4 Ways to Stop Exercising From Self-Hate
I posted a youtube short recently that showed ways to stop exercising from self-hate by reframing how we thing about fitness. It was inspired by this post that I saw by @soheefit. But it also ties a lot into what I’ve talked about in my previous blog here about moving away from chasing thinness. I am not perfect by any means and definitely still have my days and moments of insecurity but over the years I’ve learned ways to accept my body more regardless of the size so today I wanted to share 4 easy ways to exercise more from a body neutral mindset vs self hate.
1. Accept That Your Body Changing Is Normal
You know when you got to college and people talk about the fear around gaining “freshman 15”. Now that I am older, I realize how toxic that mentality is. Because we were essentially comparing our young adult bodies to our teenage bodies. Then beating ourselves up if it isn’t the same. When in reality, our body is and should be evolving from the way that it was as a teen. And that’s normal.
Just like there are different seasons in the year, there are different seasons of body sizes. Some seasons are more stressful than others which may make our body bigger or thinner. Different seasons = different sizes and that is the beauty of life – things finna change which is 100% normal
2. Understand That The Person With Your 'Dream Body' Struggles Too
When I started talking to people with body types that I DREAMED of having, I realized that they were equally discontent with their body as I was. Which opened my eyes to the reality that even if I became the size I dreamed of being, I would still be discontent.
This was a life changing revelation for me. Basically, it made me recognize that even if I was thinner, I would still hate my body. Therefore, I might as well stop exercising from self-hate and instead like my body the way that it is right now. Because if I like my body now, I will like it at all different sizes
3. Prioritizing Performance Based Goals
I’ve said in a prior blog that I am not against aesthetic goals. I am just against messages that promote harmful practices and a self-hate mindset to pursue aesthetic goals. However, I am for goals that focus more on performance. Like how fast can we run? How much weight can we lift? And let’s see how much we can challenge ourselves to grow. By focusing on the strengths of our bodies, we are able to focus less on how much it sucks and instead focus more on how great it is.
4. Remember Having A Functioning Body Is A Blessing
The fact that you have breathe in your lungs and that you can move your body is something to be grateful for everyday. Your body could be severely sick but hey you can function today due to it. As cheesy as it may sound by practicing gratitude for the basic things your body does, it becomes easier to stop exercising from self-hate.
