happen is if you were running the day of the incident and have not been able to run since then. You may need to slowly build up your cardio level again and start off with a walk or jog. In the long term you will be able to go back to running again!
Remember, that all things in moderation. What is your goal? Once you have determined your long-term goal, it is important to take baby steps and set realistic goals.
When your body is in shock or dealing with a traumatic experience, it can be difficult to make decisions about how to handle that trauma. It’s easy to feel like you need to take some drastic action that will fix everything right away. If you’re feeling the urge to start extreme diets or exercise regimes, stop and ask yourself if they are completely necessary given your current situation.
Be gentle with yourself and take the time to grieve and heal. Get professional help to help you with the process and get back to a normal life. If you need help please do reach out to me.
Having gone through trauma myself last year when I lost my mom, I know how important a solid set of strategies and healthy habits are to get back.
Sending love and healing
Andrea
