Drop the Dead Weight After a Break Up

Drop the Dead Weight After a Break Up



By Patia Braithwaite for BounceBack.com

If you've ever been through a break up, chances are you've experienced one of the following: you are eating everything in sight, or you aren't eating much of anything. If you fall into either of these two situations, we've got the perfect (unofficial) fitness plan for you.


Step 1: Acknowledge that your ex was dead weight. Typically, when I go through a breakup, I lose 10 pounds. After years of this ritual, I've come to realize that this is my body's way of losing the loser who was attached to my hip. Regardless of your emotional eating behaviors, your relationship has ended because it wasn't serving you. While that emptiness can be scary, it's not a reason to over eat. Think of loneliness as the lightness of being free. The dead weight is gone, don't replace it with love handles.

Related: Seven Ways to De-Stress After Heartbreak

Step 2: Eating is an an act of self-love. Whether you are prone to starving or overeating, remember that nourishing your body is an act of love. I know that your love life might seem bleak right now, but make no mistake, you are LOVEABLE. Think of everything you put in your mouth as an expression of self-love. One slice of cake may be loving, but the entire cake is abusive. Likewise, skipping breakfast lunch and dinner is punishing your body - not nourishing it. If it's not good for you... try not to do it.

Related: You Are What You Eat

Step 3: Feel your feelings. How many nights have we eaten ourselves into a food coma and fallen asleep? Well, that behavior, though it seems comforting, might be keeping you from truly processing your emotions. Sit with your feelings for a moment; perhaps you'll find it easier to move through them.

Step 4: Move your body. Life coach Tony Robbins states that the fastest way to change your emotional state is to change your physical one. So whether it's taking a walk around the block or dancing around your room, try to do something physical every day. Not only will it help fight extra break up pounds, but exercising releases endorphins that help improve your mood.

Related: Break Up the Depression - Set Up a Fitness Routine

Above all, be gentle with yourself. Whether you gain, lose or stay just the same...you will heal from the break up. It gets better.


Patia Braithwaite is a New York based relationship writer. Check out her own break up chronicles at www.menmyselfandgod.com

BounceBack.com helps people find happiness in the right relationship. If you've been through a breakup, divorce, or just haven't been able to find happiness in your love life,BounceBack is a place to tell your story, get community support and advice from experts, and find the confidence and strength you need to move forward. Check out our Facebook page.


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