Regular exercise is a crucial a part of a healthy lifestyle and sensible weight loss program. As a matter of fact, many experts recommend that we get sixty minutes of exercise every day for overall health and wellness. But even though just a little exercise is great, taking your exercise to the extreme can lead to major health problems, and even worse, DEATH. When some adults exercise on a regular basis, and many find it hard to get just twenty minutes to commit to a good work out, it might be difficult to think that some individuals put exercise in the center of the lives. However, some individuals get compelled to workout far beyond normal levels, usually in a desperate attempt to torch each calorie they take in.

If working out will become one of the most essential parts of your life and if your life centers on exercise, it might be beyond dedication - it might be a harmful obsession.

If working out will become one of the most essential parts of your life and if your life centers on exercise, it might be beyond dedication – it might be a harmful obsession.

Compulsive exercise is greater than a desire to get into the best shape or manage a person’s weight. People with exercise bulimia implement excessive exercise to get rid of or perhaps compensate for binge eating or just regular eating, usually working out too many times each day or even for 3 or 4 hours at once. Deep down, this problem has got to do with control compared to the need to squeeze into a skinny jean.

The alarming thing regarding an exercise addiction is it penetrates progressively, often among individuals who get started working out, feel great after, enjoy the calories they are burning, have a need to lose weight or get healthier, and for that reason, start thinking that more is much better. Usually, individuals who suffer from compulsive exercise don’t feel that there is something wrong in what they’re doing. They believe that what they are doing is good, and find it hard to understand how other people aren’t seeing it that way.

Exercise Bulimia Vs. Compulsive Exercise: What are the differences?

Even though the terms are usually put to use interchangeably, exercise bulimia and compulsive exercise are two different things.

People who suffer from compulsive exercise build their lives throughout exercising and are truly upset if they won’t be able to work out as much as they think they have to. On the other hand, exercise bulimia is the same, but will involve binge eating. Individuals who are afflicted by exercise bulimia usually binge on food, then work out obsessively to compensate for it. Exercise gets a way to regulate calories, warrant eating, and punish yourself for overeating or munching on unhealthy foods.

Both disorders are shown by these particular symptoms:

  • Choosing to workout rather than working or taking pleasure in social activities with loved ones or friends
  • Neglecting to take a rest or taking a few days to recover, even if injured or hurt
  • Still working out even when sick or unwell
  • Working out to the point of fatigue or exhaustion
  • Never working out for enjoyment or fun
  • Feeling emotional upset and severe stress, such as depression, if could not workout
  • Obsession with calorie consumption and calories scorched
  • Obsession with calories burned during the day, even if not working out

Check out this article from Jernna Lynch of stuff.co.nz regarding obsession with exercise.

Fitness Fanatics Risk Death

[quote style=”boxed”]A Hamilton-based expert on exercise has warned fitness fanatics may be risking their health, if not their lives, from their obsessions with working out.

Waikato University clinical psychologist Jo Thakker’s words of caution come just over a year after 17-year-old Joshua Tanuvasa dropped dead while working out at the Les Mills Gym in Hamilton.[/quote]

There’s no specific amount of exercise that’s instantly “too much” for everyone. Generally, working out for approximately 60 to 90 minutes, most days each week is sensible and healthy for most of us if rest and recovery are integrated.

Therefore, how would you determine if you are working out excessively? It is something about attitude and maybe your behaviors and thoughts on exercise match the list of symptoms above. If working out will become one of the most essential parts of your life and if your life centers on exercise, it might be beyond dedication – it might be a harmful obsession.

Working out is supposed to be healthy, fun and good for your body. It helps reduce anxiety and stress, and provide you with a healthy endorphin-rush following a good workout. Nonetheless, if somebody overuses exercise in a harmful way, there might indications of addiction. Check out Dangerously Fit boot camps for some more tips.