Fit or Obsessed: When Exercise Becomes Unhealthy

Being fit and healthy is an amazing feeling. You can do things like run up stairs or carry all the groceries, or lift huge water jugs from your trunk. Feeling fit and strong makes life so easy and enjoyable all around in general.

Fitting in your daily workout is great, but it is possible to overdo it. As a trainer, I have seen and heard many unhealthy obsessions from no days off from training to 4 hour cardio sessions spread through the day.

There are a lot of reasons people end up addicted to the gym. The biggest reason is weight loss, and training gives people a sense of control over their weight loss and lives. However, this control can get out of balance, and when that happens, self-empowerment tips into obsession. When one becomes obsessed, exercise then becomes more of a self-imposed prison rather than a vehicle for optimal health and wellness.

Too Much of a Good Thing

Even though you might think that the more time you spend at the gym, the faster you will achieve your fitness goals, it can be too much of a good thing. Too many hours in the gym will, in fact, sabotage your fitness goals and decrease your enjoyment for life in general. When you exercise too much, you are robbing the body of the vital resources it needs to repair and recover from life's stresses. Rest and recovery days are critical aspects of training. Exercise-obsessed people don't recognize this, and they can find themselves feeling depleted and stressed because they can't seem to reach their fitness goals.

When Fitness is Taken Too Far

When you weigh yourself several times per day

When you compensate the extra food you ate with even more exercise

When you get angry because you missed your workout

When you refuse to have cake at your own wedding (true story, I have heard of this before)

When you skip on an important family get together in fear of eating something bad

When you continue to deprive yourself of certain foods in fear of becoming "fat"

Exercising and healthy eating are simply tools to help you live a happier and more fulfilling life. They are meant to make the things you enjoy doing even more enjoyable.

We all want to look good. We all want to be fit and healthy, but at what cost?

Restricting Calories and Food Groups

When we restrict calories and food groups for long periods of time, it can lead to slowed digestion, constipation and even bloating. Your body can actually change the way it digests and reacts to food. Proper digestion requires sufficient fiber and water, which your body obtains from a variety of foods like fruits, vegetables and grains.

As your body experiences a calorie deficit, energy levels drop, and your metabolism will naturally slow in order to conserve energy. This can actually stall weight loss and lead to muscle loss. If your goal is to lean out, you may find that you retain almost the same body fat levels but experience a loss of muscle hardness or tone.

Finding the Middle Ground

If you want your life and fitness habits to work in synergy, then you need to find the middle ground.

The middle ground is where you can enjoy a piece of chocolate without worrying about how it will make you look. It’s where you can miss a workout and not sweat it. It’s where you can go a day without weighing yourself.

But of course, finding the middle ground is no easy task, especially if you have continued in this obsessive behavior for a long time.

Finding the middle ground isn’t so much about finding the perfect workout or diet as it is about finding the right mindset.

We all make mistakes. We all fail.

The most important thing to remember is how you failed. You must learn from your mistakes, as cliché as that sounds.

Find out what triggered you to overeat. Was it stress? If so, what’s causing that stress and what can you do to fix it?

Locate the root cause of your slip-ups and do your best to correct them.

Learn To Enjoy Life

There is just so much more to life than having an impeccable exercise and nutrition plan. When your life and fitness habits are working together in perfect harmony, you will find everything you do more enjoyable.

Food will taste better. Sleep will become more restful. And most importantly, an enormous load of stress and relief will be lifted off your shoulders.

Angelique Kronebusch Fitness