Getting a bit obsessed with exercise. Where do I find the right balance?
Super_sarah96
Posts: 56 Member
Starting to exercise obsessively. Trying to find the right amount but want to lose weight badly
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80% is diet. Focus on getting that right first.
How much and what exercise are you doing? You dont bother to say. It plays an important part on helping you maintain your calorie goals, plus it has health and fitness benefits that are complementary to weight loss.
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OK are you experiencing over training or burnout? Also nothing wrong with being a exercise addict as long as you keep it below the two bold terms.
Are you skipping work to go exercise? Skipping other obligations to exercise?0 -
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Clearly you have run off back to the gym.0
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I eat as healthy as I know how to. My exercise pattern is random but I was on the treadmill the other day for four hours. Also every spare second I have, I go to my room and exercise, it's all that I can think about0
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yopeeps025 wrote: »OK are you experiencing over training or burnout? Also nothing wrong with being a exercise addict as long as you keep it below the two bold terms.
Are you skipping work to go exercise? Skipping other obligations to exercise?
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I don't think it's that big of a problem, but it's pretty much all that I think about and I was on the treadmill for four hours0
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Super_sarah96 wrote: »I don't think it's that big of a problem, but it's pretty much all that I think about and I was on the treadmill for four hours
Why were you on going that long?
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Super_sarah96 wrote: »I don't think it's that big of a problem, but it's pretty much all that I think about and I was on the treadmill for four hours
Four hours on the treadmill might be the first signs of a problem. An obsession with exercising is every bit as dangerous as anorexia or other eating disorders. Please talk to someone who can help you--your parents, a counselor, a therapist...
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From what I've read the high end of balance is limiting yourself to one hour of any exercise and take one day off for rest the low end of balance would be 30 minutes 3-4 times a week.0
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LettingTheSmallStuffGo wrote: »From what I've read the high end of balance is limiting yourself to one hour of any exercise and take one day off for rest the low end of balance would be 30 minutes 3-4 times a week.
Disagree. "Balance" is different for everyone. My long runs take 2-2.5 hours. I'm hardly obsessed with it though.0 -
Based on my own person past experience, you are doing too much when it becomes something you won't continue after you lose weight. I like to cosume a lot of calories, so I've always looked to exercise for weight loss. The problem is I do what you seem to be doing. I go all out, exercising as much as I can. And it works like a charm. I've never failed to lose the weight I wanted in this manner. But that type of exercise is unsustainable for me and I gradually do less and less and slowly gain it all back.
So, here I am again, losing again. But this time I am working to find an exercise routine that I can stick to even after the weight is lost. I'm sure it will take a little longer to lose than before, but hopefully it will stay off longer.0 -
LettingTheSmallStuffGo wrote: »From what I've read the high end of balance is limiting yourself to one hour of any exercise and take one day off for rest the low end of balance would be 30 minutes 3-4 times a week.
Disagree. "Balance" is different for everyone. My long runs take 2-2.5 hours. I'm hardly obsessed with it though.
OP is 18 and her diary reflects a pattern of undereating.
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LettingTheSmallStuffGo wrote: »From what I've read the high end of balance is limiting yourself to one hour of any exercise and take one day off for rest the low end of balance would be 30 minutes 3-4 times a week.
Disagree. "Balance" is different for everyone. My long runs take 2-2.5 hours. I'm hardly obsessed with it though.
OP is 18 and her diary reflects a pattern of undereating.
And? I was disagreeing with the poster's standards of exercise...not the OP. I agree that the OP seems to exercise too much, but it's the attitude, not necessarily the amount.0 -
Super_sarah96 wrote: »I don't think it's that big of a problem, but it's pretty much all that I think about and I was on the treadmill for four hours
4 hours?? did no one at the gym question you?
edit-just realised you could have a treadmill at home...duh0 -
LettingTheSmallStuffGo wrote: »From what I've read the high end of balance is limiting yourself to one hour of any exercise and take one day off for rest the low end of balance would be 30 minutes 3-4 times a week.
Disagree. "Balance" is different for everyone. My long runs take 2-2.5 hours. I'm hardly obsessed with it though.
OP is 18 and her diary reflects a pattern of undereating.
And? I was disagreeing with the poster's standards of exercise...not the OP. I agree that the OP seems to exercise too much, but it's the attitude, not necessarily the amount.
Agree.
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I usually shoot for an hour or two of cycling every day. When I have time, I'll put in three or four. It seems beneficial to me.0
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Ok had a quick look. You are 18 and I tend to feel that many young people who post on the forums dont understand enough about weight loss and they have unrealistic expectations at the speed in which it can be moved.
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
So ideally you should be aiming for 1lb a week, according to MFP. You could try for 2, but once you start obsessing about going over that, then its likely to be too fast.
The aim is to start your diet and make sure you reach target by finishing and not quitting. If you are unrealistic, then you are more likely to burn out and binge or give up because you are making it too hard for yourself and not being patient. You might start off well, but you wont keep it up. This goes for exercise and dieting. Classic hare and tortoise.
I have looked at your diatu and noticed 2 things that cause concern.
1.You are not eating enough. You need to eat a min 1200 or whatever MFP suggests, which may be more than this. I prefer to see 1400-1500, but 12 is the minimum hence MFP doesnt go any lower. On your current calories your body will not be getting enough nutrition and you will lose weight too fast. 800 is unsustainable and unsafe.
2. You are not logging properly, which is one of the foundations of MFP. Log every day, control your deficit and make sure it is accurate. No idea if you are weighing, but doesnt look like it.
You need to address 1 and 2 as a matter of urgency if you want to lose weight in a safe and sustainable way. Get some MFP friends who can keep an eye on your diet. 5 fruit and veg + and some lean protein would be pretty standard.
Please can we know your current weight and target weight?
Exercise
If you want to use exercise then realise it requires you to do a lot to actually be responsible for weight loss. As a rule of thumn if 1lb in weight is 3500 calories, then that would mean 7 sessions of ((45-60 min)burning 500 calories would burn off 1lb.
Theres nothing wrong with exercise, but what you wnat to avoid is burnout and possibly injury, You will have a more effective regime if you plan it out and pace yourself, with a definite idea of what you are trying to achieve. I would suggest:
1. Increase your day to day activity by walking more.
2. Start off with going to the gym 3x a week and do a combined regime of cardio and weights. Start with what you can manage and then increase amounts as you go along. Weights are good becayse they give you better shape. You could do cardio 6 days a week, but you have to adjust it to what your body can manage and resist the temptation and urgency to go too fast too soon.
3. Find some exercise that you enjoy. Swimming or sport are good alternatives.
Please do things dafely and intelligently as we would like you to succeed , but also avoid developing an eating disorder or burning out. If you use the site properly and get a combined stragey of diet and exercise thats safe and sustainable then you will lose weight over time if your are consistent.-1 -
The OP says her pattern is erratic.
She is thinking about it all the time.
Perhaps if she was more organised and had it planned better then she could find a regime that was more beneficial. Whilst some of you can do 2-3h, then you arent the OP and she has to find a balance between what she can do and sustain.0 -
Find a structured program. Random exercising doesn't do much more than waste energy.Super_sarah96 wrote: »My exercise pattern is random
What are your fitness goals? Run a 5K? Lift something heavy? Climb a mountain?
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I spend hours a week exercising but then again I'm aspiring to be an endurance athlete. I also think about it all the time. It's what I do. It's my health, my social time(usually run/ride with friends, my sanity and most of all my enjoyment. I'm currently eating at a deficit to drop some unwanted weight. I don't see a problem with an exercise obsession AS LONG AS it's for the right reasons and you are getting proper nutrition.0
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I used to do the same thing. Now I plan out my week and what type of exercises I do for each day. I usually give myself 1-2 days during the week to rest and I try not to count my calories on those days too because I tend to under eat or try to burn off all the calories I eat that day. Weekends are my favorite days because I'll spend an hour and half to two hours doing cardio. I always think about exercising but planning out what I do throughout the week makes it less stressful and I worry a little less. With my plan I've been able to lose at least 1 lb a week sometimes a little more and other weeks none at all. Weight is a tricky thing, be kind to yourself and take care of yourself!0
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Your bodySuper_sarah96 wrote: »I don't think it's that big of a problem, but it's pretty much all that I think about and I was on the treadmill for four hours
Four hours on the treadmill might be the first signs of a problem. An obsession with exercising is every bit as dangerous as anorexia or other eating disorders. Please talk to someone who can help you--your parents, a counselor, a therapist...
This!0 -
Find a structured program. Random exercising doesn't do much more than waste energy.Super_sarah96 wrote: »My exercise pattern is random
What are your fitness goals? Run a 5K? Lift something heavy? Climb a mountain?
In a post to the weight loss forum, don't you think the whole point is to waste energy?0 -
yopeeps025 wrote: »Super_sarah96 wrote: »I don't think it's that big of a problem, but it's pretty much all that I think about and I was on the treadmill for four hours
Why were you on going that long?
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Just kept going and didn't stop0
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LettingTheSmallStuffGo wrote: »From what I've read the high end of balance is limiting yourself to one hour of any exercise and take one day off for rest the low end of balance would be 30 minutes 3-4 times a week.
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Can't you go longer than just an hour?0
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Super_sarah96 wrote: »I don't think it's that big of a problem, but it's pretty much all that I think about and I was on the treadmill for four hours
Four hours on the treadmill might be the first signs of a problem. An obsession with exercising is every bit as dangerous as anorexia or other eating disorders. Please talk to someone who can help you--your parents, a counselor, a therapist...
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