# I'm Scared to Exercise! Help!!



## BartenderPanda (Mar 1, 2012)

I have always been a big guy (6 ft. 250 lbs). Not morbidly obese by any means, but just a little husky maybe?! Anyway, I've always been healthy and energetic, and have worked physically demanding jobs along with being a bartender too. I just like to work I guess. I go through these up and down periods of weight loss and gain. I'll lose 25-40 lbs in a couple months, then I get lazy and gain it all back in the course of a year or so. Since my anxiety has come into my life I find myself apprehensive about exercise, on almost a hypochondriac level about exerting myself too much! I have a grave fear of heart attacks, strokes, that kind of thing. Since panic attacks feel so much like heart attacks to me its not very hard to get me all wound up and (to be blunt) acting like a *****. The very act of my heart racing after climbing 2 flights of stairs is annoying to me at the least! Anyone else ever dealt with/overcome these feelings? Thanks


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## Purplesnail (Jul 21, 2010)

You are not lazy, change is just difficult. It seems that you need to lose weight in a sustainable way, small steps! Try to change one thing at a time, like for example if you tend to overeat, reduce the portion size, then the next month try to drink water instead of soft drinks etc. You may lose weight in a much slower fashion than during your last diets, but if you want to aim for a long-term solution you can't really change everything from one day to another. 

I also have those thoughts about getting a heart attack if i work out too intensively or go up the stairs quickly, I found that using the couch to 5K method, that helps you build endurance in a gradual way when by alternating walking and running helps me a lot in getting used to the sensations of an increased heart rate, sweating and sore muscles. I've tried running for 10 minutes in one go in the past and I always abandoned pretty quickly because those sensations were really overwhelming, but with a progressive increase in the running time it is easier to accept those sensations and recognize that they are not the sign of a problem.


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## LWR (Feb 27, 2012)

just fix your diet, i know a friend of mine who went to a nutrition dr. managed to lose 10 lbs in 3 weeks, he'd still eat 5 meals a day, but lots of fruits, lots of salads. a cardio like 15 minutes jogging or fast walking would be a great help, you just have to control your appetite alittle bit  later , you stomach will get used to your new diet 
just set your heart to it, and go for it


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

you don't even need too exercises too lose weight just eat right, how is your blood pressure? take baby steps if you've been outta it for awhile go for walks untill u feel comfortable enough too do something more extreme.

for supplements this is the usually stack i recommend fish oil, magnesium and l-carnitine.

l-carnitine can help with chest pains, fish oil good too lower blood pressure magnesium good for the nervous system it can help calm u down.


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## seafolly (Jun 17, 2010)

I can actually sympathize with this. I'm a small girl but our fears are similar. When my heart rate goes up my brain seems to think, "Oh crap, about to have a panic attack again." and the anxiety rockets up. It was recently suggested to me that, as one thinking about running regularly, just run for a minute, then walk for a minute. Repeat. The theory is your heart rate goes down enough during the walk that your brain figures out, "Hey this is normal, we're all good here."


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