Depressed? Angry? Anxious? Kill Something
Murder Your Workouts for a Better Mood
That emotional issues are a common contributor to obesity shouldn’t surprise anyone. What’s remarkable is the way fitness can not only improve your physical health, but boost your mental health as well.
These days, self-transformation is the name of the game. While I do sometimes encounter people who are thin but relatively out of shape, far more often it’s folks who are overweight. That was me not too long ago, and one of the most common themes I’ve encountered is one I lived myself: A struggle with emotional issues buried beneath those extra pounds.
Mental Health and Obesity
In my case, a lifetime cycling between anxiety, depression, and other mood states thanks to bipolar disorder contributed not only to my sedentary lifestyle, but also my use of “comfort foods” to “self-medicate”. The problem ran even deeper than that, as later in life I came to realize maintaining my unhealthy weight was part of a warped self-image that I had kept with me for years.
I grew up as “the fat kid”, and I held onto that aspect of myself as if it were key to my character. Ultimately, I wasn’t just addicted to food, I was addicted to the idea that I was addicted to food. It was just part of who I was. And who I was…was miserable.
Now, I’m not going to pretend that all my problems went away when I lost the weight. Despite the new-found confidence I experienced after having accomplished such a feat, and the improved self-image I had thanks to the new face and body I saw in the mirror, the cycling of my mood states continued. I did have better days more often than not, though, and it didn’t take long to figure out why: Training that made all the difference.
The Positive Effects of Fitness on Emotional Issues
I’ve remarked before on how fitness improved my life beyond the usual health markers and performance issues we tend to concern ourselves with. From living through mistakes to better organizing my life, I’ve learned a great deal from my training experience that has turned into a philosophy of sorts.
I also briefly touched on the way exercise can boost mood as one of the many reasons why starting a life of fitness is such a good idea, but I think it bears repeating: You’re only ever one workout away from a better mood.
Recently, research has begun to explore the connection between exercise and emotional states like depression and anxiety. The results of these studies are promising. For example, a recent article from the Harvard Medical School explains that aerobic exercise has a positive effect on stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, and the body’s ability to process them.
The American Psychological Association supports this with researching showing the neurochemical response to exercise involves a buffer against these stress chemicals in the body. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America also cites this response in its recommendation to use exercise to combat negative mood states. And study after study has shown that exercise can alleviate depression, lessen anxiety, and even treat these symptoms in the face as something as severe as drug withdrawal.
With so much evidence that exercise improves mood, why aren’t more people using it this way? It turns out there are two sides to this coin and, much like the way my bipolar contributed to my obesity, stress and depression can just as easily thwart your fitness goals as your fitness can thwart your bad moods.
The Tug-of-War Between Muscle and Mood
In a separate report from the APA, it was shown that the majority of people who use exercise to cope with stress feel better afterward. This report also showed than stress can be a limiting factor, with over 40% of those who say they use exercise to deal with stress also claiming that stress itself kept them from the practice.
The truth is, this connection between exercise and mood is a two-way street. As renowned fitness expert Dr. Jim Stoppani remarks, a positive mindset is crucial to your overall fitness goals.
“In a 2015 issue of the journal Health Behavior and Policy Review,” Stoppani explains, “the researchers showed that the participants’ total health scores increased with their level of optimism. They also found that people who were the most optimistic were twice as likely (that’s a 100% increase) to have ideal cardiovascular health and 55% more likely to have a total health score in the intermediate range, compared to those who were the least optimistic.”
“Luckily,” he adds, “exercise is well known to be a powerful antidepressant. Following a healthy nutrition program can also give a huge boost to your emotional health.”
So not only does exercise influence mood, but mood influences exercise and overall health. The key here? Balance.
Striking a Balance for a Less Stressful Life
“Without balance, no matter how healthy you feel you are, you won’t have true health and true happiness,” Stoppani says. “Stress relievers like laughter, awe, thrill, exercise, and meditation free our brain from the worry of the many stresses most of us have in life. And they work directly to prevent the damage that these stresses impose on our bodies. From a mechanistic point, it’s stress that makes us unhealthy — stress from toxins in the environment and food, stress from microorganisms like bacteria and viruses, stress from worry and the demands of life.
“These stresses attack such body systems as the immune system, nervous system, cardiovascular system and metabolic system.”
Even Light Workouts Can Lighten the Load
His “prescription” is to remain diligent, especially when it comes to training. A healthy diet and regular exercise can go a long way to not only addressing current depression or anxiety, but even preventing it. Stoppani cautions, however, “Unfortunately, going to the gym once a day, a few days a week, or even many days each week, is not enough to reach true health.”
Stoppani advocates for what he calls his 30/60 Rule, where for every 30 minutes of inactivity you get up and perform 60 seconds of activity. It could be as simple as a walk, or something as intense as high-intensity interval training. This trick to this regular activity’s benefits is primarily in the activation of genes that keep your metabolism going.
Metabolic processes are about more than fat loss, although it’s a welcome perk. They’re also the processes that instigate production and clearance of other chemicals in the body, including your stress hormones. So for these benefits it isn’t necessarily about giving 100% — the important thing is to maintain this practice.
Says Stoppani, “Exercise is our cheapest, easiest, and most direct way to relieve stress, but one workout a day won’t cut it.” So, it doesn’t necessarily take much — the secret is in the frequency.
Fight Back with Fitness
Honestly, those better days of mine referenced above? Always my most active. It’s that regular “dosing” of endorphins, reduction in stress hormones, and simple energy expenditure that keeps both my body and mind running more smoothly. You don’t have to “leave it all on the gym floor”, but sitting around has never done me any good.
Much as I train regularly, I still struggle from time to time. It never fails, however, that a solid workout brightens my day. On the down days, where I just don’t feel I have a workout in me, it’s hard to say which actually comes first — is the depression keeping me from training, or is it the lack of training that enables the depression to take root? Either way, I know the answer’s the same: I’m only one workout away from feeling better.
To learn more about designing the kind of healthier diet that may support better emotional health, check out Dr. Jim Stoppani’s Dieting 101 meal plan. For workout programs, routines, and exercises you can use throughout your day, head to JimStoppani.com. There, you’ll also find articles and videos on nutrition, training, and supplementation that can help you reach for a healthier, happier life.
