where does fitness lie on your list of priorities??

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skazzmatter
skazzmatter Posts: 20 Member
in Chit-Chat
reading over the comments in someone's post about wanting to end their walks with a friend, i saw replies that varied in intensity from completely dismissing lunchtime exercise, to ones encouraging her to completely get out of the friendship if her friend doesn't have the same fitness goals as she does. i think both of those replies are probably unhealthy, but i also know my personal standards for what's disordered and not disordered thinking is different because i've struggled with eating disorders and compulsive behaviors.

how important is "fitness" to you? and why?
because of my personal history, i have to make sure to put fitness at a semi-low priority for myself. i can't focus too much on it or i hyper-focus. it's a struggle. i know compulsive overeaters from my treatment center that have to hyperfocus though, or they'll slip up and their health is legitimately in danger. and at that point, they're kind of at the point where loved ones and hobbies and career all fall UNDER fitness, coz they cant have the former without it.

my goal is to one day be able to wake up, walk directly into the kitchen and mindlessly fix myself breakfast before going for a walk. i want to eat at least three meals a day just because i'm hungry and make my body sweat at least a few times a week, but because im doing fun activities. intuitive fitness, i guess.
what about you?
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Replies

  • pie_eyes
    pie_eyes Posts: 12,965 Member
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    My highest priority isn't exercise , it's counting calories
  • AskTracyAnnK28
    AskTracyAnnK28 Posts: 2,834 Member
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    pie_eyes wrote: »
    My highest priority isn't exercise , it's counting calories

    Me, too...and I honestly don't care what my friends eat. I actually enjoy watching others eat decadent foods.

    The way I see it, my goals are mine. It's a high priority, but it's not overtaking my life.
  • JeffreyMGiron
    JeffreyMGiron Posts: 3,582 Member
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    Its number one, its a must, i do anything to stay active, i cant catch myself doing nothing unless im laying down for a nap or sleeping.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Ranked below health, below happiness, above weight, above strength.
    But they are all linked.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,671 Member
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    It's very high on my list because it helps immensely with my anxiety and depression. If I go too long without exercise, my mood suffers and my husband will tell me to go for a run :smile: I am also setting a good example for my young son, in the hopes that he won't struggle with his weight like I have.
  • _incogNEATo_
    _incogNEATo_ Posts: 4,543 Member
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    Today? Probably like 31st.

    Tomorrow? 2nd
  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,643 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Water, food, clothing, security, 4G/LTE/DATA access, kid, wife, fish in my ponds, fitness.
  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,643 Member
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    sunn_lighter wrote: »
    _John_ wrote: »
    Water, food, clothing, security, 4G/LTE/DATA access, kid, wife, fish in my ponds, fitness.

    like server security or guns?
    like roof over my head...considering my other thread, didn't want to give off the gun nut impression...
  • jbuzzed
    jbuzzed Posts: 10,173 Member
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    It's high on my list but for me alone. I don't judge my friendships based on it. It isn't number one though, that'd be family.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    Fitness is my first priority, however I take a broad view of fitness that includes emotional health and social connections.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    #1
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
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    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage wrote: »
    It's very high on my list because it helps immensely with my anxiety and depression.

    Same.
  • chaney3000
    chaney3000 Posts: 261 Member
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    sunn_lighter wrote: »
    #1

    ^^Here
  • tony56pr
    tony56pr Posts: 141 Member
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    Family (kids and my fiancée)--part of this is work of course, getting up and going to work everyday but I'm the type that works because I have to, not the type that lives to work-- are first then fitness and then the rest.
  • 4leighbee
    4leighbee Posts: 1,275 Member
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    Under family but above absolutely everything else ... without my run, I can't "adult" with grace, kindness, and effectiveness
  • StrongLife
    StrongLife Posts: 525 Member
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    I've always been active. I just feel better about life in general when I'm in a good workout flow. If I'm happy, others around me are too. Family and golf always trumps when needed.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    I am a personal trainer so i'd say pretty high on my list of priorities.

    HOWEVER, I have a very different approach to fitness and lifestyle then i did when i first started about 5 years ago. When i first started working out, eating better, counting cals, etc. It was because i hated myself for being fat, allowing myself to get fat, and i was therefore determined to lose weight but also punishing myself for allowing it to happen in the first place.

    I punished myself by applying a thick layer of guilt which allowed me to stick to my goals. On one hand, i'm grateful i went through this process, on the other, i wish i hadn't treated myself that way.

    This guilt that was self-imposed made me stick to my calorie goal EVERY SINGLE DAY. I never "cheated" or went over in calories, EVER. This guilt kept me going to the gym 3 days a week without fail. If i didn't have enough calories left over for dinner this guilt had me in the gym burning extra cals so i could eat what i wanted.

    well... i never ate too little calories, lost too much weight, etc. It was just the breaking point for me which i think i had to cross in order to get serious and actually make a change. If i hadn't gone through this period i would never be where i am today.

    Now though? I have a completely different approach to myself. i don't use guilt and hatred to fuel my workouts and eating. I don't use the added pressure from my accomplishments to keep me on track. I now try and walk the middle path and i make it very important for me to NEVER try and be the "best". I recognize that i am not and will never be perfect. I used to have the mental response "well, that can't keep me from trying and punishing myself for never reaching it".

    I tell all my clients that I don't compete, that i don't have the best physique in the gym, that i'm not perfect, but that i'm healthy happy and content and that it good enough for me. It involved dropping the motivation i had to be the "best" version of myself, that i had to be my "best" looking at all times, etc. In all actuality i'm probably 5-10 pounds from the weight needed to compete in bikini/bodybuilding, but if that 5-10 pounds means i can eat what i want, workout because it makes me happy and makes me feel good, and i can maintain this lifestyle without hating myself? It's all good. :)

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