BLOG | Is your exercise healthy?
Exercise - or more specifically, aerobic exercise - is an excellent way to maintain a healthy weight. Not only does it decrease your risk for obesity, one of the leading health problems in the UK, it also reduces your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even depression.
While no one disputes the therapeutic effects of regular, moderate to intense aerobic exercise, exercising too much may be a sign of an eating disorder. According to BEAT, the UK's leading eating disorder reference website, focusing too much on achieving thinness through excessive exercise promotes eating disordered behaviours, putting your physical and mental health at risk.
With National Eating Disorders Awareness Week quickly approaching, eating disorder awareness is becoming increasingly important - over 1 million Brits currently suffer from this painful, debilitating disease.
So how do you know if your exercise regime is healthy or signs of an impending eating disorder? Judge your safety with these following signs of an exercise-induced eating disorder:-
1. Your only motivation is to get really, really thin. Many healthy people who exercise are motivated to get fit, gain extra muscle or to become healthier individuals. For people with an eating disorder, it's all about getting thinner, often at the expense of their physical wellbeing.
2. You stop going to social events or visiting friends to exercise. Withdrawal from social activities is a classic sign of an eating disorder - the disorder causes them to become more private because the obsession is life-consuming. Regular exercise shouldn't limit your ability to still have an active social life, but obsessing about it will.
3. You constantly think about exercising. Anorexics and bulimics may anticipate their next workout session with unusual anxiety, hoping to burn more calories and fat. Healthy individuals may think about exercise more often, but it doesn't consume their entire thought process.
4. You don't stop exercising even after suffering a significant injury. Many anorexics or bulimics will exercise through excruciating muscle tears and fractures without a second thought, regarding it as just another sacrifice in their endeavour to become thin.
5. You exercise excessively, often without reason. People who exercise excessively, or more than one hour a day, are usually training for an intense sporting event or race to prep their bodies. But if you find yourself exercising for more than an hour a day because you feel compelled to, it may be a sign of an eating disorder.
A Final Word
If you constantly sacrifice your social life and physical wellbeing to get thin, it's usually a strong indicator of anorexia or bulimia nervosa. These are not normal thoughts - healthy people put their physical and mental health above everything else, especially exercise.
If these thoughts and behaviours are becoming too much to handle, it's advisable to seek help. There are numerous self help groups, recovery programmes and online help available for anorexics and bulimics with an exercise addiction in the UK. BEAT has numerous sources available to eating disordered people, including an anonymous help line (0845 634 7650).
Taking this important first step is vital for recovery, which may save you from additional self-harm.
Labels: Aerobic exercise, healthy weight, obesity, eating disorder, anorexics, bulimics, get thin, exercise addiction, exercise regime, healthier individuals, health problems, exercise induced
Posted by: Theo Wood | 26th February 2010 |
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