success after stopping/cutting down exercise?

[Anonymous]

I met with Dr. Nair at SG yesterday and her first bit of advice was to cut down or cut out running. I run 40ish miles a week and bike some too. She said something like no more than 15 miles a week.

I know it's a simple thing to try but running has kept me from anxiety attacks for years so it's not so simple in my mind.

Any success stories or not success stories with lifestyle modifications?

[Anonymous]

None yet. I miss the extra cardio and i am actively trying to welcome the weight gain but I truly am not so happy about it. Even with diet modifications any reduction in exercise results in weight gain for me. Good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

I think it's Alice Domar who advocates this in her book. Might be worth reading for some inspiration. I was never a heavy exerciser, but did cut back a bit before my successful cycle. I think you could do some less aerobic things, like yoga or swimming if you really need to exercise.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a success story on this but I have reverted to doing nothing strenuous. I also found that exercise was a stress reliever, but I'm finding that same stress relief and more in my better diet, and the extra time and head space I have when I'm not trying to fit in exercise.

I try to walk a lot more, both in daily life and 2-3 walks in Rock Creek Park a week. I was doing yoga but haven't even done that in a few weeks because my pass expired and I'm not motivated to do it at home. Sometimes I'll stretch for a few minutes.

My acupuncturist is firm that overexertion takes away from your reproductive system when you're older and that part of your system is looking at shutting down anyway.

I am surprisingly ok mood-wise, not thrilled about "letting myself go" but I have an instinct that gaining weight will be a good thing for this process.

The women I knew who conceived easily/naturally at 40+ were quite overweight--not obese but plump. So maybe there is something to the "fat and fertile" old wives' tale.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who's having a lot of trouble getting pregnant, she's only 30, no explainable cause, but she's an exercise addict. In her 20s she didn't get periods.

Overexercise definitely inhibits fertility.

I am trying to focus on enough movement to keep my blood flowing. I think living in the city you walk enough to maintain your health.

[Anonymous]

Do you have regular periods OP? What is your height /weight /BMI?

Just wondering if your exercise is healthy or unhealthy.

[Anonymous]

My gyn. and the first doctor I saw felt my weight is fine (5ft 100lbs). Dr. Nair said gaining some weight would be good but not exercising was more important. (I might be a touch thinner now than I was when I saw the other two just due to not being in the midst of holiday drinking and sweets eating.) Objectively, I'm thin ish but have a healthy BMI. But, no, I don't get my period. I am 35 and stopped getting my period in college (quick weight loss that was not done healthfully). I went on the pill a year after losing my period and other than a two year break (when I had gained some weight and thought I'd try to see if my period would come back ... which it did not) have been on it until Thanksgiving. (Another concern I have is being off too long ... the estrogen was definitely related to some positive gains in bone mass over the years.)

I know that my running is too rigid (very anxious if I don't) and that cutting down would help me live a more balanced normal lifestyle. I am all for switching some 8 mile runs for some 5 mile runs and taking at least one full rest day a week. The question I am asking myself is whether or not to go cold turkey. I wish someone could tell me if it would bring back my period and all would be well. But I am sure we all wish easy answers were out there and that's just not the way it is!

[Anonymous]

Dr. Nair isn't realy asking you to go cold turkey though, is she? 15 miles a week still allows you to get some running in. I can't promise that it would bring your period back, but it would certainly help with that.

I don't want to throw something else on the plate, but I wonder if, as you cut down on the running, it might be worth supplementing that change with some cognitive behavioral therapy. The running is obviously more than just exercise to you, so maybe addressing some of the underlying issues may make it easier to make a downward adjustment without increasing your anxiety. Because that's not a good thing to have, either.

[Anonymous]

I should add -- cognitive behavioral therapy is usually structured, short-term therapy that is used to address a specific issue (people use it a lot in smoking cessation programs, for example, or in treatment of phobias) It basically tries to help you create new thinking patterns and coping mechanisms for various anxiety-proving situations. Anyway, just a thought. Good luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dr. Nair isn't realy asking you to go cold turkey though, is she? 15 miles a week still allows you to get some running in. I can't promise that it would bring your period back, but it would certainly help with that.

I don't want to throw something else on the plate, but I wonder if, as you cut down on the running, it might be worth supplementing that change with some cognitive behavioral therapy. The running is obviously more than just exercise to you, so maybe addressing some of the underlying issues may make it easier to make a downward adjustment without increasing your anxiety. Because that's not a good thing to have, either.

Ironically, I'm a psychologist (not CB therapist though) and of course you are right...the anxiety re: exercise is not healthy or normal. But I've been working on it for years and still haven't come to full peace. Have just learned ways to get in my run and not disrupt others' schedules.

CBT suggests changing the behavior first ... maybe this will be a good thing in the end? Part of me is excited to have this mandate b/c in the past only injury has kept me from running. Can fill the time with hikes, sewing classes, going to all those doc. apts. But I'm just afraid it won't help or that I won't figure out how much is okay. And thinking about it over and over is driving me a little nuts. So I was just hoping to hear from others who might have made similar changes.