Depression, Exercise, and my day :)

I was listening to an Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew podcast on my run yesterday. They were talking about studies that have shown that exercise helps ease the symptoms of depression just as much as drugs do.

Amazing.

And I completely believe it, knowing how I felt with my heart pounding, my body working, sweating in the sun as I listened to that podcast.

I realize I am still battling some depressive symptoms, even 9 months out from my dad's death. It can still sneak it's ugly head into my life, making me irritable, fatigued, sad and super anxious and limiting my productivity and joy in life.

The runs in this beautiful, sunny, warm weather feel like AMAZING medicine to me. The adrenaline gives my brain a little reset, making the rest of my day more productive, making me feel happy and PROUD of myself.

This little article from WedMD sums up why it works nicely: Exercise and Depression. And gives this list which I felt important enough to share with you (to urge anyone out there who might not always find the desire to exercise!):

Regular exercise has been proven to:

• Reduce stress
• Ward off anxiety and feelings of depression
• Boost self-esteem
• Improve sleep

Exercise also has these added health benefits:

• It strengthens your heart.
• It increases energy levels.
• It lowers blood pressure.
• It improves muscle tone and strength.
• It strengthens and builds bones.
• It helps reduce body fat.
• It makes you look fit and healthy.

My day yesterday:

2 mile run, 1 mile dog walk (short because Koda is still tired from the weekend!) and 200 row pulls.

All of a sudden running is more attractive to me- minimalist shoes and warm weather help! I can't wear sneakers, my feet don't plant naturally like that and so the sneakers have always hurt me in the end no matter what if I run in them. Also - I can't wear minimalist shoes in the snow, so winter running is really out of the question for me.

I thought I was totally done with running (as I said, these past two times are the first runs I've had in a year) because it hurts my joints and it is BORING. But it wasn't boring these times. It was kind of.... fun, dare I say. No run for me today, though. I am looking forward to just doing yoga and a little strength workout.

My weight is down to 124.8 - glad to be back in the 124s. I won't mind going to my dress fitting weighing 124 (though I am going to try for 122/123 before July 9th).

Favorite moment of yesterday: sitting on the porch with Koda, reading Wicked, as the rain poured down. It was so cozy and Koda was so calm and cute. I felt insanely happy.

Hoping for another delightful moment like that today!

Namaste <3