I've jumped on board FEET first into a new lifestyle and exercise is a part of that lifestyle choice, and while I can't do anything vigourus due to surgery I can and DO my stationary bike and health walker every day. Right now while the stationary bike is on the fritz (my luck!) I've been doing around 60-90 minutes a day on my healthwalker and I'm quite happy with myself that I've done this on a consistant daily basis! I however now of course have to contend with my Husband, Mother, family and friends throwing the following at me:
"You're being obsessed!", "you're just addicted now", and they act as though this is a bad thing. When they throw these things at me I first respond with, "well there are worse things that I could be addicted to/obsessed with" but I also follow that up with, "I am however just commited to doing this."
I went from a VERY sedatary lifestyle where I didn't exercise at all and I was either on the computer or sleeping all day, sadly that was my life and then I had major surgery in Oct so it sidelined me even more (imagine how that's possible!)and from Oct-March I didn't do alot as I couldn't do much for myself, so to go from seeing me living that way to WANTING to exercise for an hour and then say, "hrm I don't want to stop, I want to do more!" I can see how people can view that as being obsessed. I might add that I exercise EVERY day, even if I can only jump on my walker for 15 minutes because it's a busy day I still manage to do it every day. But can it hurt? When DOES it go from being commited and dedicated to obsessive and dangerous?
Let them talk away and prove to them that you will make this a lifestyle...
My mother said the same thing when I started exercising, 30 YEARS AGO she no longer bothers be about my daily exercising... she knows it's part of my routine...
I've jumped on board FEET first into a new lifestyle and exercise is a part of that lifestyle choice, and while I can't do anything vigourus due to surgery I can and DO my stationary bike and health walker every day. Right now while the stationary bike is on the fritz (my luck!) I've been doing around 60-90 minutes a day on my healthwalker and I'm quite happy with myself that I've done this on a consistant daily basis! I however now of course have to contend with my Husband, Mother, family and friends throwing the following at me:
"You're being obsessed!", "you're just addicted now", and they act as though this is a bad thing. When they throw these things at me I first respond with, "well there are worse things that I could be addicted to/obsessed with" but I also follow that up with, "I am however just commited to doing this."
I went from a VERY sedatary lifestyle where I didn't exercise at all and I was either on the computer or sleeping all day, sadly that was my life and then I had major surgery in Oct so it sidelined me even more (imagine how that's possible!)and from Oct-March I didn't do alot as I couldn't do much for myself, so to go from seeing me living that way to WANTING to exercise for an hour and then say, "hrm I don't want to stop, I want to do more!" I can see how people can view that as being obsessed. I might add that I exercise EVERY day, even if I can only jump on my walker for 15 minutes because it's a busy day I still manage to do it every day. But can it hurt? When DOES it go from being commited and dedicated to obsessive and dangerous?
What do you all think?
I think it can move into obsessive territory when a person is SO worried about getting in time on their machines that they stop living. For instance, let's say one day you had to choose between going out on the lake with your fam or exercising. (This happened to me a few weeks ago, even though I got exercise from swimming I didn't get to the gym before it closed.) If you begin to choose exercise over meaningful experiences with people you love, then I think it crosses into "obsessive" category. (I used to do this with money. I was so worried about paying off debt that I would constantly say no to driving 30 min. home to see my family because it would "cost too much" in gas. I learned my lesson though!)
For a few days, I was really concerned about going out of town with my best friend. We had made plans to road trip to Cedar Point amusement park, and all kinds of thoughts about less exercise and higher calorie foods were swimming through my head. For a brief moment, I thought about not going. Then I realized... This is my LIFE! I can't put my life on hold for exercise. I'll exercise when I can on our trip (the hotel has a gym and pool), but I'm not going to say no to experiences that I'll cherish for the rest of my life just to burn more calories. (Keep in mind that I'm closer to my goal weight than some. If a person was morbidly obese and NEEDED to make these changes to avoid health problems, it would be a bit different.)
In my opinion, you're committed/dedicated to achieving your goals. People are going to be concerned because they see this giant change in you. They worry that you're overdoing it. Heck, my husband told me I was "starving" myself because I was eating 1,200 calories a day. He wasn't trying to sabotage me by offering me more food. He was trying to show his concern. Be strong!
To be honest I have to let myself get a bit obsessed with my diet in order to stay on plan! The day I wake up and shrug my shoulders at it is always a bad food day for me so I let myself get addicted to it!
@ Ilene, congrats on sticking with your lifestyle for 30 years, that's awesome! Oh and truth be told, the constant nagging on my "obsession" as they call it just makes me more determined to stick with it!
@KatieC87. I would agree with you that once it takes over you doing other things that is when you could define it as obsessive. I don't do that but I WILL sit and pause for a moment and think of when I can fit at least 20 minutes in whether it be before I go out about my day or when I get home, I will "pencil it in" before I start my day. I find that this keeps me on track because it's now a part of my "to do list" instead of just something I'll do IF I have time, ya know? And I also agree it's concern but I just wish they'd understand how their concern comes across as it's rather irritating at times. lol
@Blondie160, to a degree I understand that too! I am following WW Points+ and I stick to my points very closely and I had a nosey aunt the other day YELLING at me (I kid you not!) telling me that I need to let myself veer from the plan here and there in order to keep sane, my response to her was simply, "If veering from plans worked for me I wouldn't be obese!" LOL But the thing is as long as it isn't becoming all that your life is, I don't see it as a bad thing.
Last edited by SweetTreat80; 08-03-2011 at 10:17 AM.
Blah, blah, blah...let them say what they want, seriously. I've found that most people in life start knifing you in the back, so to speak, when you exceed (gasp!) their expectation of what they think you should be doing. I.E.: If you were known as the sedentary person then all of a sudden jump into a fitness mode, they can't handle it because it goes against the grain of their perception of you. Who cares? Life's too darn short to spend it placating other people. I say do what makes you feel good. If someone takes issue with it, it's on them, not you.
I hear ya! I also think part of it - even with family members, but especially with acquaintances and coworkers - is that they're afraid of change. When I started watching where my money was going and rejected the material-rich life I had always embraced, my family and friends treated me like I was a martian. I thought, "Wait, they should be encouraging me because I'm paying off debt and focusing on relationships instead of material stuff!" Instead, they talked about me like I was crazy and rolled their eyes whenever I brought up something positive that had happened because of the changes I made.
I don't think it's much different with diet and/or exercise. They see it as a challenge to what is perceived as "normal" or "acceptable." And to an extent, I think things like healthy living or minimalist living scare people because they start looking at their own lives and thinking, "Okay, now, if SHE can do this, why can I not?" And instead of dwelling on that question and examining their own choices, they make themselves feel better by saying, "Okay, she's just obsessive. That's what it is. I'm not worse for never exercising. She's just obsessed!" You have to know when people make comments like this that it's more a reflection of themselves than a reflection of anything you're doing.
I can't tell you the number of times I've been told that in the past. Like Blondie160, though, I think those of us who have had to struggle with weight for most of our adult lives have no choice but to be a bit obsessive. I mean, think of how difficult it is in our society to lose weight: There are tempting, foods all around us. We can access them easily and cheaply. Most of our towns are not set up for walking or cycling safely (i.e., no sidewalks and/or bike paths); in many other countries this isn't the case. A big percentage of America is fat. So, when we start cutting back on the food, refusing to eat junk, and spending time exercising, it is like a salmon swimming upstream. People start thinking that we're the ones who have the problem.
Stick to it long enough, and your family will become used to it.
Obsessed. Addicted, Committed?
she no longer bothers be about my daily exercising... she knows it's part of my routine...
