Compulsive exercising?

[unicornassassin]

Eeep... ok. I'm nervous about posting this, so be kind.

So, my eating is bad bad bad, to the extent that I made an appointment to talk to my doctor about it. I may or may not (hard to tell due to increased sodium intake) be gaining weight even though I work out a lot. So anyway, like I said, I'm going to talk to my doctor about that.

My question is about my exercising. (I'm also going to ask my doctor about this, but my appointment's not until next week and I'm curious now.) I worry that I might be overdoing it. I work out 2-5 hours most days, usually around 3 hours.

I looked up symptoms of compulsive exercising, and nothing really struck home. I'm not neglecting other things so that I can work out (I don't work so I have a lot of time), I don't work out to punish myself, or lie about it. I wonder though, because often people who work at the gym will ask "You're still here?" And because I have food issues, it just seems like it would be really easy for me to develop a problem with working out.

So... meh?

[spezzy]

There is a forum of bulimia where you purge through exercise, not via normal means of 'purging'.

3 hours every day is most likely overdoing it. Hard to tell without knowing the issues with your eating though.

Do you feel guilty if you don't go work out? Or are you just bored? And what are you doing for 3 hours?

[unicornassassin]

I don't feel guilty if I don't work out. I think I'm bored + I feel really good while/after I work out. I figure I have the time to do it, so I might as well.

I usually do an hour or two of yoga, an hour or hour and a half of easy-moderate cardio, and 30-45 minutes of weightlifting. So it's not like I'm working out strenuously that whole time. Hmm, realizing that does help me put this into perspective.

[oystergirl]

Sweets, I think it is important to review the issue of chronic cardio in your case. I think that because of your past life experiences that you are putting extra effort into your program in hopes that that will make you healthier. Over training can actually make you weaker. I used to exercise about 3 hours a day and I lost a lot of weight and was always craving food and I did eat a LOT, but after I got to my goal weight and I was trying to maintain it I needed to exercise EVEN MORE and that ended up causing me to injure myself and poof, that was that, I eventually gained all the weight back...

This time, I work out following the tabata protocol or high intensity interval training. I work out with weights or body weight in 50/10 interval form 3 days a week plus a nice long walk (less than 60 minutes, more than 30 minutes sometimes with hills sometimes not) and a stretch. two other days I do a 50/10 12 minute freestyle dance cardio routine plus I walk hills. I also have two active rest days a week which include biking, hiking, swimming, anything fun and we usually do that for about an hour or two. i have been able to maintain a 1-2 pound weight loss a week, eating primal/archevore without injury since the end of november. I have tons of energy, my body feels pretty good and I am never hungry--this is just my anecdotal evidence, my n=1 experiment that shows me that excessive exercise is not right for me. You can also research the effect of exercise and stress and cortisol on weight gain if you want to understand the hormonal aspects of over training.

BIG HUGS...I know you will get it right...you are such an inspiration to us all with the path you have walked and shared with us!

[unicornassassin]

Over training can actually make you weaker. I used to exercise about 3 hours a day and I lost a lot of weight and was always craving food and I did eat a LOT, but after I got to my goal weight and I was trying to maintain it I needed to exercise EVEN MORE and that ended up causing me to injure myself and poof, that was that, I eventually gained all the weight back...

Ugh.

I think this is a case of I know this isn't great, but I'm really hoping someone will tell me that I'm fine where I'm at. Well, we'll see what my doctor says.

Thanks for being so kind and awesome, as you always are!

[So Late So Soon]

Yea, 3 hours seems like a lot to me. Just go to your doc appointment and be really honest with him about it and i'm sure he can figure something out.

[unicornassassin]

Yea, 3 hours seems like a lot to me. Just go to your doc appointment and be really honest with him about it and i'm sure he can figure something out.

Thank you.

However you mean "her".... and "she."

Just being a bit of a smart ass...

[oystergirl]

LOL if you can still be a smart ass it means this is simply a blip in the road and you will tweek it and get back on the track to unicorn awesomeness!!! keep us posted on what SHEEEE says!

[So Late So Soon]

haha, my mistake

[unicornassassin]

LOL if you can still be a smart ass it means this is simply a blip in the road and you will tweek it and get back on the track to unicorn awesomeness!!! keep us posted on what SHEEEE says!

True dat And I will! Thanks all of you.

I'm super glad that I found NF because it's awesome in so many ways. In other forums I never would have posted about this because I would be worried that I'd get unsupportive 'supportive' responses of the "here's some sciencey info about why you're a stupidass for doing what you're doing" sort.

[unicornassassin]

UPDATE: Saw my doctor. She was dismissive of my binge eating concerns. She said that I was probably hungrier since I was exercising so much, despite me saying very clearly "no, I do eat more from exercising, but this is different."

As far as the exercising, she said I should just do one thing a day. Like only do yoga, or only walk, or only lift weights. Yeah, I'm not going to do that.

And I talked to my psychiatrist about the overeating, she said I'm probably depressed, which is true, so we're going to work on that. As far as exercise, she just said I should work out in nature more, which is actually a really good idea, and I'm going to try to do that.

Thanks, guys!

[airen123]

I'm pretty close to your workout schedule, but I don't think of it as compulsive, rather than routine. It's a matter of listening to your body, I think. I work out 2 a days 5 days a week, (1.5-2 hours a day) and my diet definitely can use cleaning up. I have a sedentary desk job, so I use my lunch break at the gym, because I am afraid of "flat-ass" syndrome, and I work out after work because I have the time. I enjoy it, and if you do, do it. And they say exercise is one of the best ways to combat depression, because of feel-good endorphins you get.

But I am not a doctor, nor a psychiatrist.

[spatzcat]

are you doing an hour and half of cardio, 5 - 7 days a week? That's is too much. that's crazy cardio! 1/2 hour or 45 minutes 3X a week would be better.

[HorrorGeek]

UPDATE: Saw my doctor. She was dismissive of my binge eating concerns. She said that I was probably hungrier since I was exercising so much, despite me saying very clearly "no, I do eat more from exercising, but this is different."

As far as the exercising, she said I should just do one thing a day. Like only do yoga, or only walk, or only lift weights. Yeah, I'm not going to do that.

And I talked to my psychiatrist about the overeating, she said I'm probably depressed, which is true, so we're going to work on that. As far as exercise, she just said I should work out in nature more, which is actually a really good idea, and I'm going to try to do that.

Thanks, guys!

Hi Unicorn!

If it were true compulsive exercising, you would be anxious and/or guilty if you missed workouts. You would genuinely not be able to do anything else until you exercised at length. So, it does sound like you're not there yet. But it can spiral into that, so I would just be cautious of the warning signs.

The binge eating I completely understand. I read a book that was very helpful in a lot of ways, but I cannot remember the title. I'll go digging in my Kindle and send it to you when I find it.

If you need an understanding ear, please feel free to holler. It's my 6 Week Challenge goal to make it 6 weeks without a binge. So far this year, I haven't gone a full week except maybe twice, so I'm in total focus mode on the subject.

Either way, good luck! I really hope you get some peace on the subject.

[HorrorGeek]

Ahh...found it. http://www.amazon.com/Food-Girls-Using-Control-Feelings/dp/0425239039/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336069648&sr=1-1

[airen123]

are you doing an hour and half of cardio, 5 - 7 days a week? That's is too much. that's crazy cardio! 1/2 hour or 45 minutes 3X a week would be better.

It's gotten me to where I am now, though. I was about 28% body fat 5 years ago and at 24.5% now. I just started lifting heavier in January when I discovered NF, and that was my leveling up-lifting 2-3x a week. I used to take Body Pump and lift low resistance, high reps. I dunno, I have an hour lunch break and not sure what else I could do then. I also love Zumba, and taking my dog running...:shrug: I moved to this city 2 years ago and definitely don't have the social network I did in my previous city, so it's not like I have much else to do besides reading and crafting...plus I come from a very active family, dad and sister are accomplished triathlonists, mom bikes, and other sister climbs...I definitely work out the least of them, time-wise.

[unicornassassin]

I'm pretty close to your workout schedule, but I don't think of it as compulsive, rather than routine. It's a matter of listening to your body, I think. I work out 2 a days 5 days a week, (1.5-2 hours a day) and my diet definitely can use cleaning up. I have a sedentary desk job, so I use my lunch break at the gym, because I am afraid of "flat-ass" syndrome, and I work out after work because I have the time. I enjoy it, and if you do, do it. And they say exercise is one of the best ways to combat depression, because of feel-good endorphins you get.

Thanks! Exercise has helped my depression SO MUCH. That's another reason I think I do it so much, I feel so awesome afterwards. I've been thinking about how well I listen to my body, and I'm not always great at it, but it's a lot more on my radar now- so I try to be more conscious about taking it easy when I need to.

If you need an understanding ear, please feel free to holler. It's my 6 Week Challenge goal to make it 6 weeks without a binge. So far this year, I haven't gone a full week except maybe twice, so I'm in total focus mode on the subject.

.

Thanks! I may just take you up on that! So far I've done awesome with not bingeing... but it's only been four days...

are you doing an hour and half of cardio, 5 - 7 days a week? That's is too much. that's crazy cardio! 1/2 hour or 45 minutes 3X a week would be better.

Well, that's one recommendation. Some government agency that I forget the name of recommends one hour a day every day, another says half an hour every day... There is no exact science, if there was, I'd know what to do.

[oystergirl]

I read everything you said from your doctor and your psychiatrist and knowing your diet, I would strongly suggest a few things if they are "saying" you are depressed. I would reevaluate your decision to go vegan and I would introduce more in the way of saturated fat and omega 3s and make sure you are taking a B-12 supplement (NOT a vegan B-12 but a real animal sourced B-12). Your food intake and the idea that you are now binging suggests to me that your biochemistry is a bit off and your body is simply pushing you to eat more in order to get the nutrients you need that you are depleting through your exercise routine.

I walk about 50 minutes a day with some hills. I do 15 minutes of interval weight lifting 3 times a week and 2 x a week interval cardio plus stretching and I have had a much quicker and better result than when I was exercising 3 hours a day. I would suggest you do the research on exercise and cortisol and the body.

I know that you have had a warrior mentality and it has gotten you over a huge hump in your life. My question is, now that the war is over, when do you treat yourself gently and with care? when do you eliminate guilt and the pressure? Stressing yourself and pushing yourself when you are receiving signals from your body and your emotions that maybe you need to treat yourself with more kindness isn't the answer your body is looking for.

I say these things with the utmost of love and care for you, just think about it...