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How To Have A Healthy Relationship With Exercise | Nutritionist Explains | Myprotein
Jan 30, 2025
Expert dietitian explains what an unhealthy relationship with exercise looks like and how you can start improving it.
We know that regular exercise is essential for our health, but when does trying to be healthy become unhealthy?
There's a point where exercising no longer benefits the body and can negatively affect our health. In today's video, Elle will explore what an unhealthy relationship with exercise looks like and how you can start improving it.
With exercise, it can be difficult to actually notice what's too much for your body, because sometimes workouts should be challenging and feeling sore after a session can be considered normal. However, if you are constantly tired, exhausted, and not recovering right, it could be a sign that you’re overtraining.
Watch this video to find 5 ways to help start to improve your relationship with exercise.
Follow Elle on IG: ellekellynutrition
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Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:33 - Overtraining consequences
01:17 - Guilt with resting
03:00 - Food has a purpose
03:40 - Exercising when ill (unwell)
04:30 - Movement is movement
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0:00
we know that regular exercise is
0:02
important for our health but when does
0:03
trying to be healthy become unhealthy
0:06
there is a point where exercising no
0:08
longer benefits the body and can
0:09
actually have negative effects on our
0:15
health my name is l registered dietitian
0:18
specializing in Sports Nutrition and in
0:19
Eating Disorders I help clients to
0:21
improve their relationship with food and
0:23
exercise and achieve their performance
0:25
goals without sacrificing their health
0:27
and today we're going to explore what an
0:29
unhealthy relation ship with exercise
0:30
looks like and how you can start
0:32
improving it with exercise it can be
0:35
difficult to actually notice what is too
0:37
much for your body because sometimes
0:39
workouts should be challenging and
0:40
feeling sore after a session can be
0:42
considered normal however if you're
0:45
constantly tired exhausted and not
0:46
recovering right it could be a sign that
0:48
you're overtraining overtraining and
0:50
under fueling often go hand inand and
0:52
can lead to negative consequences on
0:54
health and performance including poor
0:56
recovery a weakened immune system and
0:58
decreased strength and performance
1:00
recovering from overtraining can involve
1:02
reducing training load for a number of
1:04
weeks and incorporating more rest days
1:06
as well as increasing food intake and
1:08
reducing physical and psychological
1:10
stress but it can be more complex and
1:12
harder to change if we have an
1:14
underlying unhealthy relationship with
1:16
exercise so what does an unhealthy
1:19
relationship with exercise look like
1:21
using exercise as a way to earn food or
1:23
to compensate for eating we know that
1:26
when our activity levels are higher we
1:28
require more energy and specific
1:29
nutrients s like protein and carbs
1:31
however this doesn't mean that when we
1:33
don't exercise we don't need to eat or
1:36
eat as much rest days are sometimes as
1:39
important as a tough session for
1:40
progressing in our Sport and Recovery
1:42
doesn't stop after your session but will
1:44
continue for hours and even days
1:46
afterwards which means your nutrition
1:48
requirements are similar regardless of
1:50
whether you may have trained or not that
1:52
day for example when glycogen stores are
1:55
depleted it can take between 48 to 72
1:57
hours to fully restore these so so what
2:00
you feel yourself with on rest days is
2:02
both supporting your recovery and your
2:04
future
2:05
performance exercise only accounts for a
2:07
small amount of our overall energy
2:09
expenditure unless you're an athlete
2:11
who's spending multiple hours per day
2:12
training even at complete rest our body
2:15
requires energy to facilitate all of the
2:17
basic functions this includes breathing
2:20
digesting food producing hormones all of
2:22
the things that we don't realize our
2:23
body does energy requirements and
2:25
Recovery nutrition aside though food
2:28
never needs to be earned or burned off
2:31
eating is a biological human requirement
2:33
and having the belief that you do have
2:35
to earn food is a red flag when it comes
2:37
to identifying disordered relationships
2:39
with food and exercise feeling guilty
2:41
for resting or taking a day off when we
2:43
excessively exercise or have a
2:45
compulsion to exercise it can make it
2:48
difficult to take a rest day from
2:49
training and other forms of exercise
2:51
this can be linked with the need to earn
2:53
food and the guilt being associated with
2:55
eating without the food being to support
2:57
performance or recovery from a session
2:59
directly
3:00
if we think about social media and the
3:02
hash Fitness side of it as great as it
3:04
is we do see that people can become
3:06
obsessed with their diet to support
3:08
their training and forget that food
3:09
always has a purpose Beyond supporting
3:12
performance and Recovery remember your
3:14
body needs nutrients for human functions
3:17
not just exercise training despite being
3:19
ill or injured there are of course
3:22
certain occasions where when you're ill
3:24
some fresh air or gentle movement can
3:26
improve your mood and how you feel
3:28
physically however dur during illness
3:30
your body is under a significant amount
3:32
of stress which means that rest is super
3:35
important exercising when already ill
3:37
can prolong recovery and even make an
3:39
illness worse being unable to take time
3:41
away from exercise and give your body
3:43
what it needs can be a red flag when it
3:45
comes to your relationship with food and
3:47
for exercise and the same can be said
3:49
for injuries exercising for health
3:52
benefits is really positive but
3:54
sometimes the definition of Health needs
3:55
to be re-evaluated exercise no longer
3:58
supports your health if it's sends your
4:00
body into a worsen state of stress
4:02
physically or mentally feeling like you
4:04
have to hit a certain amount of reps or
4:06
do a specific type of exercise for it to
4:09
count it is common to experience a bit
4:11
of a black and white mindset when it
4:13
comes to both nutrition and exercise
4:15
where we see certain foods as simply
4:17
good or bad and certain exercises as
4:19
right or wrong having this approach to
4:21
exercise can look like not feeling like
4:23
a session counts if you've not spent a
4:25
certain amount of time in the gym or
4:26
burned a certain amount of calories the
4:28
reality is that all movement is movement
4:31
you don't have to be a runner or a gym
4:33
goer to be an active individual maybe
4:35
you enjoy dancing or horse riding or
4:37
yoga all of these are forms of exercise
4:40
and count towards the physical activity
4:42
guidelines outlined by public health
4:44
England the sole reason for exercise is
4:46
out of fear of weight gain or with the
4:49
desire to change your body when the sole
4:51
reason for exercising is to change your
4:54
body or weights it can promote an
4:56
unhealthy relationship with exercise as
4:58
you're less likely to enjoy it and it
4:59
could become a form of punishment of
5:02
course exercise can cause physical
5:03
changes within our body but these should
5:05
be seen as a side effect rather than the
5:07
main goal if exercise controls your life
5:10
to the extent that work is sacrificed
5:12
relationships are compromised or sleep
5:14
is affected it may be a sign that you
5:16
have an unhealthy relationship with
5:18
exercise exercise should enhance your
5:20
lifestyle and having a training plan can
5:22
be really helpful to monitor progress
5:24
and support performance goals but it
5:26
should be flexible so that it doesn't
5:28
affect every aspect of your life similar
5:31
to having a disordered relationship with
5:33
food having a disordered relationship
5:34
with exercise can lead to preoccupation
5:37
with exercise which can impact our
5:39
ability to focus on other tasks whilst
5:41
these points are some of the common
5:43
features of an unhealthy relationship
5:44
with exercise this can look different
5:47
for everyone but if you related to any
5:49
of these points please know that you're
5:51
not alone exercise addiction compulsive
5:54
exercise and feeling like exercise
5:55
controls your life and dictates your
5:57
food choices is a lot more common than
5:59
you may think
6:00
so how can you start to improve your
6:02
relationship with exercise one know your
6:05
why identify your main motives for
6:08
exercise this can help to clarify what
6:10
you want to get out of exercise you can
6:13
then see if your current exercise
6:14
program aligns with this or if it may
6:17
need some adapting ask yourself what is
6:19
the main intention behind exercise is it
6:22
that it genuinely improves your head
6:23
space or is it so you can feel like you
6:25
can justify eating and that helps you
6:28
better mentally is it because you enjoy
6:30
your training and have performance
6:31
related goals or do you not enjoy it and
6:34
solely want to change your body number
6:36
two do a social media audit when we
6:39
scroll through social media we tend to
6:41
compare ourselves to others and this is
6:43
often
6:44
subconscious this can leave us
6:46
questioning if what we are doing is
6:48
right and being influenced by others and
6:50
what they are doing which whilst it can
6:53
be helpful at times it might not be the
6:55
best option or choice for you take
6:57
things with a pinch of Sals remember
6:59
that you are the expert of your own body
7:00
and lifestyle and unfollow accounts that
7:02
don't make you feel good three ditch The
7:05
Trackers fitness watches and apps can be
7:08
really insightful if you're monitoring
7:09
your performance but if you feel like
7:11
you're predominantly using them to count
7:13
calories burned or time spent in the gym
7:15
ditch them this is not majorly useful
7:18
information and reinforces the idea that
7:20
exercise is solely about burning
7:22
calories do you exercise because you
7:24
like it or is it something that you have
7:26
to do to justify eating four focus on on
7:29
other markers of improvement rather than
7:31
body composition exercise is not just
7:34
about weight loss or maintenance it is
7:36
important for our health in so many more
7:38
ways than just being cardiovascularly
7:40
fit it is associated with improving our
7:42
immunity in moderate doses can improve
7:45
digestion and supports our mental health
7:48
whilst body composition can change as a
7:50
result of exercise it shouldn't be the
7:51
sole Focus if you are constantly
7:53
weighing yourself or body checking try
7:56
to look for other markers of performance
7:58
in the gym or in your sport such as
8:00
tracking your lifts or your run times or
8:02
noting how energized you feel throughout
8:04
a session or how your recovery is five
8:07
redefine exercise there is no right or
8:10
wrong activity and some form of movement
8:12
each day is better than not moving at
8:13
all a simple walk gentle yoga can be
8:16
more than sufficient some days remember
8:18
that exercise should fit into your
8:20
routine and sometimes take some adapting
8:22
to suit your schedule so try to reframe
8:24
your ideas around exercise and remember
8:27
that it's okay to miss a session due to
8:29
Comm mment your exercise routine
8:31
shouldn't limit you from enjoying social
8:33
occasions and being spontaneous in life
8:35
consider is your current exercise
8:37
sustainable and does it fit in with your
8:39
life or is your life fitting in around
8:41
it and finally speak to a medical
8:44
professional if you are concerned about
8:45
your outlook on exercise and your
8:47
habits as always if you have any
8:50
questions please pop them in the
8:51
comments below and don't forget to like
8:53
this video And subscribe to the my
8:54
protein YouTube channel for more great
8:56
evidence-based nutrition information
8:59
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