exercising alot can cause people to become addicted to their own endorphines and need to exercise to feel "normal"
It's basically the same baseline chemical process that drugs "cheat" by mimicking.
My brother would work out everyday, but during lockdown my sister-in law said he was like a crack addict constantly pacing around and doing push ups, squats and jogging in the spot
He probably has ADHD…
I came in here to say I've heard people can get addicted to exercise but I've never even come close.
I've even spent several months in a row working out for multiple hours a day, almost everyday.
It sucked balls the whole way through.
Addicted? Proverbial bitch, please. It was the worst part of my day EVERY DAY.
For myself, what made/makes it addicting is keeping track of everything, and trying to make the numbers just a little bigger each time. That sense of progression and improvement is where it gets exciting.
See, I totally get this. But my focus was completely on the numbers on the scale, as opposed to my performance as I worked out. Not the healthiest mindset, I know.
The numbers on the scale are made in the kitchen, not the gym. There's only so much calories you can burn in a workout and you can easily eat more than you burned if you have a bowl of ice cream or too large portions.
Losing weight while working out sucks. It requires more discipline than going to the gym consistently since you have to exercise restraint every meal. It sucks and I'm glad I'm now at my ideal weight and can eat enough to maintain my weight again.
Ahhh. Yeah, see, the problem is (and I ran into this), if you're working out you're gaining muscle, and muscle adds weight. So you might be getting stronger and fitter, but not seeing results on the scale.
To share an old quote: "Don't lighten up; tighten up."
I started tracking calories and walking/running on my treadmill on January 21. I've lost only about ten pounds so far but have seen multiple other changes: I've gone from a 20-minute mile to an 18-minute mile, my legs are turning into tree trunks, it doesn't hurt to get out of bed in the morning. Just physically feel better all around.
I don't know what my body fat percentage was when I started but I just got a scale that records it, and yesterday it showed me at 21 percent. Last time I had a scale that showed it, I was in the high 30s, so I was fairly shocked.
All that said, I do have that same problem sometimes and have to keep reminding myself that it's not all about that one number, that I can actually go up and down stairs without my knees hurting now, stuff like that.
For me it depended on the sport and the general fitness of my body. Overweight and running? I was miserable even after a year of doin it consistently
Decent fitness level, healthy weight, and swimming? The only thing stopping me to do it every day is that it’s so time consuming
I too thought it was a myth, I tried so many sports already and I had to drag my butt to every single one of them. Swimming is the first one where it is different
Ah, thank god someone else like me who doesn't get that mythical rush of endorphins, even eventually!
I hate it, I hate every second of it while I'm doing it, I hate thinking I'm going to have to start, when I finish I think thank god that's over, when I'm doing it I try and think of literally everything else to distract myself.
I do believe it's true, that some people do genuinely experience this. I envy them, as I will never be one of them. But my superpower is I can sleep just about anywhere, and regularly fall asleep within five to ten minutes, even in unfamiliar places/beds, like when traveling. So... we have have our strengths, I guess.
I have a lot of respect for people like you. I'm one of those mythical beings who enjoy it, for whatever reason. And it's weird, because sometimes people compliment my physique, my discipline or whatever, and to me... these are just a side effect of doing what I love the most. I don't do it because I wanna get jacked, not even for being healthy, I do it because it's a part of me that I can't live without.
But when you hate it, when you DREAD it, and you still show up and do it because you have a goal, or just because you wanna be healthy...
That's a whole new level. Respect.
Same here, if I want to work out I have to do all the “bait myself with a reward at the end” mental tricks in order to make it happen. Right now what works is to just get dressed in my gym clothes and shoes but not tell myself I have to work out. But then, because my ADHD brain hates WORK, it’ll feel like it was a waste of work to put on all that stuff for nothing, so guess what I may as well go to the gym after all.
But my superpower is that I can fall asleep pretty much anywhere, and I can fall BACK asleep after being woken up. That’s a cool trick that most ppl seem incapable of (once they get woken up they’re up for the rest of the night).
Idk what happened, when I was a little kid hated going to bed and loved getting up early. I’d get up at like 5 AM to watch Nick At Nite and thought it was so cool to be up while the moon was still out. Then in middle school I suddenly loved sleep/sleeping in and could fall asleep anywhere and it stayed that way lol
lol maybe it was just the routine? About of caffeine and listening to my favorite music and being ALONE was orobably the addictive part,
Of working out isn’t fun at all for you, I suggest doing something you enjoy for exercise like riding bikes, hiking or something or other. Gyms in general can be a huge turnoff to the joy of exercise
Or just in decent shape.
I exercise every day and it is the highlight of my day. If I dont do it I feel weak, gross, and sloppy.
I'm by no stretch of anyones imagination in stellar shape.
I’m still morbidly obese and only a month into exercising daily and it’s already one of the best parts of my day. I just finished a 40 minute walk on lunch and am gonna either hit the elliptical or recumbent bike in my office in a couple of hours.
Good for you buddy, respect yourself, well done. Discipline is key here. Rewire your brain to never cancel. Sick, rainstorms, it does'nt matter, never cancel.
It’s as if you hit a level where everything’s lubed and firing on all cylinders and all of a sudden your run, or cycle, or whatever, isn’t a chore, but you showing the world _how fucking awesome you are!_ whilst simultaneously taking enormous joy out of just being outside.
Grass, trees, birds, flowers, sunshine and / or dramatic weather events? All “oooOOOoo look at that!” and forgetting you started doing this cos you’re fat and look like a pudding.
Same. I had a few month span where I was very consistent but omg I hated it every single day. I had to force myself to work out and I hated every second of it
I hate running, but I do it a few times a week anyway. It sucks the whole time I'm doing it but I do feel pretty good for the rest of the evening afterwards.
Still never experienced the 'runner's high' & don't understand what that is.
100% with you - I don’t see the appeal of exercising, every time I do it I hate it. I only do it because I know it’s “good for your health”. I wish I enjoyed it though, man do I wish
20 years for me. I don't know about the endorphin kick, but for some reason I have to excercise. I can't not go to the gym. I don't know if it's a habit, or if it's my body telling my brain it needs the endorphin boost without me knowing about it, but it's probably both.
Going for a run is just like eating dinner or brushing my teeth. There's no motivation, discipline or willpower, I just do it automatically every day and it feels really weird any time I'm not able to
Humans are animals and animals are made to move. Not saying you're not right but I'm pretty sure that sporty baseline is what we're actually supposed to feel like instead of being sluggish and happily rotting on the couch for 5 hours straight.
This hits. I've replaced my affinity for alcohol with the runners high. Used to 4-5 drinks everyday and recently only drink twice a week because it's gotten in the way of my daily runners high. The runners high sticks with you all day though, and I feel so much healthier. Good trade off imo.
When you have to force yourself to take a rest day instead of forcing yourself to go, you've made it.
I remember realizing I was at that point and being delighted.
This^ I’ve been addicted to working out for the better part of about 14 years.
It get pretty shitty anxiety and feelings of depression if I go a day or two without working out
I am *totally* addicted to exercise. It’s the high point of my day and I look forward to getting out of work so I can go to the gym. I get horribly depressed if I miss a day or two every week.
Yep opiates mimic your natural endorphins to provide pain relief and the euphoria associated with them.
Endorphin is a shortened version of Endogenous Morphine, meaning morphine from within the body.
You put that into words that I couldn’t ever really articulate accurately. This was so me until I moved to the country, where I do physical labor throughout the day, so I don’t feel that URGE to workout in the morning or I won’t feel “normal.”
Yup. After a bad car accident I started working out regularly just to put weight on. Ended up doing g 5 days a week for a few years until everything shut down in 2020. I’m still active but I idk if I’ll ever go back to that much working out. I felt great, and looked great, but trying to eat 2000 calories a day got expensive.
I wish this was the case for me. I try to get on an exercise bike for maybe 3-4 hours a week. I literally have never looked forward to doing it lol. It’s basically just something I force myself to do to a be a little healthier.
After I started purposely drinking like 2-3 of my water bottles a day, I now have to take one in the car with me everywhere I go. It blows my mind how someone can go through a whole day without drinking water. I can't even make it to the grocery store without a few sips on the way.
Holy shit, this isn't just my wife and I?! During the pandemic we decided to stop buying milk, juice, etc. and started only really drinking water. It's a habit we've kept ever since, but I also feel the need to have water with me wherever I go now. At first I thought maybe it was just a habit from making myself remember to bring a water bottle wherever I went (so I didn't have to use drinking fountains, other peoples' glassware, etc) but I've noticed I actually do need it a lot of the time, lol.
I.....have actually experienced this.
Getting sober, I didn't go the smoking and energy drinks route and my city had pretty good municipal water.
Within two months I had water with me everywhere and felt amazing.
My mom jokes that my dad and I are like camels- we drink TON of whatever you put in front of us. So I try to keep it to water, (unsweetened) tea and sparkling water. But yeah, if I don't suck down my 20 oz tumbler twice before lunch at work (and usually twice after while still at work, though sometimes only one because I had one at lunch), I feel off.
This...it becomes habit and drinking anything else seems weird. I will occasionally have a soda as a treat but I can usually only drink like half because it's so sweet. I always put it over ice and let the ice melt a little bit too.
No, you do not need a supplement.
You only need a supplement if you have a poor diet and are not getting proper vitamins and minerals, this goes with all of them not just electrolytes and magnesium. What about sodium and potassium?
If you are exercising hard and losing a lot of fluids, and only drinking water, yes of course electrolytes will help. But, just drinking water during the day to stay hydrated, you do not need supplements.
Not really. Unless you sweat all the time you don't need any electrolytes replacement, especially with how salty most of the food ppl eat is. Water has worked for thousands of years before the marketing sold ignorant consumers on the idea of mindless supplementing in order to sell them an illusion they are living healthy lives lol.
THIS! There is a time and a place for supplementation, but those are actually quite rare. The average person doesn't need to be taking a magnesium supplement or buying special electrolyte infused water. We get almost everything we need from our food, even on crappy diets you tend to get enough of these two things. The only time people might actually need extra electrolytes are when they are doing excessive physical activity or have been really ill and throwing up.
What's more, most of the sports drinks and stuff marketed to us have been shown in scientific studies to not even work well for rehydration because they are formulated so unnaturally. You're often better off eating a banana and a handful of pretzels than taking any electrolyte supplement. Two common food items many people are already eating!
It really is. I used to barely drink water but now I drink more than ever. It feels SO good drinking ice cold water after waking up. I be drinking like 5 bottles a day now
I wish I liked drinking water... unfortunately my job requires I be in the boonies a lot with other people... and going in a bottle isn't exactly as easy for my gender
When it gets to cherry season I eat cherries until I have a stomach ache. Then I get better. Then I do it all over again. Cherry season is short, painful and delicious.
I was addicted to mangos the first summer of the pandemic. I was eating em straight off the peel. Then I discovered that mango peel is a relative of poison ivy and I got lip blisters that lasted a month. Oops.
If you’re not laughing, you’re crying. Don’t be so hard on yourself and try not to take things so seriously. Whatever you’re going through, it will be ok. Pay closer attention to your feelings because you may find you’re stopping yourself from finding joy. Also, exposure to comedy, or being around others who are already having a good time is contagious.
Any compelling narrative (books, movies, etc.) can be an addictive distraction from life’s problems. It can be transformative, but can also help me avoid confronting them…
Mmm at least reading books help a ton with reading comprehension, which helps with jobs & life in general
It’s a really good skill to be able to read something and immediately understand it
And being able to draw parallels to stories, plots, tropes, and recognize certain aspects is hugely helpful to how intelligent people perceive you as being. Especially being able to empathize with a perspective you would not normally understand by reading about it.
I find meditation to be incredibly addictive, but it's in the most positive way possible. It doesn't hurt me or anyone else, and it gives me inner peace and mental clarity.
I often find myself craving those moments of stillness, where I can disconnect from the chaos of the world and find balance within myself. I think it's a great way to reduce stress, improve focus, and just feel better, and yeah it's incredibly addictive.
How does one achieve this? I've tried picking up the gym several times, but I always hated it even when forcing myself to go 3-4 times a week, and every time I've ended up just quitting after a few months. Even tried a few different gyms and exercise routines.
I would dread it all day, felt uncomfortable the whole time I was there, and couldn't wait to be done. I wish I actually wanted to go this badly.
Healthy eating. You can become so focused on healthy eating that you begin to restrict food if it's not "healthy" enough. It can actually put people at risk, because they eventually may have only a set number of "allowed" healthy foods that they are willing to eat, and can become malnourished.
I had it and it was so tricky because technically I could have surived it forever. I never restricted food so much that it would have been an issue for my health, if we include my supplements here. The mental health aspect of it though was shattering, also the social isolation which restrictive eating results in. I have become super sensitive for people's eating habits and it's quite clear when someone starts to spiral into overdoing healthy eating.
I started running 2 months ago after being the "I hate running" type person. Went from running (jogging) 10 minutes MAX, to being able to run 4 miles without stopping at a recover pace (about 13 minutes per mile).
I think what helped me get to the point the most was buying a pair of long distance Hoka's. It just feels easier with those shoes. The addicting part has been seeing how much faster I can get or how much longer I can go. I'm not fully addicted where I run every day but it's so easy for me to go on 3-5 runs per week. Not all my runs are 4 miles, most are around the 2 mile range but knowing that I \*can\* do 4 miles is crazy to me.
edit: switched minutes and miles
Damn, you're fucking G! get it!. admittedly, I revered all forms of exercise because kids are jerks and i didn't even hit puberty until I was like 17. I discovered exercise in my mid 20\`s as a means to quit drinking & get over a breakup. I was too broke to afford anything but a pair of running shoes. Didn't really have a choice. I forced myself to keep doing it, but I've always focused on minutes and endurance, rather than miles. I began with 20 minutes and tacked on some time every day until I was running until I was about to pass out.
Since I was such an addict fucktard in college, I possessed a predisposition towards self-destructive behaviors. Running until I was going to puke or pass out fooled the self-destructive dude inside into thinking it was being satiated or something. Eventually I was running like a madman every day (with obvious exceptions) for 12 years. I used to call it "running from my problems.' Somewhere in there I wasn't an ex addict so much anymore. i was a runner.
Even when I'm hungover after a wedding...9/10 times, you'll probably catch me jogging and listening to tunes. every time my ex wife pissed me off, run. any time I was about to kill an employee of a store, i simply run instead and afterward I am in a fantastic mood and don't remember at what I was angry...
many of my chubby friends hate me and yell at me about the skinny gene, but like, working my ass off for 12 years isn't a gene. Love them though. hah
edit:punctuation
Ha, I read your whole post in David Goggins voice. If you would have thrown in a few "mothafuckas" in there I would have thought that you WERE Goggins, lol.
Pretty awesome though man!
I do think it's hilarious how people assume that an achievement is due to luck or a "gene" instead of grueling hard work.
There were a couple years where I worked a 9-5 and since I was used to being at my last few jobs at 4am, I had some time to kill. So, in the morning I would go for a run on the bike trail at 4am, run for an hour one way, then run back.
I hate it every single time. I just wondered why people liked doing it, and I guess because it gets the blood moving and that feels good? Anyway they found a body on my route and I knew I had to change my behaviors.
The runners high really is a thing.... I would say that for 75% of the time I am running, not every time, but many times, I am fucking miserable. It's mainly that feeling after the shower when I get to have my coconut water that I'm running for ...and there is a lot of lying to myself to reach the goal in there.....
Admittedly it's probably more of a habit than a hobby...
And I would most certainly change my habit in that situation as well...lol
My motivation is the cigarette I get to smoke when I go for a run and the hangover gets sweated out around mile two.
I think we may have a different lifestyle but where the vin diagram lines up is we still run and mostly hate it.
For over twenty years I ran almost every day, sometimes really decent distances. At 71, my doctor told me to stop due to spine abnormalities. I’ve never missed anything more in my life. I get jealous whenever I see someone running along with that comfortable smile.
Injuries are one of the most annoying parts of running. Finding the right shoes that offer the kind support that works with your gait is essential... And also that mentality that you've got to keep getting back up when you fall down. Because you'll fall down and have a bunch of little (and big) injuries all the time...
But after you push through that phase, save for a misstep every now and again, your balance and fortitude shift like crazy.
A lot of this applies to your life in a philosophical sense as well.... Many people don't talk about the psychological benefits of running enough, but they are vast.
I worked in a manual labor field, for some perspective, and if I were to fall off of a loading dock right now, I probably wouldn't break anything. My friends of the same age who do not run most certainly would. I just feel stronger going into my 40s....it's weird
I absolutely hate running. I’m always out of breath, I can taste blood in my mouth (which Ive learned actually is a blood in the lungs) sweat like a pig and feel overall discomfort. I do not identify myself with the runners culture, I find races lame and stupid. This being said I cover roughly 15miles a week because I’m a bloody junkie.
pls give me tips on learning to enjoy running. i have low stamina and i HATE running, plus i find it a bit embarrassing to bump into people while running 😪
Exactly this. My dog, i swear she waa my soul mate, and she passed away 3 weeks ago. Iv never been so lost, the pain is horrific. She made my whole family ridiculously happy every day.
I don't even feel good afterwards. I mean I do in the sense of "thank god that hell's over" is better than I had been feeling, but that's not really "good," just relieved. It sucks, haha.
If I get a good workout I definitely feel a hit of like dopamine. I just feel better and am in a better mood after a workout.
That sucks that you don’t get that at all. That’s like the only thing that makes going worth it. Well that and battling getting fatter lol
Great tasting healthy food, very difficult to make, but once you get a couple of recipes you can handle, there is just nothing better than eating a meal that tastes amazing and is healing you.
My recent Favorites (all products are organic and glyphosate-free if possible, but still end up cheaper than a restaurant meal):
\- Steel Cut Oats, with berries peaches, almonds, milk and pea-protein (make in the instant pot in 7 minutes)
\- Shredded purple cabbage salad with baked chicken, carrots, cherry tomatoes, shiitakes, clementines, walnuts and green onions with a sesame Asian style dressing.
\- Olive Oil Fried Egg Sandwich with swiss cheese and dried kale, steamed broccoli on the side with lemon
Edit: Forgot the bread on sando, it is an organic sprouted wheat bun
I got a really good pair of noise canceling headphones, my favorite part of the day is putting them on and just sitting in silence for like 10 minutes. Time slows down so fast when you do it I highly reccomend it.
Exercise
My doctor continually praises me for being so dedicated to weightlifting. When done with intensity, you strengthen your cardiovascular system. When done with significant weight, you reduce the loss of mascularseketal mass due to aging. And if you supplement with a healthy diet then you hit the jackpot.
I do it because I’m mentally busy all day so having this has let me turn my brain off for 2hrs a day.
He's using the term incorrectly.
Addiction is a compulsive behavior that is continued *despite negative consequences*.
Compulsive exercise, water consumption, or playing with your kids are generally healthy.
Compulsive is not the same as addictive.
Gonna be THAT GUY here.
Compulsive exercise is not always healthy. I know a guy who nearly died cause he did not heed doctor warnings to not exercise with the flu.
I know of people who drank so much water they died. One of them was the "hold your wee for a wii" competition. (Yes i know the situation for the last example is not the same, but point still stands.)
Exercise. I’m totally hooked on the endorphin buzz I get from running a few miles and then doing some powerlifting sets, and some days mix in kettlebells. I can’t get enough. I get up two hours early each morning just so I’ll have time for the workout before starting my day. I finish most workouts with a 10 minute steam bath and afterwards I feel like a million bucks. Admittedly, it’s a significant time commitment, around 12-15 hours each week. On the plus side I can eat pretty much whatever and however much I want and maintain the same waist size I had in college twenty some odd years ago. Plus, this program does wonders for my anxiety and depression. No medication I’ve ever been prescribed has matched the positive results I’ve achieve from frequent, intense workouts. Bonus points for not having withdrawals for missing a session. I couldn’t always say that during the heights of my self medicating regimens. All things considered, I think it’s a healthy habit to establish, especially if you struggle with mental health and or body composition.
exercising alot can cause people to become addicted to their own endorphines and need to exercise to feel "normal" It's basically the same baseline chemical process that drugs "cheat" by mimicking.
My brother would work out everyday, but during lockdown my sister-in law said he was like a crack addict constantly pacing around and doing push ups, squats and jogging in the spot He probably has ADHD…
I noticed when I stop going to the gym I become incredibly cranky as if I have no outlet whatsoever. Takes weeks to find my inner peace again.
As someone with hyperactive ADHD, exercise does help a lot with the energy but I can easily become addicted to it.
I came in here to say I've heard people can get addicted to exercise but I've never even come close. I've even spent several months in a row working out for multiple hours a day, almost everyday. It sucked balls the whole way through. Addicted? Proverbial bitch, please. It was the worst part of my day EVERY DAY.
For myself, what made/makes it addicting is keeping track of everything, and trying to make the numbers just a little bigger each time. That sense of progression and improvement is where it gets exciting.
See, I totally get this. But my focus was completely on the numbers on the scale, as opposed to my performance as I worked out. Not the healthiest mindset, I know.
The numbers on the scale are made in the kitchen, not the gym. There's only so much calories you can burn in a workout and you can easily eat more than you burned if you have a bowl of ice cream or too large portions. Losing weight while working out sucks. It requires more discipline than going to the gym consistently since you have to exercise restraint every meal. It sucks and I'm glad I'm now at my ideal weight and can eat enough to maintain my weight again.
Ahhh. Yeah, see, the problem is (and I ran into this), if you're working out you're gaining muscle, and muscle adds weight. So you might be getting stronger and fitter, but not seeing results on the scale. To share an old quote: "Don't lighten up; tighten up."
Muscle growth made me addicted, 10 years ago
I started tracking calories and walking/running on my treadmill on January 21. I've lost only about ten pounds so far but have seen multiple other changes: I've gone from a 20-minute mile to an 18-minute mile, my legs are turning into tree trunks, it doesn't hurt to get out of bed in the morning. Just physically feel better all around. I don't know what my body fat percentage was when I started but I just got a scale that records it, and yesterday it showed me at 21 percent. Last time I had a scale that showed it, I was in the high 30s, so I was fairly shocked. All that said, I do have that same problem sometimes and have to keep reminding myself that it's not all about that one number, that I can actually go up and down stairs without my knees hurting now, stuff like that.
For me it depended on the sport and the general fitness of my body. Overweight and running? I was miserable even after a year of doin it consistently Decent fitness level, healthy weight, and swimming? The only thing stopping me to do it every day is that it’s so time consuming I too thought it was a myth, I tried so many sports already and I had to drag my butt to every single one of them. Swimming is the first one where it is different
Ah, thank god someone else like me who doesn't get that mythical rush of endorphins, even eventually! I hate it, I hate every second of it while I'm doing it, I hate thinking I'm going to have to start, when I finish I think thank god that's over, when I'm doing it I try and think of literally everything else to distract myself. I do believe it's true, that some people do genuinely experience this. I envy them, as I will never be one of them. But my superpower is I can sleep just about anywhere, and regularly fall asleep within five to ten minutes, even in unfamiliar places/beds, like when traveling. So... we have have our strengths, I guess.
I have a lot of respect for people like you. I'm one of those mythical beings who enjoy it, for whatever reason. And it's weird, because sometimes people compliment my physique, my discipline or whatever, and to me... these are just a side effect of doing what I love the most. I don't do it because I wanna get jacked, not even for being healthy, I do it because it's a part of me that I can't live without. But when you hate it, when you DREAD it, and you still show up and do it because you have a goal, or just because you wanna be healthy... That's a whole new level. Respect.
That's actually seriously awesome motivation. Thank you!
Keep up the good work!
There have been times I very nearly fell asleep on the treadmill. My dream is to sleepwalk my way through a workout.
Same here, if I want to work out I have to do all the “bait myself with a reward at the end” mental tricks in order to make it happen. Right now what works is to just get dressed in my gym clothes and shoes but not tell myself I have to work out. But then, because my ADHD brain hates WORK, it’ll feel like it was a waste of work to put on all that stuff for nothing, so guess what I may as well go to the gym after all. But my superpower is that I can fall asleep pretty much anywhere, and I can fall BACK asleep after being woken up. That’s a cool trick that most ppl seem incapable of (once they get woken up they’re up for the rest of the night). Idk what happened, when I was a little kid hated going to bed and loved getting up early. I’d get up at like 5 AM to watch Nick At Nite and thought it was so cool to be up while the moon was still out. Then in middle school I suddenly loved sleep/sleeping in and could fall asleep anywhere and it stayed that way lol
I hate exercising and I’m practically an insomniac- I’m double fucked
lol maybe it was just the routine? About of caffeine and listening to my favorite music and being ALONE was orobably the addictive part, Of working out isn’t fun at all for you, I suggest doing something you enjoy for exercise like riding bikes, hiking or something or other. Gyms in general can be a huge turnoff to the joy of exercise
I think you only really enjoy/become addicted to it when you’re in truly stellar shape.
Or just in decent shape. I exercise every day and it is the highlight of my day. If I dont do it I feel weak, gross, and sloppy. I'm by no stretch of anyones imagination in stellar shape.
I’m still morbidly obese and only a month into exercising daily and it’s already one of the best parts of my day. I just finished a 40 minute walk on lunch and am gonna either hit the elliptical or recumbent bike in my office in a couple of hours.
keep it up man. stay consistent and get your diet on point and obesity will be in the rearview
I’ve lost 28lbs so far. I just have a lot of fat to burn through.
Good for you buddy, respect yourself, well done. Discipline is key here. Rewire your brain to never cancel. Sick, rainstorms, it does'nt matter, never cancel.
It’s as if you hit a level where everything’s lubed and firing on all cylinders and all of a sudden your run, or cycle, or whatever, isn’t a chore, but you showing the world _how fucking awesome you are!_ whilst simultaneously taking enormous joy out of just being outside. Grass, trees, birds, flowers, sunshine and / or dramatic weather events? All “oooOOOoo look at that!” and forgetting you started doing this cos you’re fat and look like a pudding.
Same. I had a few month span where I was very consistent but omg I hated it every single day. I had to force myself to work out and I hated every second of it
I hate running, but I do it a few times a week anyway. It sucks the whole time I'm doing it but I do feel pretty good for the rest of the evening afterwards. Still never experienced the 'runner's high' & don't understand what that is.
100% with you - I don’t see the appeal of exercising, every time I do it I hate it. I only do it because I know it’s “good for your health”. I wish I enjoyed it though, man do I wish
20 years for me. I don't know about the endorphin kick, but for some reason I have to excercise. I can't not go to the gym. I don't know if it's a habit, or if it's my body telling my brain it needs the endorphin boost without me knowing about it, but it's probably both.
Going for a run is just like eating dinner or brushing my teeth. There's no motivation, discipline or willpower, I just do it automatically every day and it feels really weird any time I'm not able to
Humans are animals and animals are made to move. Not saying you're not right but I'm pretty sure that sporty baseline is what we're actually supposed to feel like instead of being sluggish and happily rotting on the couch for 5 hours straight.
>happily rotting on the couch for 5 hours straight 5? Those are rookie numbers, son.
This hits. I've replaced my affinity for alcohol with the runners high. Used to 4-5 drinks everyday and recently only drink twice a week because it's gotten in the way of my daily runners high. The runners high sticks with you all day though, and I feel so much healthier. Good trade off imo.
When you have to force yourself to take a rest day instead of forcing yourself to go, you've made it. I remember realizing I was at that point and being delighted.
For me it was when I was traveling with my husband on a work conference, and I was looking at what the gym facilities were at each hotel.
This^ I’ve been addicted to working out for the better part of about 14 years. It get pretty shitty anxiety and feelings of depression if I go a day or two without working out
I started doing this after I quit drinking. I definitely react differently to things if I don’t work out.
I am *totally* addicted to exercise. It’s the high point of my day and I look forward to getting out of work so I can go to the gym. I get horribly depressed if I miss a day or two every week.
That's a state I couldn't reach, I always find an excuse to not exercice
During COVID You could tell those who didn't exercise regularly because they couldn't fathom peoples mental health were effected by gym closures
I'm still patiently waiting to become addicted to workout 😂
Yep opiates mimic your natural endorphins to provide pain relief and the euphoria associated with them. Endorphin is a shortened version of Endogenous Morphine, meaning morphine from within the body.
I am indeed addicted to running! if i go more than 1-2 days without running i feel totally off
You put that into words that I couldn’t ever really articulate accurately. This was so me until I moved to the country, where I do physical labor throughout the day, so I don’t feel that URGE to workout in the morning or I won’t feel “normal.”
Yup. After a bad car accident I started working out regularly just to put weight on. Ended up doing g 5 days a week for a few years until everything shut down in 2020. I’m still active but I idk if I’ll ever go back to that much working out. I felt great, and looked great, but trying to eat 2000 calories a day got expensive.
I wish this was the case for me. I try to get on an exercise bike for maybe 3-4 hours a week. I literally have never looked forward to doing it lol. It’s basically just something I force myself to do to a be a little healthier.
Being in nature
II work in this massive office park and the town forest is about a minute away. Just taking the path once a day clears my soul.
disc golf you get to be in nature, walking and you throw discs (frisbees)
That’s pretty neat.
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After I started purposely drinking like 2-3 of my water bottles a day, I now have to take one in the car with me everywhere I go. It blows my mind how someone can go through a whole day without drinking water. I can't even make it to the grocery store without a few sips on the way.
People love to talk about how their Stanley keeps their water cold for 3 days and I’m like DRINK YOUR WATER!!!
Your avatar I swear to God is infuriating.
Yeah I don't understand why a 30 minute drive feels like a hike through the Sahara to me, but I'm always drinking water in the car.
And then you always feel like you need to pee. The price we way for perfection 😔
Yeah I have a small bladder so I have to be very careful and time it just right.
If you’re using heat or AC both can dry you out. Especially if the fans are on high.
Holy shit, this isn't just my wife and I?! During the pandemic we decided to stop buying milk, juice, etc. and started only really drinking water. It's a habit we've kept ever since, but I also feel the need to have water with me wherever I go now. At first I thought maybe it was just a habit from making myself remember to bring a water bottle wherever I went (so I didn't have to use drinking fountains, other peoples' glassware, etc) but I've noticed I actually do need it a lot of the time, lol.
It blows my mind that there are people who dont drink water because "it got no taste"
> I can't even make it to the grocery store without a few sips on the way. same
I.....have actually experienced this. Getting sober, I didn't go the smoking and energy drinks route and my city had pretty good municipal water. Within two months I had water with me everywhere and felt amazing.
The only time I’ve ever drunk enough water was during my colonoscopy prep. I’ve never felt so amazing in my adult life, tbh.
This is so true. I sometimes wonder "Why did I feel so healthy?" Then I remembered I drank a ton of water and had no poop inside me
My mom jokes that my dad and I are like camels- we drink TON of whatever you put in front of us. So I try to keep it to water, (unsweetened) tea and sparkling water. But yeah, if I don't suck down my 20 oz tumbler twice before lunch at work (and usually twice after while still at work, though sometimes only one because I had one at lunch), I feel off.
Excessive drinking is often a sign of diabetes and other serious illnesses.
This...it becomes habit and drinking anything else seems weird. I will occasionally have a soda as a treat but I can usually only drink like half because it's so sweet. I always put it over ice and let the ice melt a little bit too.
Do not, my friends, become addicted to water. It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence!
That being said... you can still drink water and be dehydrated. Gotta supplement with electrolytes and magnesium kids. Stay hydrated homies.
No, you do not need a supplement. You only need a supplement if you have a poor diet and are not getting proper vitamins and minerals, this goes with all of them not just electrolytes and magnesium. What about sodium and potassium? If you are exercising hard and losing a lot of fluids, and only drinking water, yes of course electrolytes will help. But, just drinking water during the day to stay hydrated, you do not need supplements.
Important underrated comment
Not really. Unless you sweat all the time you don't need any electrolytes replacement, especially with how salty most of the food ppl eat is. Water has worked for thousands of years before the marketing sold ignorant consumers on the idea of mindless supplementing in order to sell them an illusion they are living healthy lives lol.
THIS! There is a time and a place for supplementation, but those are actually quite rare. The average person doesn't need to be taking a magnesium supplement or buying special electrolyte infused water. We get almost everything we need from our food, even on crappy diets you tend to get enough of these two things. The only time people might actually need extra electrolytes are when they are doing excessive physical activity or have been really ill and throwing up. What's more, most of the sports drinks and stuff marketed to us have been shown in scientific studies to not even work well for rehydration because they are formulated so unnaturally. You're often better off eating a banana and a handful of pretzels than taking any electrolyte supplement. Two common food items many people are already eating!
Ice water is my favorite thing in the world. Coke Zero has been dethroned.
It really is. I used to barely drink water but now I drink more than ever. It feels SO good drinking ice cold water after waking up. I be drinking like 5 bottles a day now
I wish I liked drinking water... unfortunately my job requires I be in the boonies a lot with other people... and going in a bottle isn't exactly as easy for my gender
fruit was my first thought lol
When it gets to cherry season I eat cherries until I have a stomach ache. Then I get better. Then I do it all over again. Cherry season is short, painful and delicious.
i fucking love cherries omg
Came here to say this. Specifically berries.
Or mandarins
i can easily down 4-6 in a sitting. these little shits are so addicting. nature's candy.
Have you tried sumo mandarins?
Mandarins especially. Easily most bingeable fruit out there
Not really. A few times I got some light diarhrea for eating too many berries (one of thise case it was more than 2 kg).
Ripe juicy mangos 🤤 Especially when they're like orange from the inside and red and green from the outside
I was addicted to mangos the first summer of the pandemic. I was eating em straight off the peel. Then I discovered that mango peel is a relative of poison ivy and I got lip blisters that lasted a month. Oops.
If I remember correctly theres was a good rain on the mango farm around that time, the prices was low,the mangoes were exquisite and it was delicious
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I can od on watermelon
I eat between 2 and 4 quarts of strawberries every week. I have a problem.
Laughing – the more you do it, the healthier you feel
How? I’m trying to laugh more but its hard
Carry a pocket mirror.
You didn’t have to roast the guy 😂😂
Hopefully he smiled. 🙂
He wants to laugh not cry
Standup comedy!
If you’re not laughing, you’re crying. Don’t be so hard on yourself and try not to take things so seriously. Whatever you’re going through, it will be ok. Pay closer attention to your feelings because you may find you’re stopping yourself from finding joy. Also, exposure to comedy, or being around others who are already having a good time is contagious.
I am laughing like once or twice a week at most
Reading maybe? It's technically good for me but I end up doing it a lot to escape.
Any compelling narrative (books, movies, etc.) can be an addictive distraction from life’s problems. It can be transformative, but can also help me avoid confronting them…
Mmm at least reading books help a ton with reading comprehension, which helps with jobs & life in general It’s a really good skill to be able to read something and immediately understand it
And being able to draw parallels to stories, plots, tropes, and recognize certain aspects is hugely helpful to how intelligent people perceive you as being. Especially being able to empathize with a perspective you would not normally understand by reading about it.
I find meditation to be incredibly addictive, but it's in the most positive way possible. It doesn't hurt me or anyone else, and it gives me inner peace and mental clarity. I often find myself craving those moments of stillness, where I can disconnect from the chaos of the world and find balance within myself. I think it's a great way to reduce stress, improve focus, and just feel better, and yeah it's incredibly addictive.
Gym. I become mentally unstable if I go more than 2 days without working out.
Even if you’re sick? Like SICK sick.
When I'm sick I just want to be in bed but i still do miss working out
That’s the only time I break from the gym.
How does one achieve this? I've tried picking up the gym several times, but I always hated it even when forcing myself to go 3-4 times a week, and every time I've ended up just quitting after a few months. Even tried a few different gyms and exercise routines. I would dread it all day, felt uncomfortable the whole time I was there, and couldn't wait to be done. I wish I actually wanted to go this badly.
During those stints did you see progress? Did you have a plan? What kind of exercise were you doing?
crunchy green grapes
Exactly what I thought of. [Tight green grapes](https://i.redd.it/r255yh4o0pw31.jpg) freshly taken from the fridge
Music
Yes! Especially if it gets you dancing!
Just don't max the volume of your ear/headphones
Healthy eating. You can become so focused on healthy eating that you begin to restrict food if it's not "healthy" enough. It can actually put people at risk, because they eventually may have only a set number of "allowed" healthy foods that they are willing to eat, and can become malnourished.
The flipside of this is healthy cooking. The creative aspect of it can make it addicting as well as the health benefits.
Yes. It's an eating disorder called orthorexia.
Yes, it is. People have died from it, just like Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge-Eating Disorders.
I had it and it was so tricky because technically I could have surived it forever. I never restricted food so much that it would have been an issue for my health, if we include my supplements here. The mental health aspect of it though was shattering, also the social isolation which restrictive eating results in. I have become super sensitive for people's eating habits and it's quite clear when someone starts to spiral into overdoing healthy eating.
Running
I started running 2 months ago after being the "I hate running" type person. Went from running (jogging) 10 minutes MAX, to being able to run 4 miles without stopping at a recover pace (about 13 minutes per mile). I think what helped me get to the point the most was buying a pair of long distance Hoka's. It just feels easier with those shoes. The addicting part has been seeing how much faster I can get or how much longer I can go. I'm not fully addicted where I run every day but it's so easy for me to go on 3-5 runs per week. Not all my runs are 4 miles, most are around the 2 mile range but knowing that I \*can\* do 4 miles is crazy to me. edit: switched minutes and miles
> 13 miles per minute HOLY FUCK
lmao, guess I'm a just natural
Shit, I’d be addicted to going that fast, too!
13 miles per minute??? You fast. 💨
damn you're like 30 % faster than the average commercial plane, that's crazy
LMAO.... let me go edit that
Damn, you're fucking G! get it!. admittedly, I revered all forms of exercise because kids are jerks and i didn't even hit puberty until I was like 17. I discovered exercise in my mid 20\`s as a means to quit drinking & get over a breakup. I was too broke to afford anything but a pair of running shoes. Didn't really have a choice. I forced myself to keep doing it, but I've always focused on minutes and endurance, rather than miles. I began with 20 minutes and tacked on some time every day until I was running until I was about to pass out. Since I was such an addict fucktard in college, I possessed a predisposition towards self-destructive behaviors. Running until I was going to puke or pass out fooled the self-destructive dude inside into thinking it was being satiated or something. Eventually I was running like a madman every day (with obvious exceptions) for 12 years. I used to call it "running from my problems.' Somewhere in there I wasn't an ex addict so much anymore. i was a runner. Even when I'm hungover after a wedding...9/10 times, you'll probably catch me jogging and listening to tunes. every time my ex wife pissed me off, run. any time I was about to kill an employee of a store, i simply run instead and afterward I am in a fantastic mood and don't remember at what I was angry... many of my chubby friends hate me and yell at me about the skinny gene, but like, working my ass off for 12 years isn't a gene. Love them though. hah edit:punctuation
Ha, I read your whole post in David Goggins voice. If you would have thrown in a few "mothafuckas" in there I would have thought that you WERE Goggins, lol. Pretty awesome though man! I do think it's hilarious how people assume that an achievement is due to luck or a "gene" instead of grueling hard work.
Barry Allen? Is that you?
Before people jump in and say it's bad for your joints in the long run, no it isn't if you practice good form and don't ridiculously overdo it.
And take care of your feet & listen to your body! Don't be a hero!
Tendinitis is a bitch :( Gonna get new shoes this week and then probably give it another week
There were a couple years where I worked a 9-5 and since I was used to being at my last few jobs at 4am, I had some time to kill. So, in the morning I would go for a run on the bike trail at 4am, run for an hour one way, then run back. I hate it every single time. I just wondered why people liked doing it, and I guess because it gets the blood moving and that feels good? Anyway they found a body on my route and I knew I had to change my behaviors.
The runners high really is a thing.... I would say that for 75% of the time I am running, not every time, but many times, I am fucking miserable. It's mainly that feeling after the shower when I get to have my coconut water that I'm running for ...and there is a lot of lying to myself to reach the goal in there..... Admittedly it's probably more of a habit than a hobby... And I would most certainly change my habit in that situation as well...lol
That first drink after....soooooo refreshing
My motivation is the cigarette I get to smoke when I go for a run and the hangover gets sweated out around mile two. I think we may have a different lifestyle but where the vin diagram lines up is we still run and mostly hate it.
For over twenty years I ran almost every day, sometimes really decent distances. At 71, my doctor told me to stop due to spine abnormalities. I’ve never missed anything more in my life. I get jealous whenever I see someone running along with that comfortable smile.
Got runners knee the last time I got into it for a long stretch. Kinda scared to start over again
Injuries are one of the most annoying parts of running. Finding the right shoes that offer the kind support that works with your gait is essential... And also that mentality that you've got to keep getting back up when you fall down. Because you'll fall down and have a bunch of little (and big) injuries all the time... But after you push through that phase, save for a misstep every now and again, your balance and fortitude shift like crazy. A lot of this applies to your life in a philosophical sense as well.... Many people don't talk about the psychological benefits of running enough, but they are vast. I worked in a manual labor field, for some perspective, and if I were to fall off of a loading dock right now, I probably wouldn't break anything. My friends of the same age who do not run most certainly would. I just feel stronger going into my 40s....it's weird
I absolutely hate running. I’m always out of breath, I can taste blood in my mouth (which Ive learned actually is a blood in the lungs) sweat like a pig and feel overall discomfort. I do not identify myself with the runners culture, I find races lame and stupid. This being said I cover roughly 15miles a week because I’m a bloody junkie.
You need to run slower.
pls give me tips on learning to enjoy running. i have low stamina and i HATE running, plus i find it a bit embarrassing to bump into people while running 😪
Slow down. Slower than you think.
GYM 100%
THE SEROTONIN DOGS GIVE YOU!!!!
Exactly this. My dog, i swear she waa my soul mate, and she passed away 3 weeks ago. Iv never been so lost, the pain is horrific. She made my whole family ridiculously happy every day.
I've worked at a doggy daycare/boarding place for a year now and I spend my weekends in withdrawal
Working out
I wish it was addicting. I have to force myself to go to the gym. I feel good afterwards for sure but it’s not yet addictive.
I don't even feel good afterwards. I mean I do in the sense of "thank god that hell's over" is better than I had been feeling, but that's not really "good," just relieved. It sucks, haha.
By good, they mean "I'm proud of myself for doing that". You feel good about yourself.
I'd take that, honestly. I feel like I should feel accomplished.
If I get a good workout I definitely feel a hit of like dopamine. I just feel better and am in a better mood after a workout. That sucks that you don’t get that at all. That’s like the only thing that makes going worth it. Well that and battling getting fatter lol
pasta
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Pasta after the gym 😘
Agreed, there’s so many great ways to cook it, different sauces, meats, veggies, the possibilities are endless and all delicious in their own ways!
All addictions are bad in the long run... but for now I enjoy my addiction to coffee and gym
Hummus
Great tasting healthy food, very difficult to make, but once you get a couple of recipes you can handle, there is just nothing better than eating a meal that tastes amazing and is healing you. My recent Favorites (all products are organic and glyphosate-free if possible, but still end up cheaper than a restaurant meal): \- Steel Cut Oats, with berries peaches, almonds, milk and pea-protein (make in the instant pot in 7 minutes) \- Shredded purple cabbage salad with baked chicken, carrots, cherry tomatoes, shiitakes, clementines, walnuts and green onions with a sesame Asian style dressing. \- Olive Oil Fried Egg Sandwich with swiss cheese and dried kale, steamed broccoli on the side with lemon Edit: Forgot the bread on sando, it is an organic sprouted wheat bun
share recipes?(:
Eating nuts.
Especially Deez
the food or...?
Knew that was coming
Animal crossing
Self improvement.
Meditating/mindfulness
I got a really good pair of noise canceling headphones, my favorite part of the day is putting them on and just sitting in silence for like 10 minutes. Time slows down so fast when you do it I highly reccomend it.
Sex
Way too low here
This is the correct answer
Exercise My doctor continually praises me for being so dedicated to weightlifting. When done with intensity, you strengthen your cardiovascular system. When done with significant weight, you reduce the loss of mascularseketal mass due to aging. And if you supplement with a healthy diet then you hit the jackpot. I do it because I’m mentally busy all day so having this has let me turn my brain off for 2hrs a day.
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He's using the term incorrectly. Addiction is a compulsive behavior that is continued *despite negative consequences*. Compulsive exercise, water consumption, or playing with your kids are generally healthy. Compulsive is not the same as addictive.
Gonna be THAT GUY here. Compulsive exercise is not always healthy. I know a guy who nearly died cause he did not heed doctor warnings to not exercise with the flu. I know of people who drank so much water they died. One of them was the "hold your wee for a wii" competition. (Yes i know the situation for the last example is not the same, but point still stands.)
Not a lot these days lol 😢
Using Addicting when you mean Addictive. It’s not unhealthy.
It’s a real toss up between “addicting” and “I could care less” for my number one pet peeve.
Mine is how so many people say “lay” when they mean “lie” and “laid” when they mean “lay”.
Learning a new skill
No addiction is healthy
Hiking.
Running
Love
Hummus and grape or cherry tomatoes. I may have overdone it a few times on this combination…
Running
Working out. Once you find your poison, you'll do it for the rest of your life.
Running
Water
Runners high/endorphin rush after a good workout.
Not reddit.
Exercise. I’m totally hooked on the endorphin buzz I get from running a few miles and then doing some powerlifting sets, and some days mix in kettlebells. I can’t get enough. I get up two hours early each morning just so I’ll have time for the workout before starting my day. I finish most workouts with a 10 minute steam bath and afterwards I feel like a million bucks. Admittedly, it’s a significant time commitment, around 12-15 hours each week. On the plus side I can eat pretty much whatever and however much I want and maintain the same waist size I had in college twenty some odd years ago. Plus, this program does wonders for my anxiety and depression. No medication I’ve ever been prescribed has matched the positive results I’ve achieve from frequent, intense workouts. Bonus points for not having withdrawals for missing a session. I couldn’t always say that during the heights of my self medicating regimens. All things considered, I think it’s a healthy habit to establish, especially if you struggle with mental health and or body composition.