Exercise for the Body and the Mind

 Recently I went on a new health kick. No fast food, no soda, no anything that would require me to workout for another hour the next day. I've been loving it. It brings my mood up, and I feel healthier already. Its only day four of this diet and exercise and I am feeling rejuvenated. On the other hand, it's only day four and there have been times where I want to quit and go have a Big Mac.

 Exercise can be rewarding and frustrating at the same time, but we all know that in the end it's good for us. I'm not telling you anything new though, we have all heard the same facts about diet and exercise. For me and my routine, I keep in mind three simple rules:

1. Don't eat it, if you know you will regret it later.
2. It's OK to have a small dessert once a week, no need to punish yourself.
3. Quit whining and workout already, you know you will feel better.

 So those are the rules I've given myself to start, and so far it has been working. No counting carbs, no weighing foods. Just good old fashioned common sense.

 Since the medication makes me gain weight I can't think about weight loss as a goal. I try to think of exercise more as a way to calm myself. No matter what doctors tell you about medication, it's not going to cure everything, you need other tools. That is why they want me continuing counseling and medication management and so on. When I told them I was exercising again they were ecstatic, all they could say was to keep going. That to me is saying something. That with a healthy diet, a good workout, and medication, people with anxiety or depression can have a happy functioning life.

 I know there will come a point though that it will not be enough, that I will hit that low point of my high/low mood swings and I just will not have the energy to keep up my routine. So I did some research and I found this amazing book by two PhD's Micheal W. Otto and Jasper A.J. Smits. I only read the first couple of chapters but I am already amazed at their insight of anxiety and depression.

I can't wait to read the rest of this. I feel like it will be a great tool for me to use when I hit that low. Honestly everyone could use a guide for when they feel a little less like themselves. No one likes to feel that way, and what better way to get out of a slump than to get up and take a jog. Or get a kinect or Wii and buy one of their workout games. I have a kinect, now I don't have an excuse on a rainy day not to work out.

 I don't have to tell you how important good diet and exercise is for the body and how it can affect the mind in the most soothing way, just go out there and experience it yourselves. And for the times when you don't think you can keep it up, just remember, we've all been there. You can accomplish what you started, and you can keep going.