Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Breaking news!!!!!!

Exercise reduces stress!!!  Are you shocked?  Of course not!  Everyone knows that.  Everyone except me, apparently.  I've never really understood that until recently.  I particularly noticed it today.

After I came home from work, I found out that my son's spring college tuition is due on December 8.  This was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.  It shouldn't have been a surprise, but for some reason I thought it wouldn't be due until January.  Tuition, Christmas, normal bills, taxes, my daughter's birthday......the bills for December are neverending

My stress level really increased, so I decided to go for a vigorous walk.  I did 4 laps on the route that I sometimes take that has a few hills instead of my normal 3 laps.  When I was done, I felt much better.
Amazing, isn't it?  I've never really enjoyed exercise.  Never really made it a permanent part of my routine. Now I see that exercise can be a wonderful stress reliever - much better than unhealthy habits like eating.  There are no bad side effects to using this to ease anxiety!!

During my walk, a car stopped beside me and a lady that I've never met complimented me on how good I look!  Apparently she often sees me walk and has noticed my weight loss progress.  It was so nice of her to take the time to mention this to me!  This was such an encouragement - it helped me make that extra lap rather than stopping at my normal 3.

A few hours later there was a few other things that happened that increased my anxiety, but I'm coping.

3 comments:

  1. You reminded me of how awesome I used to feel after a nice long vigorous walk. It really does cut down the feeling of stress.

    The compliment was very nice too! Keep up the good work Melanie !

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  2. That's fantastic! I used to be better about 'taking a lap' when I was stressed about something a few years ago, but I really need to start that up again.

    And how wonderful must it have felt to get that compliment! :)

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  3. What I find admirable is that fact that you are able to MAKE that choice and instead of running for the fridge you are walking out that door :)

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