Comfort Me With...Exercise?

In my last post, "Comfort me with Apples," I wrote that I needed better (i.e. less fattening) comfort foods. But the best thing would be to find my comfort in something other than food.

I've noticed that I always feel better -- more energetic, less stressed -- after exercising, so why not use exercise for comfort? I decided to try that today.

I was extremely stressed out at work. There have been times in the past when I've reacted to that stress by indulging in extra food at lunch, maybe even telling myself that I "deserved" fast food, or junk food, or to pig out at a restaurant.

When I overeat like that due to stress, or depression, or being upset (the list goes on!), it is an attempt to self-medicate. I know that, but still sometimes do it. But today I decided to try exercise as my self-medication.

During my lunch hour, I went to the gym and got on the treadmill. I only spent about twenty minutes walking at a fast pace, but it got my heartrate up and my blood flowing and, sure enough, it made me feel better. In other words, it worked. My stress went down.

Forget the apples. Comfort me with exercise!