How to create an exercise addiction

Options
2»

Replies

  • k8eekins
    k8eekins Posts: 2,264 Member
    Options
    Chriztii Joined Jan 2012 Posts: 70 January 4, 2014 9:41 am I was wondering, i know i have a lot of bad habits and addictions but how do you create a healthy addiction for example exercise?

    I feel like I'm constantly forcing myself to even lift a finger when it comes to exercise and yet i know plenty of friends and family that do it on a daily basis at 5 oclock in the morning! When i ask them how they do it they say they either love it or feel the need to do it. So my question is am i just doomed and cursed to hate exercise for the rest of my life or can i train my body and mind into actually needing exercising?

    It might be a silly question but i would love to have a healthier lifestyle but i have a horrible mentality and i don't know how to change it. :(

    When you do opt to exercise, what exactly do you do?

    I was humongous to start, pre MFP and my earliest of months here. Walking was my chosen mode of exercise with 10 lb weights on each hand. The route was chartered by my sister to suit my pickiness accommodating my mood, to keep me interested, at all, twice daily.

    The course included through and out of surburbia, the hilly more mountainous trails and the city walk with too many varied and steep and long and wide steps. The exercise part to me at that time, my psyche-in was (i) adorning my workout wear (ii) distance (iii) duration (iv) and sometimes the gradient of difficulty ie the course, which was built up from week to week. The route was chartered the way it was, so that the appeal for me was a scenic walk, with less emphasis on exercise, which allowed me the avenue to comfortably take a break where and when needed, snacking, chatting even with people I got to know, enjoying my neighbourhood and my city at my leisure.

    I'm a result oriented person, once I'm out of that rut. Leisure worked initially. Once results took over, I was back in my Zone ~ Fitness.

    Maybe your chosen workout is a misfit. For me it was easy for my fitness background is multifaceted, but being that one of my dominant individual Summer activities from my foundation was running, walking to running was a natural choice. Now it is my control physical activity supported by other workout routines.

    You've lost a lot already . Congratulations. :smile: Would you consider inculcating some strength/resistance training routines with emphasis on progressive weighting? What you might be in need of is a "body sculpting/refining/fine-tuning" composition, to be result driven; To see changes from month to month; To achieve small goals from month to month. Physical upgrade enhancements through your body. Thin as you've mentioned in your profile is okay but being slim, fit and healthy strong is better and is way more forgiving and satisfying than being stuck in the vacuum of thin is only achieved through a restrictive lifestyle of eating. Strength training can liberate your mind when applied to meet your needs and your ideal body.

    From what you've featured via your ticker, you're clearly not seeing that image of yourself. Your inspo. Any workout you pick out of a hat won't draw you any closer to that. Strength training on the other hand "sculpts" the body, most especially if you'd started with a fat weight class.

    Good luck to you Chriztii :flowerforyou:
  • GhostriderMav
    GhostriderMav Posts: 308 Member
    Options
    Chriztii,

    I used ot be in great shape and I catually went to far with my exercise adiction. I could'nt stop and i dind't like anyone who didn't exercise. No I'm older and trying to get back into shape.
    I' am trying to find the right balance myself. I think it basically comes down to good old want to.
    Today was the first Saturday that I can remember I made myself work out. I always have to fight the thousand distractions and just do it.
    I think about how good I will feel afterwards and remember how I used to look and want to look that way again. Nothing like going shopping for new clothes because they are too big!
  • GummyHuman
    GummyHuman Posts: 193 Member
    Options
    "Exercising" is boring. But there are lots of things that aren't boring that result in exercise being done; bike rides, kayaking, roller blading, hiking, dancing, tennis, racquetball, playing tag with the kids, sex :) , etc etc.

    I am addicted to kayaking and I try to do it every day that time and weather permit because it is fun and relaxing. The 45 minutes of paddling would never happen on a rowing machine because that would be boring. (I know. I had a dusty one for a long time)

    IMO, if you can find something that you enjoy that happens to blow some calories, you'll have an easier time wanting to do it.
  • Sjenny5891
    Sjenny5891 Posts: 717 Member
    Options
    What do you like to do? Ex ercise doesn't have to be bland Calesthenics on You-tube. It's Walking, Biking, Swimming, Playing Ball, pick a goal and try to beat it on the treadmill or the Elliptical.

    I do better when I take a friend with me.
  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
    Options
    I can't say exercise has become an addiction over the last few months, but it has definitely become a habit. Research shows that it can take a long time to form habits, the 28 day number is for a simple habit, other habits can take the better part of a year to form.... That said, I started out at 20 min per day on my recumbent bike, 3 months later I'm up to 45 min per day and several intensity levels higher. When I'm not at home, I will walk for 45 minutes. Three days a week I try to do something else for another 30 minutes.

    What has helped make it ha habit is seeing the calorie credits in MFP and seeing the difference in my fitness level. My resting heart rate has dropped, and so have the pounds. Another thing that has helped has been a FitBit. It has helped me see the benefits of walking, and climbing the stairs more. Now I look for opportunities to do both so that I reach my daily targets.
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    Options
    I was wondering, i know i have a lot of bad habits and addictions but how do you create a healthy addiction for example exercise?

    I feel like I'm constantly forcing myself to even lift a finger when it comes to exercise and yet i know plenty of friends and family that do it on a daily basis at 5 oclock in the morning! When i ask them how they do it they say they either love it or feel the need to do it. So my question is am i just doomed and cursed to hate exercise for the rest of my life or can i train my body and mind into actually needing exercising?

    It might be a silly question but i would love to have a healthier lifestyle but i have a horrible mentality and i don't know how to change it. :(

    It might be a good idea to work on changing your way of thinking and bad habits versus replacing it with another "addiction." Yes, exercise is good for your body and mind, but it can also become problematic for some. You say you have a "horrible mentality" and that may be a good place to start. I am not trying to persuade you to not exercise or participate in other activities, but be mindful when you do.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Options

    How much it takes to create endorphins differs. I think most of us need to get into an elevated heart rate zone for more than 20 minutes. I think research also shows that should be a minimum you shoot for, say 5 days a week. You definitely can do it walking, just be brisk. And you can do the same thing daily or change it up.

    For me, the endorphins alone aren't worth it. I have to find other reasons.

    I think the people who love it are good at it and also have days they hate it but do it anyway. Also, people use "I love it" as a script. If you know it needs done, why not focus on the tiny things you love about it instead of the many other things you hate about it? They probably rarely love the act itself so much as they love the after-effects and benefits and beating personal goals and things like that.

    Interesting, i guess i always just took their word for it and thought the grass was greener in their lives. I think walking is deffintly going to be the way to start this. I'm not exactly unfit, it's my mind that stops me from pushing myself/ doing exercise not really my body. I never enjoyed sports at school, so i haven't found any type of enjoyable active activity which makes it a bit harder.

    I think i will start with a small goal and do as you say, focus on what i liked about it not what i hated. Thanks for the all the replies by the way it has given me a bit of motivation :)
    I might be wrong in my theory that they don't really love IT so much as the idea and results of it. I know two 'exercise addicts' well and I grill them about it. They love the image of someone who loves exercise, they love the results, they hate 'feeling like a slug' the days they can't do it, they hate getting heavy more easily. But they usually don't love getting out of bed at 5am and the first 20 minutes of a run and the soreness after a tough session and all the stuff the rest of us don't love. They want to love exercise so they tell themselves and everyone around them they love it. They love parts of it.

    I used to do Bikram yoga 4-6 times a week. It was hard. People thought I was an addict. I was motivated because even though I almost never wanted to go beforehand, I was always glad I had afterward, so that's what I focused on. And I could eat whatever I wanted without gaining weight. :happy: But then I hurt my back so now I walk because I frickin hate cardio.
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    Options
    I'd aim for habit. Not addiction. Being addicted to even good things is an unhealthy mindset.
  • Fitfully_me
    Fitfully_me Posts: 647 Member
    Options
    I'd aim for habit. Not addiction. Being addicted to even good things is an unhealthy mindset.

    ^^ so much this

    I get the sentiment of the post but the word choice is a poor one.
  • Obeah1
    Obeah1 Posts: 55 Member
    Options
    Do i need to change up my exercise routine and do something different all the time or can i create a addiction or need by just walking or running everyday? Will that be enough to create those endorphins?

    Right now i am not doing anything i have just come back to MFP and i want to start again, i used to do some running and gym classes. but only for a few months so i could never get over the hate for exercising i guess it must take years.
  • Nadia222222
    Nadia222222 Posts: 59 Member
    Options
    I am just like you!!! I Do not like exercise but know I have to do it!!! LOL
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
    Options
    My thing now is group fitness classes but when I first started back up with Zumba, 10 minutes at a time was all I could manage and then I was seriously winded and done. When you start back up you may not love it right away or be super amazing. Just keep at it, and this too, shall pass :smile: For me now how I think about exercise is great music, challenging moves, excellent company, stress relief, good for my body, where else would I be!!
  • Obeah1
    Obeah1 Posts: 55 Member
    Options
    Do i need to change up my exercise routine and do something different all the time or can i create a addiction or need by just walking or running everyday? Will that be enough to create those endorphins?

    Right now i am not doing anything i have just come back to MFP and i want to start again, i used to do some running and gym classes. but only for a few months so i could never get over the hate for exercising i guess it must take years.
    [/quote]

    OOPs...I'm new to this and just posted an empty reply by mistake.

    I share your aversion to exercise and don't work out. What I do is engage in sports. I downhill and cross country ski in the winter, play golf in the summer and play tennis year round. When I had a gym membership, going in to exercise was a drag. Sports, on the other hand, I find lots of fun and an enjoyable social activity...and guess what-it keeps me in shape and burns calories. Why not think about taking up a sport?
  • SweetSouthernMama
    SweetSouthernMama Posts: 1
    Options
    I built my addiction by sheer suck-it because it sucks.... as in I made myself run a mile three times a week until I could force myself round a second loop. I bought apps that tracked my milage and set goals. I had to do it 6 days a week after a few months. I decided. Within 6 months I had two problems. I was evil if I didn't run three miles minimum. I needed new shoes and a whole new wardrobe. Now I put that 3-5 miles in 6 days a week for the joy of having legs and because it turns everything off. Can't hate myself and run. Can't worry about the bills and run. All I can do, if I'm doing it right, is move forward and not get creamed by a car. It's been almost a full year and it's not sucked for at least the last six months. I also hit three barbell classes a week now. I was sore today. Didn't want to go today. Went because you pick the weight up and you push it over your head. then again. and the other people that you see each time? they're sucking and pushing too and one day you smile at each other and you feel a thousand times better. Running is what got me there. I keep running. But now I have so much more. (and my passport pics need countersigning. I can't be recognized.)

Categories