I think your experiences with exercise may be atypical, Jenni. I have never met anyone who, over a period of time, feels more tired than they did before they started exercising.
As for being bored by it, I can relate.
I agree completely. I wanted to add that I have the same disinterest in repetitive excercise and have found great ways to trick myself into getting it. Lately I’ve been into swing dancing, rock climbing, and hiking. Even if those are not your interests, I know that there are coed kickball and dodgeball leagues, and would be surprised if volleyball and other informal sports could not be found.
Some people’s sensor for feeling full is set in such a way that if they allowed themselves to reach it they would be overweight. Thus self restrainment/monitoring of portion sizes is absolutely necessary for them to stay slim. Acting correctly, in this case, means not allowing yourself to reach the pleasurable feeling of satisfaction. Maybe in time this can shift in a way in which that won’t be the case but, at least initially, it takes extra effort and will power.
It maybe be difficult to distinquish between those and those two go to full+.
Case in point my own daughter. The internal sensor that triggers the brain to stop putting food in one’s mouth because it’s too full to chew does not work in my daughter, quite possibly one of the many signals between the brain and nerves that is interrupted - hence her inability to bear weight, delayed speech and other neurological disabilities.
It is much easier for her now that she is used to it, but when she was little we literally had to watch how much she put in her mouth. Occasionally she still has to think consciously about it to prevent from overstuffing herself. But most of the time now she knows she has to watch how much she needs to bite and to wait a while between bites.
No psych issues there for sure. She’s happier and more positive than most kids we know - and she’s the one who can’t walk!
The brain is complex, for sure. But frankly, this is one part of her disability that isn’t on the short list of stuff we’d expect.
I suspect that there are many people who have that or similar defects and that it contributes to weight gain. For folks like them, it can either be an obsession, or in my daughter’s case, she just has to be careful.