Reframing Your Relationship with Exercise
For many women, especially those who struggle with emotional, binge or restrictive eating behaviours, physical activity can feel overwhelming or even triggering. Whether it’s joint pain, mobility challenges, not feeling comfortable in your clothes, or carrying shame from past experiences, the idea of moving your body might feel like just one hurdle too many.
On the other hand, you might feel like movement has become something you have to do. You push through exhaustion or injury. You use it to “earn” your food or to “make up for” eating something you feel guilty about.
Sound familiar?
Both extremes reflect a complicated relationship with exercise. But it doesn’t have to stay this way.
When we shift our mindset from using movement to shrink or punish our body, and instead focus on how movement feels, something powerful happens. You’re more likely to stick with it. You start to build trust with your body. And crucially you begin to repair the all-or-nothing cycle that often fuels binge or emotional eating.
Joyful movement might look like:
· Dancing to your favourite playlist in the kitchen
· Walking in nature
· Gardening or light housework with music on
· Gentle yoga, stretching or Pilates to connect with your body
If you do love higher intensity workouts, that’s fine as long as you are fuelling your body appropriately! Check in with yourself: Are you doing this to care for your body, or to control it?
It's also worth knowing that high stress, punishing workouts can spike cortisol (your stress hormone), which can affect your mood, appetite, sleep, and even your ability to manage weight.
The bottom line is that moving your body regularly in ways that feel good, not forced, is one of the most underrated tools to support emotional well-being, improve body image, and reduce the intensity of urges to binge.
This is one of the many aspects I explore in my best-selling book The Binge Freedom Method, which will help you will help you gain control over your cravings and cultivate a balanced, mindful relationship with food and your body.
If you’re looking for a place to start your journey to a balanced , mindful relationship with food, download my Free Breaking the Cycle Starter Kit. This is your gateway to transforming your eating patterns and building a mindful, balanced, and joyful relationship with food and includes practical tools and insights to help you begin today.
And if you’re ready to go deeper, my book The Binge Freedom Method™ lays out the exact framework I use with clients to address the root causes of binge eating, providing clear action steps, compassionate guidance, and real-life strategies for lasting change.