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Building a Healthy Relationship with Exercise After Exercise Addiction

Dig into these tips to start building a healthy exercise routine.
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A variety of equipment can make all exercise fun! Credit: stevepb, Pixabay

When performed in recommended ways, exercise helps your body stay healthy and fit. However, it can become an unhealthy addiction. By following the right guidelines and keeping your goals in perspective, you can begin rebuilding a safe and healthy routine.

Taking a Break

Exercise addiction often ends up pushing the body to and beyond its limits, leaving an addict exhausted and injured. The addiction also often causes extreme weight loss. When coming out of addiction, your body will need a recovery period.

The near constant level of rigorous and trying exercise depletes your energy reserves and it may take a few weeks to fully restore your stamina. By letting your body rest and reset, you allow it to become accustomed to less exercise.

When battling an exercise addiction, staying away from exercise for a set period of time can help reduce the craving for exercise.

Body Positivity

In many cases, exercise addiction is linked with eating disorders or body dysmorphic disorders. This makes body positivity an important step in building a healthy relationship with working out. While keeping your body healthy and strong is important, ultra-sculpted and toned muscles are not necessary and you could end up damaging your body instead.

By coming to terms with your body type and loving yourself for what you are, you can take a big step in your recovery. Exercise can be helpful and healthy, but it shouldn’t take precedence over your health. No matter what shape you’re in, with the right balance of nutrition and activity you can take good care of your body.

Everything in Moderation

When your body has fully recovered from the effects of exercise addiction, it’s time to build a healthy relationship. Rather than using exercise to shape your body into the perfect image, you can use it as a gentle way to stay strong and healthy.

When beginning to build a healthy relationship with exercise, moderation is key. By starting with small daily exercises and clearly defining your exercise times, you can adjust to shorter, healthier sessions. It’s also a good idea to take rest days to allow your body to recuperate and regain strength.

With small, effective exercises performed within clear routines, you can gain control of your strength and fitness without falling back into addiction.

Exercise addiction can take you for a wild run, causing extreme weight loss, exhaustion and injuries. When taking steps to end exercise addiction and begin building a healthy relationship with it, it’s important to keep everything in perspective. Understanding your body and its needs, taking regular breaks from exercise and controlling the amounts of exercise you perform in a day are all great steps. With the right balance of healthy exercise and rest, your body will be happy, healthy and strong.

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