Let’s face it, exercising every day and/or eating a very clean diet 24/7 can certainly be a healthy and noble goal. So, how does one know if/when they’ve pushed their healthy pursuit to the point of obsession — resulting in a very unhealthy lifestyle?
How To Know If Your Obsession With Health Is Unhealthy
Red Flag #1: When the disruption of your food or fitness plan affects your mental state.
Picture it: You’re invited to a lovely social event. And dinner is included. But you don’t believe it’ll be healthy enough, so you bring your own. Meaning, you’re in your head for the entire function.
- Are people looking at me?
- Am I being judged?
- What will they think?
Or, let’s just say, you do eat the food at that soiree, but then afterward you feel…
- this overwhelming sense of guilt or shame
- the need to over-compensate the next day by revising your macros
- like you’ve gained a hundred pounds
…all of this would demonstrate a major inflexibility in regard to your food habits.
Red Flag #2: Preoccupation.
If you find that you are preoccupied with…
- planning your workout the next day
- figuring out what you’re going to eat on your vacation next month
- what everyone else is eating (wherever you go)
… then, yeah. Unhealthy.
Imagine it: You’re out to lunch at a Mexican restaurant with your girlfriends. And you are just so acutely aware of how many chips are eaten and who orders a side of sour cream, etc.
But not just noticing all the little food things, but almost longing for or feeling jealous of people who are able to just let go and enjoy themselves.
Or maybe you’re preoccupied when you find out somebody got a longer or tougher workout in that day than you did.
Sometimes preoccupation (like this) can be spotted in others by their curiosity.
The person who’s preoccupied often asks a lot of questions about other people’s nutrition and exercise habits. This is because the unhealthy person consumed with health is always measuring and counting and comparing what everyone else is doing.
And here’s the thing about this disordered way of thinking…
You might assume it’s a preoccupation with a person’s:
- body
- weight
- habits
But, more often than not, it’s just a preoccupation with control.
For so much more related to this topic, like:
- How I’ve evolved in how I think about food/drinks/exercise
- What is orthorexia and why it’s so often misdiagnosed
- How to reach out to a loved one who you feel has taken a wrong turn re: their health
Then, you must listen to The Chalene Show episode below:
And don’t forget to subscribe to TCS for weekly episodes dedicated to your overall good health and happiness!
