EP 297: Can't Skip a Workout Without Guilt? How to Break Free from Compulsive Exercise **Must Listen Fav!**

Sis, today we're talking about escaping excessive exercise — because rest is required in recovery. If you never miss a Monday… if you work out every single day… if you alter your vacations around getting a workout in… if you carry insane guilt and punish yourself later when you miss one… if you skip social plans to exercise, or your routine is affecting your marriage and your family… if you restrict your food on the days you move less — this episode is yours. I've been exactly where you are, and I'm proof you can lay this down. My clients are proof. And sis, you can be proof too. Why this happens (and why it's not your fault) This is so common for women struggling with disordered eating. Why? Because you've learned to cut corners. Cut calories. Take away. Survive on less in every way possible. You've manipulated your food to do it — and you've manipulated your body and your movement to do it, too. I didn't start out working out twice a day. I didn't start out doing compulsive movements on my bedroom floor just to burn a little more. None of it happened overnight. The disorder built it over time while I ran on fumes. I was a cardio queen who genuinely believed she loved that life. Letting it go was one of the hardest parts of my recovery — and what saved me was discovering movement that had nothing to do with burning anything. Mindful meditation. Yoga. Experiencing my body for the first time without a calorie counter attached. And I've watched a client go from 7 days a week at nearly two hours a day… to 3 days a week at 30 minutes. If that feels impossible to you right now, stay with me. 5 steps to release excessive exercise 1. Get real with your current routine. Write it out. How much, how often, how long? Then write out the feelings — what comes up when you don't get a workout in? What's the anxiety like around when you'll fit it in? What rises up in you at the mere suggestion of cutting back? Awareness has to come before change. 2. Understand the power of permission. You must grant yourself permission — with exercise and with food. So much of the panic around cutting back is really about permission you've never given yourself. What you give your mind power over is what will have power over you. Voice the permission out loud: "I've run my body ragged for years, and I can choose to live differently." 3. Picture your future recovered self. How much does she exercise? Does she really want to be on a treadmill every single day — or is she at brunch with her family? For me, the honest answer was: I want to meditate. I want yoga. I want to relax. Some days I want to do nothing at all. Ask yourself honestly: is my current routine enjoyable, or is it an obligation driven by fear? (And be ready — there's an identity shift in this one. "I'm just someone who loves the gym" was a badge of honor for me until I got honest about it.) 4. Pick one tangible, small goal. Get off the treadmill five minutes early. Replace Monday's workout with journal time. Then actually put your rest days on the calendar — society tells you to pen in your gym time, so do the reverse and pen in your rest. Planning in advance sets positive intent, which builds momentum, which gets you the result. 5. Progress, not perfection. If you decide in advance to rest and then catch yourself scheming a workout anyway — that's not failure, sis. That's awareness. That's growth. You're going against diet culture and beliefs you've held as truth for years. Give yourself grace. It's okay to not work out today It's okay to rest if… Your body is telling you to slow down You're trying something new with your time Life is overrun with work, family, and obligations You're sick You're not nourishing your body enough You're hurting or injured You're struggling with body image today You're making time to fill your own cup or chase a dream True happiness is making peace with what's no longer serving you — and creating a healthier version of it. A few lines from the episode "Rest is required in recovery. It's a non-negotiable." "What you give your mind power over is what will have power over you." "None of it happened overnight — the disorder built it over time while I ran on fumes." "This workout isn't going to matter in five years. It isn't going to matter in two weeks." "That's not failure — that's growth, awareness, evolving, learning." "If you're listening to me right now on the treadmill… get off of it. This is your permission." Your permission slip this week Choose the days you're not going to work out — and put them on the calendar like an appointment. Then pick something purposeful to fill that time: a coffee date with someone you love, a phone call, a journal session, or absolutely nothing at all. There's no right or wrong way to do this. Gradual works. Cold turkey works. What matters is honoring yourself and your body. Connect with Lindsey: 🌟 Website: www.herbestself.co 🌟 Instagram: @thelindseynichol 🌟 Free FB Community: www.herbestselfsociety.com 🌟Client Application: HBS Co. Recovery Coaching - Client Application - Google Forms Love this episode? Here's how you can support the show: 💕 Share it with a woman who might need to hear this message 💕 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts - it helps other women find the show 💕 Screenshot and tag @thelindseynichol if any of these steps help you this week! Remember, beautiful: Your worth is not measured by how perfectly you do recovery. Healing isn't linear, progress over perfection always, and you are exactly where you need to be right now. Her Best Self with Lindsey Nichol is a podcast for women in eating disorder recovery who are ready to break free from perfectionism, people-pleasing, and diet culture to live authentically and wholeheartedly. *While I am a certified health coach, anorexia survivor & eating disorder recovery coach, I do not intend the use of this message to serve as medical advice. Please refer to the disclaimer here in the show & be sure to contact a licensed clinical provider if you are struggling with an eating disorder.