Incidental Activity and Fitness Monitoring

Physical activity comes in many different types, including occupational, incidental, leisure, and sport, which are all encountered daily. When you are experiencing an eating disorder, it's often not safe for you to engage in the same amount of physical activity that you once did. 

Incidental physical activity is the activity that occurs as part of daily life. It can be challenging to manage the compulsive nature of getting “extra steps” in, like taking the long way to your destination, or using the stairs instead of the elevator. It's important to be mindful that even though there are a lot of messages like getting “10,000” steps a day, it might not be helpful for you or facilitate recovery.  

Fitness trackers, like Fitbits, Apple Watches, or phone apps, can be useful in the general population, but using them while you have an eating disorder might make it more challenging to manage the urge to do “a few more steps”. 

You could trying different ways to track the impact of physical activity without using technology. For example, you could rate your mood before and after the activity, or how your body feels.  

A lot of our day can be spent sitting down, so taking breaks by standing up and moving or stretching our body can help maintain blood flow and boost concentration.  

It is normal to do less activity, whether it is walking to work or cycling to school, when our bodies are not feeling well, or when the weather is bad.  

Separating from a tracking device can be difficult for many, even provoking fear and anxiety, however, it may also be helpful to your recovery to do so. Starting in small stages (like take your fitness monitor off for half the day) could be a great place to start!