Stress Makes Us Fat, Part III

If gentle exercise is good for us, then rigorous exercise is even better, right?

Well, not in terms of our cortisol levels. It turns out working out really hard can actually increase cortisol levels, especially for those super-competitive types.

That doesn't mean that vigorous exercise should never be done. For people who get the runner's or swimmer's "high" from working out, go for it. And even for the rest of us, we can turn a work out into a meditation by focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, or one stroke after another. By this concentrated focus on what you are doing, you have eliminated negative thoughts--and they are stressful!