Too Much, Too Little, Just Right
By: Sydney Rumley, MS, TLLP
The weather is getting colder and we’re getting close to the holiday season, which means that it’s time to whip out our coats/sweaters from storage and prepare to enjoy many festivities where food is a big part of our celebration. This is an exhilarating time for many people, but it can create a lot of anxiety and bring up big emotions for others. When we wear bulky clothes that (intentionally or otherwise) hide our bodies, this can make us feel disconnected from our true self-image. And holiday food, while delicious, is usually carb-heavy and can make people feel guilty after eating.
When faced with these concerns during the colder months, people often increase the amount of exercise to “make up” for the holiday food, bulky clothes, and even spending more time indoors. How often have you heard or made comments such as, “I need to go for a run after all this food” or “I want to lose some weight to fit into those jeans from last fall”? While these comments may seem normal because of our society’s expectations, they can be incredibly harmful, especially for someone who may be recovering from an eating disorder or is dealing with poor body image, depression, anxiety, and so on. These comments are often paired with behaviors such as cutting out certain food groups or (as previously mentioned) increasing how much exercise you’re getting because you feel like you have to (big emphasis on the “have”, we’ll get back to that later).
Let’s face it: exercise is extremely important. Being physically active has been shown to improve brain health, decrease the risk of diabetes/cardiovascular issues/infectious diseases, strengthen bones/muscles, increase your ability to do everyday activities (climbing stairs, sitting down, and even catching yourself if you fall), help with managing chronic health conditions, and increase your chance of living longer (CDC, 2023). This doesn’t have to be a weightlifting session at the gym or a hardcore workout; physical activity includes any activity where you’re moving your body and expending energy. No matter your age, gender, race, sexuality, ability, or body size, everyone benefits from being active; physical activity is one of the most impactful things you can do for overall health. Too little activity can cause more harm than good, but so can too much activity.
Exercise can be harmful when it becomes compulsive, meaning that physical activity becomes uncontrollable, excessive, and can lead to negative consequences (Lichtenstein et al., 2017). Exercise becomes the most important thing in a person’s life to the point where it’s addicting, whether you’re addicted to how you feel post-exercise, the positive psychological effects, changes in your body, compliments from others, the “ability” to eat more, and so on. There are also “withdrawal” symptoms that can occur when the amount of exercise is reduced. Lastly, the behavior may get to the point where you don’t enjoy the activity you’re doing; instead, you see it as an obligation that you must complete to reap the benefits.
So then what are some signs of excessive exercise? I’ve listed some examples below:
- Exercise that significantly interferes with important activities, occurs at inappropriate times, or in inappropriate settings
- Continuing to exercise despite injury or other medical complications
- Intense anxiety, depression, irritability, feelings of guilt, and/or distress if you’re unable to exercise
- Maintains excessive, rigid exercise regimen despite weather, fatigue, illness, or injury
- Uncomfortable emotions that occur with rest or inactivity
- Exercise used to manage emotions
- Exercise to “get rid of” or “burn off” calories
- Exercise as permission to eat
- Exercise that is secretive or hidden
- Feeling as though you are not good enough, fast enough, or not pushing hard enough during a period of exercise (i.e., overtraining)
- Withdrawal from friends and family
Remember how physical activity is linked to many positive health benefits? Well, excessive/compulsive exercise can result in negative health consequences, such as…
- Loss of bone density
- Loss of menstrual cycle (in women)
- Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)
- Persistent muscle soreness, joint pain, and fatigue
- Increased injury/illnesses
So as you can see, too much exercise is not a good thing, and it’s important to be aware of warning signs if a simple desire to increase physical activity as the weather gets colder (or for any reason!) starts to interfere with your life, health, and relationships. Finding a balance between too much and too little exercise can be extremely difficult, and you may be sitting here contemplating if your relationship with physical activity is too much, too little, or just right. If this is the case, here are some questions that I think are worth considering:
- Do you know the difference between a “good burn” and true pain after a workout?
- Do you take rest days?
- Do you exercise to “allow” yourself to eat?
- Do you get upset/stressed/angry when your exercise routine is disrupted?
- Do you feel extremely guilty if you miss a day of activity?
- Do you enjoy the activity you’re doing?
- Do you feel like you have to exercise (i.e., do you treat it as a chore)?
- Do you do the same exercises repeatedly, or do you mix in different activities?
- Do you worry that you will gain weight if you don’t exercise?
If you are concerned about your or your loved one’s relationship with exercise, McCaskill Family Services is here to help. Our multidisciplinary Eating Disorder Treatment Team is extremely knowledgeable about signs of compulsive exercise and the relationship between food, activity, and body image. Please call or email our office for more information or check out our website for more information.
References:
CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023, August 1). Benefits of Physical Activity. Retrieved October 10, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm#:~:text=Regular%20physical%20activity%20is%20one,ability%20to%20do%20everyday%20activities.
Lichtenstein, M. B., Hinze, C. J., Emborg, B., Thomsen, F., & Hemmingsen, S. D. (2017). Compulsive exercise: links, risks and challenges faced. Psychology research and behavior management, 10, 85–95. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S113093.
