Addicted to exercise

shelliemacs

Is this a bad thing?

I was a COUCH potato for, oh gosh, more years then I can count. (hangs head in shame). 3 - 4 years ago I joined a kickboxing gym. I was sure it would be yet another thing I quit after a few months. Well I stayed there for a year and then switched to a gym that had "More" things to do. spinning, cardio classes, machines, free weights, cardio equipment. SO there for another year. Then I found home fitness dvd series that had lots of different dvd's that you follow in a pattern. BAM were here in the present. Im 45, F, 5'0. I cant, wont, flat out refuse to skip a day of working out for at least 1 hour. Weather it be cardio, weights, spinning, running, kickboxing, combat training. I must admit, I hurt in places, especially my back. OWIE! but the guilt I feel to not workout and get that Sweat on, is worse then the pain that is masked by the pain patches I have stuck all over myself.

my weight loss has been, to say the least, a struggle, Scale is not budging.

could it be I am exercising too much? I do struggle to hit the TDEE calorie goal -20% but re-committed today to hit that goal, or at least get darn close.

allot of what I have read in the last week, says hit that goal and the weight will move down again. im not feeding myself enough. so I am giving that a whirl.

so should I exercise less? is it really bad to break that sweat daily? in your opinion could I possibly loose faster to take breaks? I am leaving for a beach vacation 10/31 and would so so so be happy to be able to feel comfortable In shorts by that time. I am 130 lbs now and my goal is about 115-120.

SirBonerFart

An addiction to anything is probably bad for you

I'm fighting my own addiction right now, processed sugar

thisismeraw

It can be dangerous to exercise too much. If your body is hurting it's telling you to slow down. You need to give your body a chance to rest and recover or you are not making progress. When you don't give your body a chance to repair itself you risk injury (which I'm sure you have already sustained since you mentioned you have to wear multiple pain patches).

Give your body a chance to relax. Take at least one rest day a week where you do not exercise.... take this day and just relax. I would suggest taking the next few days off of exercise... or anything more than a nice walk. Let your body rest and repair itself and see if all the pain you are feeling goes away. Pain is normally a sign that something is wrong so don't mask it... let it heal by resting.

iheartmy1dog

There's such a thing as too much of a good thing. You should google exercise addiction... You'll learn a lot and how it can be harmful. I'm a little like you and struggling w/ the same thing at the moment. Lately I've been trying to take it easier because my body is definitely suffering from all the abuse.

Mathguy1

I dont recommend exercising every day. It can lead to burn out, not to mention overstressing your body. I'm not a trainer, but what has worked for me is the following:

Lifting Tus, Thur, and Sat
Cardio (in my case the treadmill) on MWF.

If I didn't have easy access to a gym, I would probably do both on Tues, Thur, and Sat and take the other days off. However, I do not like spending over an hour in the gym so that is why I go 6x week. The lifting takes about 45 min and the treadmill roughly 35 min. Also, since you enjoy that "exercising high", it's understandable to have that feeling most days.

Rest on Sunday (or whichever day works best for you). You'll be surprised how much better you'll feel after taking a day off. Once I return to my goal weight (I took a few months off due to unemployment), I will cut down or completely remove the cardio portion of my exercise plan as I do not wish to burn of muscle.

dangerousdumpling

Think about it this way. By exercising you are trying to be healthy and take care of your body, right? You want to give your body the activity that it needs to stay strong and healthy. Great. We all should do that. BUT, you have to fuel it properly and let it rest to get the full benefits of working out. If you don't do that you're actually hurting your body, not helping it. It needs those things just like it needs activity. You wouldn't give up sleep, right? Of course not. You need it. Same thing. Your body needs rest and fuel.

I'd suggest you ask yourself what you think will happen if you allow yourself 1 or 2 rest days per week? Seriously answer the question to yourself and ask yourself if the answer is true and reasonable. If not, stop letting yourself believe untruths and take care of your body. Somewhere along the way your thought process on what exercise will do for you got out of balance. To benefit yourself, try to regain balance.