Exercise/diet for HA management

[Anxiousamyj]

Hi all,
At my psychiatrist appointment this past week, she suggested an exercise regimen to manage my mental health. She says she even does exercise to manage her mental health. I’m currently doing the whole30 diet, as my food choices have been pretty poor the past few months. I’ve been an avid exerciser in the past, but have been pretty spotty the past year or so. So, how many of you have tried a good exercise regimen to manage your HA? Are many of you sedentary? I’m about 5 lbs overweight, but I’d like to lose more than that for vanity’s sake, as well as tone up. What do you all do in the diet/exercise department?

[ErinKC]

I love yoga for anxiety because it's good for the mind and body.

I've also been taking a probiotic for a few months now. There's no proof that it does anything for anxiety, but I would swear it's helping me. There is a huge brain-gut connection.

And, diet-wise, I always find low sugar, balanced diet and limiting caffeine works best for me when my anxiety is bad (and also helps me lose weight).

[crazygal]

Whenever I go walking consistently, I do notice a change in my anxiety level. Also the junk I eat I do notice I'm not so much on edge googling diseases and stuff.

But unfortunately I find difficulty in sticking to good habits. I alway self sabotage in the end.

[ankietyjoe]

I love yoga for anxiety because it's good for the mind and body.

I've also been taking a probiotic for a few months now. There's no proof that it does anything for anxiety, but I would swear it's helping me. There is a huge brain-gut connection.

And, diet-wise, I always find low sugar, balanced diet and limiting caffeine works best for me when my anxiety is bad (and also helps me lose weight).

Actually, I take probiotics too and I ran out just before Christmas. I didn't even think about it and just thought I'd order some more after Christmas but I started noticing an increase in adrenaline spikes after about 72 hours (without them). I wasn't stressed or panicking about running out, but I know they have an effect.

As for the OP, I believe that good diet (and that doesn't mean low calorie) is the cornerstone of recovery, as well as exercise. You need plenty of nutrition, and for me that meant high quality supplements AND more than 10 portions of fruit and veg per day.

This isn't something you try for a month and then decide doesn't work. It's something you change for life, and slowly feel better over time. I estimate it took 3-6 months for it to really make changes for me. It also doesn't mean you have to cut out all bad food, I still have junk food once or sometimes twice a week with the kids, and that's not a problem. The critical component here is eating enough high quality nutritional food.

I don't think this works in isolation either, it has to be in conjunction with other techniques like meditation, mindfulness, acceptance of anxiety and actively removing the stresses in your life.

[MyNameIsTerry]

I love yoga for anxiety because it's good for the mind and body.

I've also been taking a probiotic for a few months now. There's no proof that it does anything for anxiety, but I would swear it's helping me. There is a huge brain-gut connection.

And, diet-wise, I always find low sugar, balanced diet and limiting caffeine works best for me when my anxiety is bad (and also helps me lose weight).

You might find it interesting that there have been some university studies over here that have shown probiotics help with anxiety. It was a certain brand they tried though.

But it's an interesting start for us as I think they are very useful for so many areas of health. The greatest number of our genes being in the gut and how healthy bacteria is found throughout the body and linked to so many issues. The studies on mood and how what we eat changes our bacteria balance are very interesting.

Certainly anyone who's been on antibiotics might have found how eating yoghurt clears up all those issues with the rollercoaster of constipation & the runs. It's interesting how many meds kill healthy bacteria and how commonly we use them e.g. antibiotics, steroids, etc.

[ankietyjoe]

I have pretty significant cognitive issues every single time I take antibiotics. Severe de-realisation and a constant dream like state.

There is no question in my mind that there is a direct link between gut bacteria and thought patterns.