Depression and Exercise
 

Its time for us to get up and move. Exercise is so important (even if I don't like to admit it) and I'll admit I'm the first offender. Lets start today by logging our exercise / movement into the January's Verb thread. :D

Exercise and Depression

What are the Benefits of Exercise?

Regular exercise has been proven to:
Reduce stress, anxiety, and depression
Boost self-esteem
Improve sleep

Exercise also has these health benefits:
Strengthens the heart
Makes the body better able to use oxygen
Builds energy levels
Lowers blood pressure
Improves muscle tone and strength
Strengthens and builds bones
Helps reduce body fat
Makes you look fit and healthy
Exercise and Depression: What's the Link?

Research has shown that exercise is an effective, but often underused, treatment for mild to moderate depression.

What Types of Exercise Treat Depression?

It appears that any form of exercise can help depression.

Do I Need to See My Healthcare Provider Before Starting an Exercise Program?

Most people can begin an exercise program without checking with their healthcare providers. However, people with a medical condition (such as diabetes or heart disease) and people who have not exercised much should check with their healthcare provider before starting any exercise program.

How Can I Begin Planning My Exercise Routine?

Here are some questions you can think about before choosing a routine:

What physical activities do I enjoy? (this is me !!! I need to enjoy it).
Do I prefer group or individual activities?
What programs best fit my schedule?
Do I have physical conditions that limit my choice of exercise?
What goals do I have in mind? (For example, weight loss, strengthening muscles, or improving flexibility or mood enhancement)

How Often Should I Exercise?

To get the most benefit, you should exercise at least 20 to 30 minutes, three times a week. Current studies suggest that four or five times a week is best. If you are a beginner, exercise for 20 minutes and build up to 30 minutes.

How Do I Get Started?

When starting out, you should plan a routine that is easy to follow and maintain. As the program becomes more routine, you can vary your exercise times and activities.

Choose an activity you enjoy. Exercising should be fun, not a chore.

Schedule regular exercise into your daily routine. Add a variety of exercises so that you don't get bored. Look into scheduled exercise classes at your local community center.

Exercise does not have to put a strain on your wallet. Avoid buying expensive equipment or health club memberships unless you are certain you will use them regularly.

Stick with it. If you exercise regularly, it will soon become part of your lifestyle.

What Should I Do If I Feel Pain During Exercise?

Never ignore pain. If you experience pain, rest. You may cause stress and damage to your joints and muscles if you continue exercising.

If you still feel pain two hours after exercising, you have done too much and need to decrease your activity level. Some mild soreness after exercise is normal. If pain persists or is severe, or you suspect you have injured yourself, contact your doctor right away.

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/45/1663_51226.htm?lastselectedguid={5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348}

Fun and Affordable
 

It does help and I'm in the process of trying to find something fun (that I will stick with) and affordable (family plans at ymca, etc are expensive)

I can vouch for the benefits of exercise. I have had recurrent severe depression for years. In the year I have been eating healthily and exercising regulary, I have been fine, and have had only had one panic attack in that time. I find exercise gives me "headspace" to put things in perspective. Swimming is one of my favourites, and the pool is one place I feel completely safe. Weight training has helped me too, as my body gets stronger, so does my mind.

I invested money in a monthly gym membership, the guys at my gym say I make up for all the people that sign up and only go five or so times then give up!!!

Give exercise a try, it may not work for you immediately, but hopefully, it will make as big a difference for your mind and wellbeing as it has for mine.

Absolutely!!! A good dose of regular cardio/wts. makes a better mental lift than any drug that was prescribed for me.

Leenie, I don't post on the verb---I use another thread.....(because no one else was on the verb and I wound up talking to myself)

Walking is the cheapest, easiest form of exercise then can work into intervals with a little jogging and then maybe do 5ks which is my plan. I was in great shape in my 30s but for various reasons have packed on 30 pounds. I walk as much as possible, preferably 4miles/an hour or so at a time as my goal is to increase mileage and definitely get back to jogging for real.

You are doing great. I am currently lingering between high 160s and low 170s..want to get down to 160 by Valentines Day...and wear a new red dress not yet bought. My best way to get there is to keep my walking and get back to jogging, stick to my 1200 cal plan with j.c. and try not to cheat (an ongoing challenge).

Exercise is a known benefit for depression and a host of other medical problems. Besides, it's fun and makes you feel good. I go to a park about 10 minutes drive from my house and walk around it..3 miles, it takes 45 minutes. I go to our local high school and swim in the brand new pool too, usually for 45 minutes. This is the secret to losing weight...especially as you grow older, lower intake of food if not enough. Good luck to all

kylie if you are still around i would like to ask you a question.

how long did it take before you noticed the reduction in your depression. also did you have ongoing depression day in day out or did you have periods of depression and then periods that you were ok?

thanks!

started exercising about a month ago,really am getting into it'I've been putting this off long enough.lost 10 pounds got120 to go.
congradulations rather it's 10 or 60 pounds, that's great.
mookie-bren

I am currently walking 1.4 miles daily on my treadmill, using an exercise ball for sit-ups and push-ups and jumping rope occasionly . I have lost 73 total lbs. with low-carb dieting and have only 16 lbs. to goal. I think the exercise has helped me as much as the dieting. I had been very sedentary for years, but I am trying to get in good shape now. Have went from a size 20 to size 6 and 7's. Still have tummy weight to lose, but feel tons better.

I am new here . It does help me to excerise being Diabetect I have to.
I find it does help with my depression. I have to take med for this too. I conitune with the excerising. PINKROSES

Yeah! I agree, that exersise is cool and helping, but still with horse-riding twice a week and 30-minute walk three times a week and biking... I`m still overweight. I`m planning to get on diet pills soon.

I have been on meds for two years..started about a years after returning from Iraq "I rolled in the day the war started and worked on medical EPWs". Anyways I exerice...take meds...and am still tired. It is refeshing to see I am not the only one trying to lose weight (gained 40 pounds last year only after dad died from cancer) and fighting this depression...any advice? http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar098...1/140/187/.png

I have tried a few supplements quicksilm and hotorx...and it boils down to exercise and eating well. I found those pills to give me a mini sort of "high"feeling, almost to much energy (sounds crazy). I have decided to stay clear of any of those pills and just take vitiams. B-5 can boost your energy if that is what you are looking for. http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar098...1/140/187/.png

I just saw my doc last week because i have to go back on anti depressants.. one of the things he asked me was how much excercise i got.... and i said barely any unless you call chasing after kids excercise( im a preschool teacher) anyways.... he told me that he wants to walk 30-40 minutes every day..... so i grabbed my sisters and neice... and said lets start walking.. tell you what. not only is it helping me.... but i get some bonding time with the family...... :)

That is awesome LauraCarrot!
so glad the walking is helping!
you go girl!

Exercise Withdrawal Causes Mood Change within Days
 

I just read this one and thought I'd share it.
Cathy

Exercise Withdrawal Causes Mood Change Within Days

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsAr...archived=False

Fri May 12, 2006 11:13am ET
By Anne Harding

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who exercise regularly start feeling
depressed and fatigued after just one week of forced inactivity, a new
study shows.

Those who were in the best shape experienced the greatest loss in
fitness when they stopped exercising, and also showed the worst negative
mood symptoms.

Ali A. Berlin of the Uniformed Services University of the Health
Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland says she's not sure that the results would
apply to a person who was skipping workouts of their own accord, perhaps
to do something fun. "I think future research is needed to really answer
that question."

Sedentary people are more likely to be depressed, while a number of
studies have suggested that symptoms of depression like fatigue, tension
and irritability can develop in a fit person who stops exercising,
Berlin and her colleagues note in the March-April issue of Psychosomatic
Medicine.

To get a clear picture of how exercise withdrawal might affect mood,
the team looked at 40 men and women who normally exercised at least three
times weekly for at least 30 minutes. Half were instructed to stop
exercising for two weeks, while the other half continued with their regular
routine.

At one and two weeks, Berlin and her team evaluated participants for
somatic (i.e., body-related) symptoms of depression such as fatigue, poor
appetite, difficulty sleeping and low energy, as well as mental
symptoms such as irritability, sadness and self-criticalness.

By one week, Berlin and her team found, the individuals who stopped
exercising reported more fatigue and other somatic symptoms than those who
had kept working out. At the second week, the non-exercisers reported
more mental symptoms as well.

While there was no statistically significant loss of fitness on average,
the researchers did find that the people who were the most fit -- as
measured by their VO2max, which represents the body's ability to use
oxygen efficiently -- showed the greatest loss in fitness. And those who
experienced the greatest drop in fitness showed the sharpest drop in
mood.

Berlin and her colleagues theorize that exercise helps preserve mood by
shifting the body's nervous system balance away from the sympathetic
nervous system, which is responsible for triggering the "fight or flight
response," toward the parasympathetic nervous system, which quiets the
body. "Exercise can affect this balance, it basically lets you calm
down more efficiently," she explained.

Halting exercise, Berlin and her team propose, causes the balance to
shift back toward the sympathetic system. "If you're body's revved up all
the time, obviously you're going to start to feel tired," she added.

Berlin and her colleagues are now analyzing additional information from
the current study to explore their hypothesis.

SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, March-April 2006.

So, I have been going through a hard time, and I forced myself to my house today to use my treadmill. I feel better now also. It seems like it lifted some of the depression off, yanno? :)

I totally agree with that!
 

I have been working out 5+ times a week for almost a year now, and when i don't exercise I get really cranky! It has become my addiction! :dizzy:

It's true, any exercise will do
 

Hi everyone. I'm just finding my way around, having stumbled onto this wonderful sight last night. I was a regular gym-goer (3x / week plus Richard Simmons DVDs in between) for a couple of years, then for some reason dropped off. I've been fighting a depression now, off work for nearly 4 months, and I know that exercise would help, it's just getting motivated that's hard. The gym was the only place I felt comfortable. At ~350 pounds I find being in public (walking, for example) terrifying. I've had some nasty nasty encounters in the past that have jaded me, I'm afraid. :cry: At my local Curves I felt completely comfortable for the first time in my life. I've made the first steps, joining an organic home delivery service and going back to the gym for the first time in nearly a year. I have noooo muscles right now, and very little energy, but I figure if I only do 1 (of 3) times around the circuit at 1/4 speed, it's still moving, and slowly slowly the stamina and strength will return. It wasn't easy, having gained back all the weight that they'd watch me lose, but now driven to lift the depression, I hope I've found the willpower. :crossed: I know that if I can keep it up for a month, the routine will be instilled back into me. We need those endorphins to be flowing again to lighten the depression, and any movement will help.

Exercise on par with drugs for aiding depression
 

http://tinyurl.com/33zw6w

Exercise on par with drugs for aiding depression

By Amy Norton
Wed Sep 19, 3:20 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regular exercise may work as well as medication in improving symptoms of major depression, researchers have found.

In a study of 202 depressed adults, investigators found that those who went through group-based exercise therapy did as well as those treated with an antidepressant drug. A third group that performed home-based exercise also improved, though to a lesser degree.

Importantly, the researchers found, all three groups did better than a fourth group given a placebo -- an inactive pill identical to the antidepressant.

While past studies have suggested that exercise can ease depression symptoms, a criticism has been that the research failed to compare exercise with a placebo. This leaves a question as to whether the therapy, per se, was responsible for the benefit.

The new findings bolster evidence that exercise does have a real effect on depression, according to the researchers.

Doctors may not start widely prescribing exercise as a depression treatment just yet. But for patients who are motivated to try exercise, it could be a reasonable option, the study authors say.

"If exercise were a drug, I'm not sure that it would receive FDA approval at this time," noted study author Dr. James A. Blumenthal, a professor of medical psychology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.

"But," he told Reuters Health, "there is certainly growing evidence that exercise may be a viable alternative to medication, at least among those patients who are receptive to exercise as a potential treatment for their depression."

The study, published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, included 202 men and women age 40 and older who were diagnosed with major depression. They were randomly assigned to one of four groups: one that worked out in a supervised, group setting three times per week; one that exercised at home; one that took the antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft); and one that took placebo pills.

After 16 weeks, the patients completed standard measures of depression symptoms.

By the end of the study, Blumenthal's team found, 47 percent of patients on the antidepressant no longer met the criteria for major depression. The same was true of 45 percent of those in the supervised exercise group.

In the home-based exercise group, 40 percent had their symptoms go into remission. That compared with 31 percent of the placebo group.

There are several theories on why exercise might improve depression. For example, physical activity seems to affect some key nervous system chemicals -- norepinephrine and serotonin -- that are targets of antidepressant drugs, as well as brain neurotrophins, which help protect nerve cells from injury and transmit signals in brain regions related to mood.

Exercise may also boost people's feelings of self-efficacy and promote positive thinking. Some experts speculate that group exercise, with its social aspect, may have added benefits.

Though the home exercise group in this study did better than the placebo group, it's not clear whether it's as good as supervised classes, according to Blumenthal. "Home exercise may be more convenient," he noted, "but patients not push themselves as hard on their own."

He added that supervised exercise may also be safer for some people, such as those with heart disease.

SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, September 2007.

I couldn't agree with the article more...
 

I'm always in a better mood after an exercise session..whether it's walking,jogging or even just stretching.

regarding exercise...
 

Originally Posted by flipflopfloosy:
Exercise really did me good last summer. But as soon as the cold days and rain comes. I stiffen up and can't move because of the painful arthritis and phybro. Any suggestions ? I know what i've told myself... Get off your fat butt and just do it. But seriously there are many days I can't lift my arms to scratch my nose! signing off. flipflopfloost

I know exactly what you mean.... I may have 2 good days for every 20 bad days. Its hard (I have arthritis too, and deteorating disc). We could move to a warmer climate ;)

Come join us on the weekly thread...we'd love to have you :hug:

.

hi im new im depressed cause im so fat i heaver now then when i was 9 months prego!!... just wanted let everyone know i just got a total gym and i LOVE it!!! its so easy to use and the dvds r great !

exercise really does help depression. IT moves the whole day along for me when I exercise in the morning. Evening helps me sleep better.

I agree, once I get in the habit , instead of binging, I go to the gym and exercise. it's open really late and really early, so I go when no one's there and I can run without worrying about people snickering at my jiggle. I usually feel really great once I get back, even though I'm tired.

But sometimes it just doesn't work. It's like I'll go, have a really good workout, run home, and still hate myself.Does anyone else have that problem?

huggamouse - you are not the only one- however I am slightly better for having gone to the gym this evening. I think it does help in some way

Originally Posted by sarahgrace:
huggamouse - you are not the only one- however I am slightly better for having gone to the gym this evening. I think it does help in some way

It does help. I joined the gym a couple days ago, and went two days in a row, and for those two days, I began to feel really good. Felt good about myself, optimistic about my weight loss goals. I didn't go today, and I can feel my self feel worse. I was thinking of only going to the gym 4-5 days a week, but I'm thinking now I'm gonna have to go every day.

Exercise definitely does help...been exercising consistently for the past 2 weeks (in addition to walking regularily) & feel a lot better. Exercising-particularily cardio, releases endorphins (the all natural, pain relieving, feel-good hormone) that stay with you even after exercising. & helps to keep you on track with eating properly ie. do I really want chips after I worked out so hard

Keep on keeping on ladies! :)

Originally Posted by sherbar1:
I am battling depression and tying to come off my medication as my personal trainer thinks that is what is holding my weight loss back....anyone else had this problem..????

...I`m concerned ... shouldn`t your doctor (& not your trainer) be the one to determine & monitor whether you go off your meds...

Depression and Weight Issues
 

I m agree that weight has a big impact on our mood . It's really important to be in shape & energetic. Exercise is really helpful to be in proper shape * boost your energy as well as it doesn't let negative thought to disturb you.:hug:

I suffer from depression.....and exercising definitely makes me feel better. There is such a drastic difference in my mood on the days I make it to the gym vs. the days I don't.

Exercise is what keeps me sane! Seriously, when I am exercising regularly I feel sooooo good and my eating is usually very good. When I don't, I tend to get very depressed, like a bad funk. I choose exercise, being healthy and feeling good!

Hey, guys. This is my first post here, so I'll try to be brief.
i had an episode of depression a couple years ago and got treated with psychotherapy+mild medication. It helped, i got better within a few months, but not THAT better.
For the past few months I've been seeing a cognitive behavioural therapist and she prescribed walking everyday as a part of my treatment. This stuff is magical. Besides, there's the weight loss benefit, both from burning calories and from feeling less anxious/bored/overwhelmed.

Congrats all of you guys with the weight loss meters going further to reach your goals!

I just joined here and started reading this thread - there is a lot of good information on here - I too suffer from depression but have been battling it -

This year I am determined to get my weight down and get in shape. I will be interested in seeing if my depression gets better as I start working out at the gym....

My personal understanding of the benefits of exercise tell me that it's likely to help prevent depression, and like the article suggests, every bit as helpful as antidepressants for treating it.

I just started exercise regularly and it's doing a lot to counter the winter blues. I find it hard to feel down after exerting myself and feeling strong and tough. I love the feeling of getting stronger and having more energy !

Originally Posted by sherbar1:
I am battling depression and tying to come off my medication as my personal trainer thinks that is what is holding my weight loss back....anyone else had this problem..????

I agree whole-heartedly with the previous poster. Your personal trainer is NOT the one to prescribe your meds. :?: It would be good to talk to your doctor. He/She (if they AGREE with your personal trainer's diagnosis) may be able to put you on a different or additional medication.

How to begin exercise?
 

This is what I did. I got two friends to join me at a set time in th morning once a week. We all had to drive to a neutral spot.. a beautiful walk, but not too far away from any of us. This meant we we " obliged" not to let the team down...we had to get up and walk. Yes just a walk...after a year we were wlking 3 times a week, and looking forward to it. Tough to begin with though!
Give it a try for me:)