When Exercise Is Excess-ercize

Did you know that it's possible to exercise too much?  Just because exercise is good doesn't mean that more is better.  Over-exercising can be dangerous to your health and qualifies as "purging" when diagnosing bulimia.  Here's how you can tell when you've crossed the line from being "healthy" to obsessed (curtesy of Dr. Margo Maine in her book Body Wars):

• You judge a day as "good or "bad" based on how much you exercised.
• You base your self-worth on how much you exercise.
• You never take a break from exercise--no matter how you feel or how inconvenient it is.
• You exercise even though you are injured.
• You arrange work and social obligations around exercise.
• You cancel family or social engagements to exercise.
• You become angry, anxious, or agitated when something interferes with your exercise.
• You sometimes wish you could stop but are unable to.
• You know others are worried about how much you exercise, but don't listen to them.
• You always have to do more (laps, miles, weights) and rarely feel satisfied with what you have done.
• You count how many calories you burn while exercising.
• You exercise to compensate for overeating.

My personal philosophy about exercise is that you should incorporate pleasurable activities into your lifestyle (rather than letting exercise dictate your life).  If you enjoy walking or hiking or biking, do it!  I love dancing, so I go to dance classes.  If you hate running, don't do it.  I don't think exercise should be about "working off that doughnut" for two reasons--one, because it's ok to eat doughnuts, and two, because that way of thinking suddenly turns my pleasurable activity into a guilt trip!  Yes, it's important to respect our bodies by keeping them in good shape.  Just remember that everyone has a different shape!!!  Exercise ought to be about the inside.  A healthy heart.  Feeling uplifted and energized.  Connecting with others.  It shouldn't be about changing our bodies.

What activities do you like to do?