How to Not Gain Weight While Unemployed

It happens. Sometimes jobs don’t work out, but that doesn’t mean you can stop working out. Stress and depression are waiting in the bushes when losing a job comes along in life, and today I’m going to teach you how to keep your head high and not make you an easy target to them.

Routine, Routine, Routine

The biggest reason why unemployment is so likely to cause an increase in weight is because how scheduled reoccurring work is the anchor for a normal schedule. When you work determines when you sleep just as much as the sun does, and consequently when you eat, shower, clean, and enjoy your life. Once something like a full or even part time job is removed, many people come to realize how much they depended on that anchor for schedule structure. Even during the pandemic people gained weight turning many jobs into desk jobs and destroying the structure of the 9-5. Unemployment packs on pounds not because of the loss of a job, but the loss of a routine.

Go to the Gym

Now that the importance of a routine is established, go to the gym. Next to food, a gym membership is the most important thing you must hold onto at all times in your life. Even if it's just for 30 minutes of cardio, it will keep some sense of structure going in your life and keep your spirits up, seeing people, and not feeling like you're rotting away at home. Exercise is invaluable for mental health because of the endorphins it produces and helps give a sense of still having something to do throughout the week. 

Do not Order Out

Yes, you can get out of the house by going to eat at a restaurant, but when you're in between jobs you really want to be cooking your food at home. Knowing how to cook recipes is a life long skill that can be used to keep your spirit and budget alive during setbacks like the loss of a job. I cooked for myself when I worked on midnight shift and the flavor of home made sauces and spices is what kept me going in a life with very little sunlight. Cooking and learning new recipes can be a hassle, but continuously getting food from restaurants where the norm is unhealthy ingredients and seed oils will quickly destroy both your wallet and your image. It's about seeing the real risk of a downward spiral and doing everything that can be done to reverse it.

Go for a Walk

Yes, in addition to gym cardio. Go for a walk every day if weather permits. See the world moving and move with it. The comfort of home is nice when it's used as rest from the other things you do with your day. Staying home all day, day after day does things to the mind. It causes cabin fever and depression from sitting around in an environment where the only thing changing is the light from the windows, and the expanding waistline. Get up, move, and remember that in absence of a regular job, the maintenance of your motivation becomes your new one.

Staying Strong

Losing a job sucks. It rarely puts anyone in good spirits, and in low spirits bad options are considered that make problems worse. Candy bars, alcohol, and other comforts start to look more appealing when there’s seemingly no comfort or support elsewhere in one’s life. These comforts like anything else in life can become habits, and they are among the easiest things to make a habit of because of how good they taste. A lost battle does not justify throwing away the campaign, and it really is a war against your health being waged.

Do not lose heart and keep the big picture in mind. Eat well, work without a job’s instructions, and never lose hope for the life you deserve.

-Ed