The mental benefits of exercise

Atlantique
Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
edited September 24 in Motivation and Support
I'm one of those folks who does well when exercising and just goes to hell when I'm not. And it's not the calories.

When I exercise, I come to love my body. I respect it. I love and respect what it can do, and I'm always surprised by how much it can do if I try. When I see what it can do, I care about it. I don't want to hinder it. My relationship to my body is totally changed by exercise.

When I respect and take pride in what my body can do (even when I'm not thrilled with how it looks) I take better care of it. I get more sleep. I eat better. I drink less(in the alcohol sense). I feel like I'm nurturing something precious, and that something precious is me!

This isn't true for everyone, I know. And I know that the big ticket to weight loss is proper eating. But for ME. When I use my body, I like it better, and that leads me to making better dietary choices.

Anyone else find this to be true?

Replies

  • taiyola
    taiyola Posts: 964 Member
    I find it helps lift my mood as I have suffered from Depression on and off for 9 years, and it seems to make me feel more alive :smokin:
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    I find it helps lift my mood as I have suffered from Depression on and off for 9 years, and it seems to make me feel more alive :smokin:

    Excellent point! Exercise can definitely elevate your mood. :bigsmile:
  • farmwife80
    farmwife80 Posts: 30 Member
    I agree. Exercising releases powerful positive endorphines that are great for mental healthiness! So why, even though I know this to be true.....is it such an effort to get the butt off the couch to get it done?? I have started putting on the 'oldies' radio station thoughout the day and just the beat gets me WANTING to move....dance, walk, exercise...whatever....it is what gets me going lately. :bigsmile:
  • GingerKid
    GingerKid Posts: 86
    I use exercise as a part of managing my depression and anxiety. I can be *thisclose* to popping an Xanax to deal with my anxiety, but am on my way to the gym, so I wait, workout and then see if need it still. 100% of the time, I do not! :)

    My issue is food. I also use it to deal with depression and anxiety, but it isn't in the healthy sense! LOL

    Grrr.
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    I agree. Exercising releases powerful positive endorphines that are great for mental healthiness! So why, even though I know this to be true.....is it such an effort to get the butt off the couch to get it done?? I have started putting on the 'oldies' radio station thoughout the day and just the beat gets me WANTING to move....dance, walk, exercise...whatever....it is what gets me going lately. :bigsmile:

    Getting out the door is more than half the battle., agreed!

    I commit myself to 20 minutes a day. I don't usually feel good until I'm at least 10 minutes into a workout. But then, you just try to stop me! LOL so the starting is the hard part, not the DOING.
  • radarseven
    radarseven Posts: 50 Member
    I find exercise to be its own reward - the more I do it, the more I enjoy it. It's like an upward spiral. :)
  • yates01
    yates01 Posts: 9
    TOTALLY agree!! The hardest part is actually starting/ getting out the door/ getting on the treadmill/ whatever it may be, the hardest part is the start. Once im into my workout im feeling great! the more i sweat the better i feel.

    just don't know why its is so hard to actually get moving each time, when i know how good i will feel???
  • emilyrosedye
    emilyrosedye Posts: 66
    Awesome post and I totally agree. Some mornings I wake up and literally cant be bothered to do anything more then drag myself out of bed and veg on the sofa, but other times when I wake up feeling refreshed after a good nights sleep and no alcohol the night before I was up ready and rearing to get out the door and go for for a run and those are the mornings I when I feel positive all day and make more of a concious decision to stick to my healthy diet.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    Anyone else find this to be true?

    Definitely.

    Think like an athlete = train like an athlete + eat like an athlete = perform like an athlete = look like an athlete (nice added bonus ;)
  • debbiequack
    debbiequack Posts: 275 Member
    I don't think that exercise is a miracle or anything, but I do feel better when I do it. I'm able to think more clearly, and I am less stressed at work.

    Keep up the good work at nurturing yourself and your body!

    Debbie
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