Short read: HSPs and exercise
Lucy Newport • March 26, 2025
Reading time: 1 min
Originally shared as part of Inbox Reflections — my weekday emails for highly sensitive women who are ready to stop binge eating.
Most women in binge eating recovery have a challenging relationship with exercise.
And as a Highly Sensitive Person, it’s likely there are extra layers of complexity for you…
Maybe you’ve really pushed yourself in the past, exercising in ways that were too
intense for you and further disconnected you from your body, all in the name of weight loss.
Perhaps you feel guilty that you don’t do certain types of exercise simply because they don’t feel good to you.
Or maybe thoughts about how you “should” be exercising stop you from moving your body as much.
If so, there’s
a recent piece of research into HSPs and their relationships with exercise that you might find insightful…
The researchers found from those who took part (students and employees at a university in the USA, mostly female) that HSPs are just as likely to exercise as anyone else, but that they prefer less intense exercise.
And that makes absolute sense knowing what we know about HSPs ✨
It’s just one small study, but it totally resonates with me.
How about you?
If so, I hope knowing this helps you to quieten the “but I should be…” thoughts, and enjoy moving your body the ways you like to!
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Hungry for more? Here are some extra resources for you
Wondering if binge eating is connected to being a Highly Sensitive Person? This article explores the links between the two and shares an approach to recovery for you.
Reading time: 1 min Originally shared as part of Inbox Reflections — my weekday emails for highly sensitive women who are ready to stop binge eating. I have a theory that highly sensitive women who struggle with their relationships with food and their bodies have a hard time receiving. Receiving their sensitivity Receiving their worth Receiving their bodies Receiving nourishment Receiving support Receiving attention Receiving the moment But I also believe that we have the greatest capacity to receive when we know how to and feel safe in doing so. Because being sensitive and receptive go hand in hand. Does this ring true for you? If so, one of the most profound practices for you might be to simply: 1. Receive as you inhale Receiving yourself, the moment and whatever is there for you, even if it’s uncomfortable. 2. Release as you exhale Surrendering and letting it all completely go (this is just as important). This is my core practice right now, and in fact, it has been for some time. There are many times I still find receiving infinitely hard, but this little practice has benefited me in more ways than I could tell you... I hope it serves you as much as it's served me.
Reading time: 1 min Originally shared as part of Inbox Reflections — my weekday emails for highly sensitive women who are ready to stop binge eating. Our world is so focused on weight, that it’s easy to forget that good health isn’t predominantly reliant on a number on the scales. It stretches across all of our systems; the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. And these systems all tie in together, impacting one another. Good health can include: A sense of safety Feeling calm around food An adaptive nervous system Acceptance of yourself A vivid imagination A good night’s sleep An active sex drive A connection to intuition An ability to express emotions A lack of aches and pains Strong boundaries Feeling inspired by life You get the idea… How might softening your focus on weight actually support your health? And where might your focus be more needed right now?
Reading time: 1.5 mins Originally shared as part of Inbox Reflections — my weekday emails for highly sensitive women who are ready to stop binge eating. There’s a game called “enough” that many of us are unknowingly playing but know the rules of all too well. The game where we believe that our bodies aren’t; Slim enough Toned enough Curvy enough Smooth enough Beautiful enough Anything else enough And so we do the aaaaall the things to reach that winning destination (the diets, workouts, fasts etc). But when we reach our goals, that sense of “enoughness” almost immediately disappears… We worry about losing what we’ve worked so hard to achieve, the body shape “trends” shift or we fixate on another part of our appearance. This reality hit me (again!) on the weekend when I was having breakfast in a London cafe and got talking to a couple of women at the table next to me. One of them told me that she’d never wear a sleeveless top, no matter how hot it was because she thought her arms were “too skinny”. This particular insecurity struck me because: She had the kind of body I would have once done anything for. So many women don’t like their arms for the opposite reasons - they think they’re too big or soft. And I felt so much compassion for all women in that moment because there is no winning. No matter how your body looks, if you’re participating in this game, you will feel insecure about something. I’m not saying that it’s bad or wrong for having moments of insecurity, we all will at times and that’s okay. What I am asking you is whether you’re willing to spend your life trying to get your body to look “enough”, when “enough” defined by this game doesn’t really exist? Are you willing to continue playing?
Reading / watching time: 13 mins Our question this time comes from Sarah and it’s another that I think will be really relatable to many of you. She asked: “I know the things I need to do to stop binge eating and sometimes I can do them and I feel really good about that. But I just can’t seem to do them most of the time. I want to know how I can get around this because it’s really frustrating me! Thanks for all of your support!” So, here are my thoughts on this…
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