For the past 90 days I have been using an extreme exercise program to get fit and reduce my risk of obesity-related diseases. Despite working out six days a week for three months, I gained seven pounds. How can someone completely change their life to include extreme exercise and gain weight? I blame bipolar disorder for the weight gain. Exercise causes a release of feel-good hormones that may be hindering my weight loss efforts.
Most Bipolar Patients are Overweight or Obese
I am not alone in my struggle to lose weight while fighting bipolar disorder. Many bipolar patients are overweight, obese or extremely obese. Some experts associated bipolar medications with weight gain and other credit co-morbid binge-eating disorder. I currently take no medications for my type 2 bipolar disorder, so I must fall into the binge-eating category. However, during my 90 day fitness program, I attempted to reduce calorie intake and increase fruit and vegetable consumption, yet I still gained weight. The physical effects of my extreme exercise program toward the latter end of the 90 days changed how I thought about food.
Exercise Promotes Good Feelings and Confidence – Maybe Too Much
On days when I didn’t feel like exercising I pushed through and exercised anyway. Soon, I realized the exercise lifted my mood. Exercise promotes the release of “happy hormones”, which was the feeling I was enjoying after the first 15 to 20 minutes of exercise. Some experts report exercise can have the same effect on patients with depression as antidepressants, so exercise was perfect for my condition, but as my exercise program progressed, there was a clear change in mood that did not promote healthy weight loss.
Confidence Leads to Over-Confidence
After the first 60 days I started noticing changes in my body. I could do more push-ups, lift more weight and exercise for longer periods without feeling my heart was going to jump out of my chest. I started looking forward to my exercise time each day, but I also noticed a significant change in mood; I was growing cocky.
As I got stronger, I felt I could take on the world. It was okay if I ate that extra helping of mashed potatoes because I was working out every day. If I ate a large piece of cake, I convinced myself to work harder during exercise. Soon I noticed the cyclical mood patterns familiar to bipolar patients. I worked all day, came home and exercised to exhaustion and immediately started cooking dinner for my family. I didn’t take the time to shower or change my workout clothes. I was in the kitchen within two minutes of finishing my workout and the overeating started. I’d snack a little bit here, taste this dish or that ingredient and cook meals that my kids loved instead of the healthy meals I cooked at the beginning of the 90 days. I was flying high and making the worst food choices imaginable just because I felt I could take on the world.
Science may not agree, but my bipolar condition is negatively affected by extreme exercise, but I’m not willing to give up those “happy hormones” just yet. With the help of family members, I am changing my after-workout patterns and giving up meal preparation in an effort to get the most of my extreme workouts.
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