It can be a surprisingly thin line between committing to a healthier lifestyle and falling into an obsession with fitness and losing weight. The desire to be healthy often leads people down decidedly unhealthy paths, but people fail to spot the warning signs. The repercussions can be grave: injury, illness, even eating disorders that can plague someone for the rest of her life.

Sudden and All-Encompassing Change
If you decide that you want to embrace a healthier approach to life, you might think your entire life needs an adjustment, from your diet to your daily routine. Adjustment is one thing, but complete overhaul is something different. Any approach to a healthier lifestyle should be marked by gradual and positive change.

No Rest for the Weary
One of the most important parts of the fitness process is rest, as it is during rest that a body undergoes its changes. Many people who dive headfirst into a new fitness and weight loss program, however, fail to recognize the importance of rest. Instead, they work out every single day and feel anger or a sense of despair at the thought of not exercising on a given day.

If you feel as if you can’t get through a day without exercising, take a step back and think about the wear and tear you are inflicting onto your body. The only thing working out every single day will accomplish is injury and unhealthy obsession.

Extreme Cross Training
Triathletes might be able to run, swim and bike all in one day, but you should not make up for a day off by running in the morning and lifting weights at night.

Severe Dietary Restrictions
You started out reducing your meat intake to lean cuts of beef, poultry and fish, but you then decided to go vegetarian. Perhaps you first cut out dairy, then white grains or sweets of all kinds.

Remember that your body needs protein, calcium and carbs in order to function. Cutting down on excessive calories is one thing, eliminating nutritional necessity is going to prompt your body to go into emergency shutdown mode, which causes metabolism to slow down and weight loss to occur more slowly.

Abnormal Bodily Functions
When a woman who previously had a regular menstrual cycle starts exercising too much, her period can become irregular or cease altogether. This is a huge red flag and suggests that too much stress is being placed on the body, both through exercise and weight loss.