Each time I exercise, I HAVE to reach a certain number (distance, calories burned, or time) until I can stop, otherwise I feel like a failure. I increase this every time I exercise. Why?

I want to lose weight although I'm at a healthy weight range. But this kind of concerns me - the fact that I cannot stop until I've reached a certain number.

A part of me when I exercise encourages me to exercise for longer, and to not stop until I've reached the goal. When I want to stop when I've not reached it, it sort of tells me to "do it" like an order.

Hello.....you describe an 'OCD' type of behavior, which often includes that constant need to push more and more...obsessively. What about exercising that certain amount of time, etc., equates your success or failure to you? Do you know? The additional desire to lose weight with this sounds a bit like what one experiences with an eating disorder, when they have an exercise obsession. Even though you are at 'a healthy weight range', is it healthy for you? Over-exercising can be just as dangerous to your body and the way you think about it, in some ways as other compensatory behaviors, such as laxative abuse or purging. You would be doing yourself a favor by seeing a professional to help determine what is going on, and why this has become such an obsession for you.

http;//freefromexpectations.blogspot.com/

Thanks for your response. I'm going to try and quit it or at the very least cut it down so it doesn't spiral out of control. Thanks!