Posted by Jean on 5/11/2008, 12:53 pm, in reply to "depression"
12.216.119.186
I'll have to chime in on this one for the benefits of exercise in dealing with both depression and de-conditioning. Since starting to exercise daily five years ago, I have truly realized the benefits of this part of my daily routine. Exercising helped me lose a lot of weight, and that made breathing a whole lot easier. The standard diabetic diet I tried to adhere to (and still do try) helped, too.
The bottom line was I lost the weight, got myself into pretty good shape for being 64 (I know I'm in better shape physically than I was 20 years ago)and my life is really pretty good. When my husband became ill and died last summer, I continued to get on the TM every day. Everything else in my life seemed to be totally out of control, but I could control that part and it really helped deal with the stress the loss of someone so important created for both me and my children.
I know it can be really hard to get started on an exercise program and many of us think there's no point because we can do so little before we get totally out of breath, but I'm here to tell you that even if you start with walking for 30 seconds without stopping, that's a start. If you continue to do that, you can increase the time to a minute in a couple of days and then to two minutes. Push yourself a bit and soon you'll be walking for way longer than you thought possible. It's so worth it for the freedom and independence it can bring you.
I walk for 45 minutes every day on the TM and watch the daily news as I go. I'm uncomfortable and slightly out of breath for much of that time, I'm sweating and some days I have to count my way through it. The payoff for me is that I can go to work at a pretty high stress job and do a full 8 hours and sometimes more pretty comfortably. I can travel and play with my grandchildren (I'm planning to take my three grandsons 12, 9 and 7 to Kansas City for Oceans and Worlds of Fun for three days in June....that'll be a workout!). Exercise makes this possible, so that 45 minutes every day on the TM is a small price to pay. My FEV1 is 36%, so technically I'm in the severe range, but I sure don't feel like it!
"Exercise not only lets me live, it enables me to have a life" Give it a try.....it's worth it.
Jean
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