Our relationships with exercise (or as I like to call it, movement), just like our relationships with food, is difficult and confusing to navigate. You may be thinking, “Why?” Movement can be super enjoyable. It can make us feel strong, empowered, confident and appreciative of our bodies. So, where does it get confusing? You may be asking, “Do I have a healthy relationship with exercise?”
Due to diet culture, movement has been twisted into something we’re “supposed” to do. For instance, we’re “supposed” to burn calories, manipulate how our bodies look, or punish ourselves for eating. Therefore, this takes out the enjoyment and adds obsession and compulsivity. As well as adds shame or guilt associated with off days or embarrassment with going to gyms if you’re in a larger body. It can also take away from relationships. For example, if you are skipping events in order to go to the gym or for a run. I often work with clients who not only are hoping to improve their relationships with food, but also recognize there is some element to their relationship with movement that is disordered.
First, let’s start by discussing some signs that you or a loved one’s relationship with exercise is disordered. If you can apply these signs to your own life, then you may not have a healthy relationship with exercise.
1. You Feel Guilty or Stressed About Taking a Break
Do you feel guilty about taking a day or 2 or 5 days off from working out? This could be a sign that your relationship with movement needs some work. We should never feel guilty or upset with ourselves for taking a break. It’s normal for movement to ebb and flow.
2. You Only “Count” More Intense Exercise as Movement
Do you only label activities like running, weight lifting or SoulCycle-type classes as “exercise?” There are all kinds of ways for us to move our bodies. For instance, cleaning, going for a walk, yoga, playing with family members, hiking are all examples of movement. If you find that you’re only “counting” certain activities as exercise, then take a deeper dive into your relationship with movement.
3. You Think About Burning Calories when Exercising
Is burning calories your intention when moving? Diet culture teaches us that exercise should be used as a tool to manipulate or change our bodies. Therefore, exercise is viewed as a “punishment” or to “make up for” food. So, to improve our relationships with exercise, it’s important to view movement as something enjoyable and fun: not to compensate for eating.
4. You Miss Events to Exercise
Do you notice shifting your schedule to assure you are able to fit in movement? That could mean getting up early and sacrificing your sleep or missing events/showing up late or forcing yourself to move even if you don’t feel up to it. What this means is that you’re prioritizing exercise over other things you love, perhaps indicating some compulsivity around movement. This may be a sign that you don’t have a healthy relationship with exercise and that it can be improved.
Some (or all) of the above might be resonating with you. You might be noticing you are spending too much time thinking about exercise and how exercise plays into food and body image. It’s possible you’re thinking about your own relationship with movement and how it’s serving you or not serving you currently. If you’ve noticed you might be struggling, here are a few things to consider:
What to do About Unhealthy Exercise
1. Taking a break from exercise
If you struggle with obsession and compulsivity surrounding exercise, it may indicate that you don’t have a healthy relationship with exercise. You may want to consider completely taking a break from it. I understand that this can sound like a huge jump, especially if you are regularly engaging in movement. In fact, it’s possible that exercise is the main way to reduce anxiety. Or maybe you’re using it to numb certain emotions. I’d recommend to work through these themes with your treatment team.
2. Experimenting with different kinds of movement. And get real with the movement you truly enjoy.
Maybe you’ve found that you’re attached to certain kinds of movement. Such as running or cycling. When improving your relationship with exercise, it’s important to experiment with moving your body in various different ways. This includes, yoga, walking, strength training, Zumba, joining a rec sport, or taking a dance class. Take some time to be honest about how your body is feeling and what kind of, if any, anxiety surrounds that movement.
3. Journal about what exercise/movement means to you.
Some questions to consider are:
- How may movement be a part of your identity?
- What would it mean to stop movement? How would that feel?
- What is “healthy” exercise vs. “unhealthy” exercise?
- Was there ever a time in your life where you were less active? What was that like?
- In your life was there ever a time where you were move active? How did you feel during this time?
- Explore your perception, what do you think about your friends and family members who don’t move?
- What do you think movement will look like in recovery?
4. Get enough fuel
A really important question to ask yourself is “Am I fueling enough?” If our bodies are moving more, we require more fuel (aka food). If adding food causes you anxiety, you may want to consider decreasing movement and getting support from a dietitian to navigate your relationship with food.
Get Recovery from Unhealthy Exercise
Exploring your relationship with movement is difficult to navigate. However, you do not have to do it alone. Consider adding on a dietitian and therapist to your support team.
Courage to Nourish is a group of eating disorder specialized dietitians. We have in person locations in Alexandria, Virginia, Columbia, Maryland. and College Park, Maryland. We offer virtual services across the state of Virginia, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. We offer individual nutrition therapy. As well as support groups. We would love to guide you in building a better relationship with food.
Contact us for more information. And to schedule a discovery call. Also, sign up for our client or clinician newsletter!
Helping my clients cultivate meaningful connections and interests outside of their eating disorder is a true passion of mine. I like to think my clients and I are on a team to navigate recovery. I love working with high school and college students as well as athletes seeking to have a better relationship with exercise. I am a proud anti-diet dietitian and work with my clients through a Health At Every Size © and intuitive eating framework.
