It's All Connected

This is the diary I had wanted to write before I wrote my long rant about being an exhausted father (for the record, I do love my kids; being a parent is stressful, though).

That diary was also the second most viewed one I've ever posted. The one with the highest views is my before/after pictures. So if I want to drive traffic up, I should either post a clickbaity title, or put up half-naked pics of myself. :D

I'll avoid doing both this time around. I've been wanting to write this for a while now because it'll show the direction I'm going to start going with this blog.

I love to watch the show "Extreme Weight Loss". It's one of the few weight loss shows that I enjoy because it seems to take the idea of weight loss seriously (as opposed to some other shows that make it into a game). After I binge-watched half of last season, I started noticing a pattern with all of the people they work with.

Every person they brought onto the show had some sort of mental or emotional disorder.

There was a woman that was a hoarder. There were sexual assault victims. There was a woman whose dad killed himself. Another was a gambling addict. The list goes on.

Now, I know that all of these people have been hand selected by a very meticulous crew that wants to make sure that the people they bring on are as watchable as possible, and that includes having a good back story. Even still, I started thinking, "How many people do I know that are overweight, and how many of them have had a traumatic experience or a mental illness?"

Turns out, pretty much all of them. I gained a massive amount of weight due to a state of depression I fell into after my first tour in the US Army. Having PTSD and General Anxiety Disorder after Iraq didn't help things, either. I gained weight after both tours, until I blew up to 367 pounds. I know people that have been molested, that went through shitty divorces, have mental disorders, and have a whole slew of issues related to trauma and mental illness that are overweight.

I started looking into whether or not there were any studies done to back up my theory, and it turns out that it's been known about in the medical community for years. High levels of stress, anxiety, and depression can lead to overeating. And if you're like me, without medication there is no "moderate" amount of stress. You're either okay, or you're preparing to survive an ambush. There is no in-between.

The boss called! Get to the foxhole! Prepare to lose your job in 3...2...1...

 It's not just the mere act of shoveling food into your mouth and not working it off that makes you fat. Mental illness makes you fat. PTSD can make you fat. Even being poor can make you fat.

Not only that, but being obese increases those problems, or causes them on their own, creating a vicious circle that keeps leading to more obesity and more mental health problems.

Diabetes creates its own issues. I can tell you from personal experience that when your blood sugar levels are too high or too low, you're stressed and you lash out at everyone.

Yeah, it's kinda like that.

So, while I planned on keeping this blog restricted to articles about diet and exercise, I'm going to be writing about other things in my life. The things that cause stress (which is just about everything), mental health, raising kids, and money problems.

So buckle up bitches. The ride is going to get bumpy!