Is Thanksgiving Weekend Making Exercise Urges LOUD?

Having a harder time staying the course with your recovery this weekend?

If so, you’re in good company.  Strong media (and possibly family) messages urging you to “work it off” or “earn your food”, can make it very hard to stay the course in eating disorder recovery over Thanksgiving weekend.

Thanksgiving is the most food-centric holiday, a very difficult one for anyone in eating disorder recovery.  Many people I've work with have deeply-rooted exercise rituals around this holiday,  which are hard to break.  And regardless of how much effort put into “controlling” urges, you ultimately end up feeling like you’ve failed... either at recovery or at the ED.

Read on to gain more insight on what compulsive and compensatory exercise may look like over Thanksgiving weekend, why it makes sense that it shows up now, and how you can meet it with care.  My hope is to offer you some validation and provide some ideas on how you can lean into self-compassion and remain committed to your recovery.

Also, please know you’re not “bad at recovery” or a “failure” if this weekend stirs things up. You’re human, and your nervous system has a long memory.

Let’s talk about it…

First, what do I mean by compulsive or compensatory exercise?

Compulsive exercise isn’t defined by how much you move. It’s about the relationship to movement — when exercise feels driven, rigid, fear-based, or impossible to skip without distress.

Compensatory exercise is when movement is used specifically to “undo,” “earn,” or “make up for” eating — especially food that carries moral charge (like certain holiday foods).

These patterns often show up as rules, urgency, bargaining, or punishment.  And the fact that they are normalized culturally makes it easier to rationalize them as “healthy”. 

How it might show up over Thanksgiving weekend

Thanksgiving is basically a cultural megaphone for diet culture. Even if your family doesn’t talk about bodies or calories, the airwaves and social feeds often do. That pressure can make exercise urges roar.

Here are some common ways compulsive or compensatory exercise can sneak in:

1. “Pre-loading” workouts before the meal

You might notice thoughts like:

•  “I should get a long run in before dinner.”
•  “If I lift this morning, I’ll feel better eating later.”
•  “I can relax if I earn it first.”

This can feel like preparation, but the emotional driver matters. If the workout is fueled by fear, permission, or debt, that’s a compensatory loop.

2. The “I can’t miss a day” rule

Holiday schedules disrupt routines. Compulsive exercise often responds with:

•  anxiety if you can’t fit in movement
•  irritation at having to sit or rest
•  squeezing a workout in at odd hours to keep the streak alive

The rule might sound like discipline. But if skipping feels unsafe, you’re not choosing movement — you’re obeying it. And this is a mentally exhausting and physically depleting cyclical process.

3. Post-meal panic movement

After eating, you might feel a surge to:

•  take an “extra long” walk
•  do house laps or clean at turbo-speed
•  stand instead of sitting because sitting feels “too much”
•  “casually” suggest an activity that’s actually about burning off food

Sometimes it hides inside productivity or family helpfulness, but the internal pressure is the clue.

4. Negotiating around food

This one sounds something like this:

•  “If I go to spin tomorrow, I’ll have dessert today.”
•  “I’ll eat whatever I want as long as I work out later.”

That’s not freedom — that’s a contract. And contracts with your ED always come with fine print.

5. Using social comparison as fuel

Thanksgiving weekend can be full of:

•  relatives talking about dieting
•  friends bragging about Turkey Trot times
•  social media “burn off the pie” jokes

Compulsive exercise loves comparison. It can whisper:

•  “They’re doing more than you.”
•  “Don’t be the one who ‘lets go.’”
•  “You’ll regret it if you don’t keep up.”

6. “Holiday Challenge” energy

Some people get pulled into:

•  step-count contests
•  fitness app streaks
•  “24-hour plank challenge” type stuff
•  plans that are actually ED in festive wrapping

If a “fun challenge” spikes anxiety, rigidity, or self-worth math, it’s worth pausing.

7. The subtle punishment vibe

Sometimes it’s not overt compensation. It’s an ‘energy’:

•  exercising while angry at yourself
•  pushing through injury, exhaustion, or illness
•  feeling like movement is the penance you deserve after eating
•  using exercise to numb sadness, grief, or overwhelm

Your body can feel like a project to manage instead of a home to live in.

Why these urges make sense (even if you don’t want them)

Compulsive and compensatory exercise are protective strategies your brain learned in survival mode.

Thanksgiving weekend can trigger:

•  Loss of structure → exercise becomes a way to regain control
•  Food abundance → ED interprets it as danger
•  Visibility (being seen eating, sitting, relaxing) → social threat system activates
•  Old family dynamics → body becomes the battlefield again
•  Grief or loneliness → movement becomes a way to avoid feeling

So if you’re noticing these urges, it doesn’t mean you’re failing. It means your system is reaching for what it has used before.

Recovery is learning new ways to feel safe.

How to respond with recovery care

Not “how to stop urges forever.” Just how to meet yourself in the moment.

1. Name the urge out loud (to yourself or someone safe)

Try:

•  “This is a compensatory urge.”
•  “My ED wants me to bargain.”
•  “This is anxiety, not truth.”

Labeling creates distance. Distance gives you choice.

2. Check the driver

A quick internal quiz:

•  If I wasn’t “making up for food I ate”, would I still want to do this workout?
•  If I was ok with how my body looked, would this feel as urgent?
•  If I couldn’t exercise today, would I feel afraid?

Don’t judge the answers. Just gather the data.

3. Aim for “values-based movement,” not “ED movement”

Values movement feels like:

•  flexibility around timing and type
•  permission to stop
•  connection to the body’s signals
•  joy, release, grounding, play

ED movement feels like:

•  urgency
•  rigidity
•  bargaining
•  punishment
•  numbness

Same activity can land in either camp depending on why and how you’re doing it.

4. Practice a “pause”

You don’t have to go straight from urge to resisting it, you can give yourself a little time.

Try:

•  a 10-minute sit
•  a warm drink and a check-in
•  texting your support person
•  stepping outside to breathe without turning it into steps

Pausing doesn’t kill the urge, but it interrupts autopilot.

5. Plan your support like you plan your meals

If you know Thanksgiving weekend tends to be hard, consider:

•  scheduling a check-in with your therapist/dietitian
•  lining up a friend to text after meals
•  writing a few grounding reminders in your notes app
•  setting boundaries on fitness/social media content for a few days

You deserve support and relief.

6. Remember that rest is not a moral failure

Rest is a biological need, not a reward you earn.

If your ED says, “You’re being lazy,” recovery can say:

•  “I’m being human.”
•  “My body is allowed to be fed and still.”
•  “My worth isn’t measured in my output.”
•  I’m caring for my body when I rest

Let rest be an act of trust and self-compassion

If this weekend feels messy, know this..

Recovery isn’t a straight line, and holidays are really hard. If you’ve compulsively exercised or compensated this weekend remember :

•  You didn’t ruin anything.
•  You learned something about your triggers.
•  You can recommit without punishing yourself.

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s returning — again and again — to a kinder relationship with your body.

A small closing permission slip

You are allowed to eat Thanksgiving food without paying for it.
You are allowed to rest without earning it.
You are allowed to be full and still safe.You are allowed to live a life bigger than a calorie ledger.

If compulsive or compensatory urges show up this weekend, meet them like you would a scared kid tugging your sleeve: firm, compassionate, and not in charge.

You’ve got this — and you don’t have to do it alone. Find support!