There’s an ugly side to exercise, one that not many people talk about. There’s so much praise given to people who go big or go home; who walk the no pain no gain line; who live and die by the last one standing motto.
And friends, those very expressions hide some dark truth – that exercise like anything else – in extreme form will no longer be a benefit.
In my family, I was the #exerciseaddict. And despite the comments that my exercise and triathlon racing were “extreme,” it was never frowned upon because it wasn’t like I was popping pills or shooting heroin (no those things are very very bad right?)
And when you are surrounded by like-minded athletes, working through a cracked rib; racing on a newly fractured ankle, racing 19 miles with blurred vision and shitting blood, well, all that “comes with the territory.” This was my “cult.”
Being surrounded by amazing athletes all pushing their physical and mental limits to the nth degree… I was honored and proud to be part of the group.
In therapy, I’ve realized that this will, my tenacity to overcome at all costs served me well for a long while – graduating high school on my own, graduating college on my own, racing ultra marathons and half Ironman’s and an Ironman all were made possible by my “nothing can stop me” attitude.
Until literally, my body, my colon stopped me dead in my tracks. I guess all that no pain no gain wasn’t for not cuz, my colon it absorbed all the pain.
And I’m so fucking grateful to be here, right now in my body, and most importantly in a radically shifted mindset.
And now I help women get S.W.O.L.E to start their own healing relationship with food and fitness. I’ve been through it and now I help other women come through it too.
If your life is revolving around food and exercise; you feel moody or anxious for missing a workout; you take no rest days because you can’t stand not exercising; you are constantly increasing how much you workout, how often; you skip social outings to workout, I can help you create a shift!
This is a kick off to my podcast “Chasing the Exercise High” launching at the end of this month! Follow @exerciseeuphoria to stay up to date on launch day deets!
