Throughout my life I have managed to stay in great shape while living a healthy lifestyle, however what I am proud about is how I have managed to do this without ruining my life socially. But recently, I believe I have slipped into my old habits of food obsession and exercise addiction. I recently came to this realization when I found myself planning social events based on my diet and exercise schedule.

Those suffering from exercise addiction are those who are forcefully compelled to workout between 5 and 7 times weekly. If you find that you can’t take a day off, you’re likely addicted to exercise. It first seems like you are just doing the right thing and adhering to a schedule. But, in order to prevent injury and overuse of muscles, days of rest are critical. Additionally, you have to consider your underlying motivation for exercising. When you are never happy with the way you look and fear that having just a single day off will ruin all of your effort up to now, then you are probably suffering from exercise addiction.

Not unlike exercise addiction, food obsession is a condition centered on self esteem and body image. This problem often begins with a sense that one’s outward appearance is always lacking. Taken to the extreme, food obsession leads to serious eating disorders. I can’t really speak much on food disorders because I am no doctor. What I can do is speak to you about my own food obsession and what it has done to me.

I began to face a food obsession problem when I decided that my body fat should measure lower than ten percent. However, at what cost was I willing to do that? I do not work in modeling. I am not a fitness competitor of any kind. Now that it’s winter, no one except me and my wife will even see my abs either. It took me a while but I eventually came to the realization that I am perfectly fine at 10% body fat. What I would have to do to get it down to 7% was just crazy.

Though ongoing battles with exercise addiction and food obsessions can be quite troubling, brief bursts of intense focus on these areas can provide some benefit. When trying to get in shape for a upcoming holiday or for the summer, it is perfectly reasonable to put in maximum effort into getting into the shape you want, and to do this you have to obsess slightly over your food and exercise routine. Also, anyone just beginning an uphill weight loss battle can benefit from an intense period of focus on what they eat and how often they exercise. Just be sure that food obsession and exercise addiction symptoms don’t dominate your life in the long run.