Did getting fit and healthy make you happier?

[ShabbyAbby]

Just that really. I often think if I get fitter and healthier I will feel better and therefore my mental health will improve.

However I don't get past the early stages as I get too worn out and wonder if maybe is it worth the pay off? Maybe I'm just lazy

dementedma I think that’s quite a common way to feel. Maybe one day you’ll realise you ran a route easily that used to make you feel sick - small victories!
Or maybe you won’t, but at least you’ll have the grim satisfaction of knowing you’re doing something good for you

I feel much more comfortable in myself. I'm not always happy but am happier than I was.

Yes, the anxiety that I've been struggling with for as long as I can remember is now barely there.

To be honest, no. However I view it as something that needs to be done so I do it now that I have the opportunity.

Since starting regular exercise I have less money (physio and gym fees), much less time and have plantar fasciitis in both feet (leading to more money being spent as can’t run so joined gym). I often wonder what I am doing wrong.

However, I know I am stronger and cardiovascularly fitter. I also occasionally get an endorphin rush which is pretty cool.

Yes, discovering I can actually run (slowly) 5k has been a game changer. I really didn't think I'd be able to. I'm feeling so much happier than I was in February just from losing 16 lbs and running twice a week.

Yes...for sure!
At 40, I am the fittest I've ever been. I brought a bike and started cycling to work. Other benefits include it saves me £2.50 per day for the car park and wakes me up for the day. Plus the traffic is so terrible, I'm often moving faster than the cars.
Also, with two DD I think it's really important to be a good role model re: exercise.
Nothing like blowing away a bad day at work on my bike on the way home.

thursday you have no idea how much I appreciate your comment. Thank you
I know its good for me, i have lost a little weight (10lbs) and I can plod for longer but I honestly can't say I feel any happier or on a high or have a buzz etc. So I have felt a bit of a failure. Your comment has made me realise that that's ok. thanks

@Sarcelle

What a brilliant way to explain the change in how you feel.

I totally agree with you too!

@dementedma

I think you might feel that buzz when it become easier. If you are still feeling sick after exercise you are still getting fit.

I definitely think the buzz will come! Keep going you are doing so well!

No. I lost about 6 stone and went from a size 20 o a 10/12. I am far fitter and eat healthier food but I am ill far more often. I am just less comfortable in my own skin now, weirdly- it's like I knew who fat me was, but thin me is a stranger. I lost the weight 7 years ago and I haven't been really happy since.

Demented it makes me sad to hear you speak like that,when there are so many different types of exercise you could try!

When you find the one you like, it'll all click together and you will actively enjoy doing it.

(I loathe running. I tried it a few times but I just hate it. I found parkrun a patronising, jolly hockey sticks embarrassment and c2k just got on my tits. So I don't run, and instead do stuff I get a real buzz from)

Yes.

Another Couch to 5k fan here. Always unfit till I was 38 and now I'm about to do the London Marathon.

I have big problems at home. Running (with a goal too) is helping me to cope with the huge stress.

Yes!! Whenever I'm eating well and at the gym not only do I feel like I have more energy but I also feel more confident and happy . I think because I am treating myself well and looking after myself I realise I deserve good things and am capable of doing good. When I eat rubbish and and excessive amount of carbs I feel rubbish, have a very low mood and just hate myself in all aspects (looks, personality, career)

I am very up and down in all aspects of my life which I try not to be.

I'm really not a gym person, certainly horrified at thought of classes and running is a no no.

So I just started doing simple stuff at home after DS has gone down for the night. It's made a real difference and honestly believe it's part of the reason I have adjusted so well to coming off my MH meds during this pregnancy. I'm feeling positive about myself and have hope and a plan!

dementedma Please don’t put yourself (and others) down ...I’m a run leader and my best 5k after 4 years of running 3 times a week was 33.25 - you’re loads faster than me and loads of others. You’re doing brilliantly.

If you’ve lost (or never found) your running mojo why not join a ‘social’ running club. Ours rarely does non stop runs but do hills, chases, loops, intervals, over loads of different routes plus fancy dress runs at xmas and a pub run in the summer to keep the boredom away. Why not try a trail or off road run (my favourite runs is through the bluebell woods in the evening) . How about a race to get some bling.? You need some variety !

Being fit and healthy is hugely important to my mental wellbeing

I'm not obsessive or anything but have always done some form of exercise on a regular basis and like to keep my BMI in the healthy range

Yes, I weight train and run and should do more yoga. I absolutely love it. I like being muscled, not just toned, but muscled. If I put my hands behind my head my shoulders, biceps and lats look amazing. 6 years ago I broke up with my abusive ex and it made me realise my own strength, I did a lot of sports in my youth from volleyball to cross country and hockey, and I now remember how powerful I felt, rather than a frail girl. I love being strong and fast

@dementedma 30 minutes is fab - under 10 minutes a mile. I'm happy with 30-35 minutes or a 5k park run and many are behind me. For me it's about achieving it and continually running without stopping. Speed isn't important but your speed is perfectly respectable!

I love running. I love exercise. I have a dodgy knee but carry on anyway because I find it good for me mentally and physically. I’ve not got the perfect figure, I have a very wobbly belly and thighs that make tree trunks look small, but I do love the fact that I can run solidly for 3 miles without stopping (probably more but that’s when knee gets too bad).
I’ve watched some people (men, women and otherwise) in my gym who can’t actually sustain any level of exercise-they plod around on a few bits of equipment before going down and sitting in the sauna and I wonder why they are there if they don’t want to exercise.

But I can understand that some people wouldn’t get the endorphins and that they’d find it a chore.

Notageek, sorry. Should clarify. Can keep going for 30 minutes but thats only 3.5K. Nowhere near 5K and given how exhausted I am after 30 mins, cant see 5K being a possibility. Apologies if I have been putting others down. Didnt mean to.
bobbly what exercise gives you the buzz? Have tried aerobic type classes( hideous) and pilates/yoga which was ok but no buzz. Quite like swimming and walking but they dont burn many calories

I have never really got on with running. When I was incredibly stressed at work I took it up as I needed to expend my anger, but even then I never really enjoyed it.

However, one new job later and I now walk to work and do fairly regularly yoga/pilates, and also swim at least once a week. I've just trained and swum a 5k. I feel much better for it. I now have muscles in my arms and shoulders and have lost about 10lb so far. Still got another 10 ish to go, but I will get there eventually.

I find yoga and swimming both great for my brain. Swimming I'm just counting counting counting all the time, focusing on my breathing and the number of lengths. Yoga is mindful by design. If I am feeling stressed I feel so much better after one of those. It is really hard to force yourself to make time for them though.

@dementedma slow is fine and 3.5k is fab. I have friends doing 10k and half marathons but I have zero interest. 5k is enough for me. I'm not sporty at all!

dementedma no need to apologise I was just trying to get you to see how amazing you are ! I’ve had many ladies do C25k at your pace or much slower and they all do the 5k so don’t lose the faith. ..sound like you need to slow down. Once you’ve set off running go down a gear to ‘comfortable (you should be able to talk a few words/short sentences) First of all build the stamina and the speed will come.

Yes, 100%.

BUT only when I decided to do it for reasons other than being thin. I have used exercise to punish my body for years and, mentally, that got me nowhere.

Instead, I took a long break, and when I was ready to get back to something, I thought quite hard about what I wanted: a gym with classes where I could be social, no element of competition (it makes me obsess), a pool, no chat about bikini bodies or the gains or burning fat or any of that.

I found it in a middle aged, middle class gym in the suburbs and I couldn’t love it more. My hba1c (long term blood sugar if you are diabetic) is practically at non-diabetic levels, I’ve made friends, I sleep better and depressive thoughts have all but vanished.

@limesoda

I used to use exercise as punishment to my body and agree with you about using it now to be kind to yourself.