How to improve your health and fitness without body shaming
As champions of kindness and self-love, it breaks our hearts to hear people negatively criticize their appearance. Throughout our lives, we all pick up various ideas about how our bodies are supposed to look—from the size of our waists to the thickness of our thighs.
As we navigate social media, television, and magazines, we start piecing together what beautiful “should” look like and what it means to us.
We scroll through Instagram and play the comparison game.
We shop for swimwear based on how we perceive others will see us.
We make plans to lose the baby weight the moment after we give birth.
We shame “dad bods,” “muffin tops,” “love handles,” and “jelly thighs.”
In a world where health successes and failures are too often measured exclusively by weight loss or gain, we’re all struggling to love our bodies just the way they are. So many of us have been taught to see fitness and physical activity as a means for looking thin, sexy, and toned, or as a punishment for eating “bad” foods.
But, what if going to the gym could be an exercise in self-love?
What if, instead of going to pilates to lose weight and feel better about our figures, we went because we love our bodies and want to care for them?
What if we went into our fitness routines with no assumptions about what effect exercise will have on our fat, weight, size, cellulite, and body proportions?
What if we shifted our focus away from our looks to how we FEEL?
"When we think about our bodies, we often think about the way they look, as opposed to what they accomplish for us every day. It's easy to forget how powerful our bodies actually are. All it takes is a shift in mentality to appreciate everything your body does for you." — Iskra Lawrence
Health and fitness versus obsessive body recomposition.
When you’re working on shifting your mindset around positive body image and self-love, it can be tempting to withdraw from fitness altogether in order to avoid falling into the traps of shame-inducing “fitspiration,” disordered thinking, and weight obsession.
However, neglecting your fitness does a HUGE disservice to not only your physical health but also your body image. Research shows that just 30 minutes of exercise or sports a day can have a positive effect on your perception of your physical self. Exercise can boost your mood, reduce stress, alleviate anxiety, and even improve your brain performance.
Other amazing reasons to focus on health and fitness, instead of obsessive body recomposition include:
Boost creativity
Feel more productive
Improve sleep quality
Support addiction recovery
Sharpen memory
Prevent cognitive decline
Treat depression naturally
Improve learning performance
"I want people to be proud of who they are. Too many times young women are told that they're not good enough or they don't look good enough, or they shouldn't do this, or they shouldn't look like that. Really there's no one who should judge that except for you." — Serena Williams
Here are our top 6 tips for body-positive fitness:
1. Set goals that have nothing to do with your weight or size.
We know it can be tempting to set goals like “lose 10 pounds before summer” or “shrink to a smaller dress size for the wedding.” But we encourage you to shift your focus away from your weight and instead measure your progress by ability. For example, “run 5 miles without stopping” or “do 20 push-ups by Christmas.”
2. Skip the scale.
When you step onto the scale each day, it can be discouraging when you haven’t lost as much weight as you hoped. Your weight and size don’t tell you all the incredibly positive changes that happen inside your body when you exercise. Body-positive fitness means working out because you love your body and you want to enjoy all the amazing health benefits that come from working out.
3. Practice BKTY.
Practicing BKTY (Be Kind To Yourself) can help you reprogram negative beliefs about your appearance. Our BKTY cards aim to inspire and support daily practices of self-love and self-kindness. Instead of focusing on your weight, you can focus on fitness. Instead of striving for the ultimate before and after photo, you can strive for health and wellness.
4. Avoid exercising in front of mirrors.
Mirrors can be a great tool for checking your technique and ensuring correct movement. But they can also hinder your success and negatively affect your confidence and self-esteem. If working out in front of the mirror at your gym makes you criticize the way you look, change your routine and try working out in a different area. Try focusing on how you feel, instead of how you look.
5. Wear comfortable exercise clothes.
There’s nothing worse than clothes that you have to adjust. If you’re constantly thinking about pulling your shirt down to cover your exposed tummy or adjusting your shorts so they’re not riding up, your clothes are literally reminding you to think about what you look like. Wouldn’t it be nice to stop worrying about your appearance so you can get the most out of your workout and concentrate on reaching your fitness goals?
6. Don’t exercise as a form of punishment.
If you tend to exercise to punish yourself for eating “too much” or for “not being thin enough,” it might be time to shift your mindset. When you think about fitness, rather than imagining your body getting smaller, try to imagine your heart, lungs, muscles, and immune system getting stronger. Think about boosting your energy, improving your sleep, and increasing your endurance. First and foremost, think of exercise as a form of self-love!
Want to boost your self-love and work on body-positive fitness? Check out our philosophy or follow us on Instagram for more reminders, tips, insights and inspiration!
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