‘Exercise noise’ is the obsessive, intrusive thoughts surrounding working out.

Here’s how to stop it from occurring, according to experts.

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a physical therapist, anti-diet health and body image coach, and founder ofHealthy Phit Physical Therapy &

With the advent ofGLP-1 receptor agonist medications(like Ozempic), a new term,food noise,1has emerged.

So, might some people experience a similar thought pattern for fitness?

So absolutely, I think the exercise voice is the cousin to the food voice.

Woman walking on a treadmill at the gym.

So, what exactly is exercise noise?

Exercise noise is ineffective, not fruitful, not purposeful, not helpful, Dr. Folden says.

She identifies 12 ways exercise noise might manifest.

Full body female athlete in sportswear using rowing machine during fitness workout in gym.

It really also depends on the intensity and the anxiety [people] feel around it, too.

But to understand why, we have to think a bit more about food noise.

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a physical therapist, anti-diet health and body image coach, and founder ofHealthy Phit Physical Therapy &

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Theyre really, really obsessed and thinking about food all the time.

Healthy female training in the gym, performing a hip thrust.

The same thing goes for exercise noise.

Often, the roots are similar, including societal pressures, body image issues, and personal insecurities.

But cultivating an inner dialogue about exercise that serves you is ultimately worth the effort.

A young black woman doing post-run stretches in the park on the road amidst green grass and trees.

I look at noise as ineffective without purpose, Dr. Folden says.

But when you think of things that make sense and that impact you, thats like music.

In the meantime, here are some strategies to turn exercise noise into movement music.

A lot of times, the obsessive exercise is really tied into being malnourished, Rosenbluth says.

Exercise addiction is not defined by the amount of weekly exercise, and the optimal exercise behavior is individual.

Exercise becomes a problem when the negative consequences are bigger than the positive health outcomes.

Mia Beck Lichtenstein, PhD

3.

Is it the way you would speak to a friend?

If its not, thats not a voice you have to listen to.

Its an inner critic versus an inner kind, loving person, Dr. Folden says.

So when you experience exercise noise, have a dialogue with yourself.

Acknowledge the thought and then reject itsometimes its out loud and sometimes its not, according to Dr. Folden.

So, no thank you for that thought.

What Is Food Noise?

A Conceptual Model of Food Cue Reactivity.

2023 Nov 17;15(22):4809. doi: 10.3390/nu15224809.

PMID: 38004203; PMCID: PMC10674813.

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