Depressed After Exercise?

[abbeyrd84]

I've always heard that exercise has a positive effect on mood. And it does for me during, and for about an hour afterward.

But then I become weary and depressed. I start to have unpleasant thoughts and waves of grief over the death of my father (not uncommon after over a year, but they seem to be more intense and frequent after a demanding workout).

I can't find much about this when doing an internet search, but the little that I found indicates it could be my pre & post-workout nutrition, which I'd better look into. (FYI I do spin classes and a variety of other cardio classes 2-4 times a week)

Does anyone else experience this?

[sg1jack]

I've never heard of that before but I suspect you are on to something with the pre- and post-exercise nutrition. Are you eating some protein and healthy carbs after exercise? I just started doing SB five days ago but have been exercising regularly for about 2 years now. My first post-exercise snack was protein only and I still felt yucky and ravenous- was told to add friendly carbs. I did and felt better. I have had problems with depression in the past so am well aware of what to watch for but so far, so good. What do you eat before exercise? Perhaps some of the more experienced SB'ers can help if they know what you are eating

[stealthangel]

Hi there,

I noticed when i was going to the gym at the beginning of the year, if i over-trained i found myself going through a period of being very depressed, irritable and agitated. It is referred to as Overtraining Syndrome (OTS). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overtraining. Also, make sure you are having something to replenish your body after you work out such as a protein shake.

[JeanieBrown]

That last post is very good advice. Overexercising is potentially a problem, just like under-exercising although not nearly as common. A lot depends on what you are exercising for; if it's to get ripped then you do need to overdo it in which case attention to replenishing your body through nutrition is important; if it's just for health then there's no need to go to the same extreme.