Are You Addicted to Exercise?

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"No days off" is a slogan, a t-shirt, and a diagnostic criterion, depending on who's reading it.

This week: exercise addiction. Whether it's real, whether "addiction" is even the right word, and why the whole concept was popularized by a psychiatrist who also thought clinical depression was a choice you could simply make differently.

We trace it from a 1970 sleep study that fell apart because the researcher couldn't find enough people willing to stop exercising for thirty days, to the 1976 book that told a generation being hooked on running was a personality upgrade, to the 1983 paper that could only make men's version legible by borrowing the vocabulary of anorexia.

Plus: what the prevalence research actually shows, why the brain-imaging literature fits in a three-ring binder, and four ways to tell dedication from compulsion that have nothing to do with your weekly mileage.

Sponsors

This episode is brought to you by rabbit, whose new women's collection is built for people who actually run in it. ⁠runinrabbit.com/collections/womens-new⁠, code SUMMERSNACKS10 for 10% off.

Tailwind Nutrition got us through this one. ⁠tailwindnutrition.com⁠, code YOURDIET20 for 20% off.

Microcosm Coaching works with athletes who want to train and fuel without the shame spiral. ⁠microcosm-coaching.com⁠

Links

Every episode and full transcripts: ⁠yourdietsuckspodcast.com/your-diet-sucks-podcast⁠

Bonus episodes, Kylee's weekly nutrition question thread, and a group chat that will never try to sell you a binder: ⁠patreon.com/YourDietSucks⁠