If there was no guarantee that exercise would change your body, would you still do it?
Before I began my own intuitive eating journey, my relationship with movement was pretty f*cked up. I often don’t talk about my relationship with movement a lot, but I have pretty much taken a two-year rest from movement.
I come from a very disordered relationship with food, where I dieted many of my teen years and into my 20s. And for me, dieting and movement went hand-in-hand.
I spent hours, hours, countless hours on the elliptical in college, like a f*cking hamster on a wheel, just trying to burn off calories. And so, for me, I can’t just like, look at movement and be like it’s joyful even though I want it to be.
So I’m getting back into it slowly by walking, yoga, etc.
But even as an intuitive eating counselor, certified personal trainer, and registered dietitian, I still have to actively, every single day, be really intentional about how I show up in my relationship with movement.
When I talk about movement with my clients I like to ask them a series of questions.
- When you hear the word “movement” what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
- What is your current relationship with movement like?
- What do you want your relationship with movement to be?
- What messages were you taught about movement?
Diet culture sends us messages all the time about how much movement we should be doing and why.
Some of these messages may look like:
- Restrictive eating on days when you don’t exercise
- Can only do intense forms of exercise
- Moving your body every day/no rest days
- Doing crunches after eating
- Movement has to hurt to count
It’s important that we reframe these messages and focus on movement as a way of taking care of your body!
Some benefits of moving your body include:
- Increased bone strength
- Decreased blood pressure
- Reduced risk for chronic diseases
- Improved mood, learning and memory
- Increased stress tolerance
MOST IMPORTANTLY: You can attain these benefits and more even if your body size and shape doesn’t change.
It is all about the intention you have behind WHY you are exercising.
You can find your own intention for movement by reflecting on the following after you exercise:
- Are you able to handle stress better?
- Do you feel more alert or energized?
- Do you have an improved outlook on life?
- Do you feel more determined or motivated?
- Do you sleep more soundly?
Overall, how does exercise make you FEEL?
Now, I want you to take a piece of paper and I want you to draw a line down the center.
On one side I want you to think about what are all the reasons that you would move your body in diet culture. Some examples might be to earn food, burn calories, or shrink your body.
Then on the other side of the paper, what I want you to do is think about, okay, those were all the reasons why I would move my body in diet culture. What are the reasons I want to move my body or I want to move my body? So maybe they’re not true for you right now but you want them to be true.
For example, wanting to have more range of motion, wanting to be able to run after your children or your grandchildren, wanting to improve your cardiovascular health. Those are all positive intentions.
It’s important to see what your starting point is. What has diet culture made you believe is the intention behind movement and where do you WANT it to be?
When you are at the point where you feel ready to ease back into movement, we have some tips for you!
- Utilize “first class free” packages
- Use apps like:
- Pass Class
- Mindbody
- Check out local studios
- Virtual fitness classes
- Implement walks
- Gentle stretching
- Find a movement buddy
If you aren’t ready or aren’t sure if you’re ready to return to movement, these are some signs you may need a break from exercise:
- You measure how much you eat based on your activity
- You can’t take a day off of exercising
- You are exercising only to lose weight
- Dreading your workouts
- Soreness that won’t go away
- You’re mentally exhausted
- You seem to always be sick
Take all the time you need to come back to movement!
If you enjoyed this blog post make sure you check out our post “Intuitive Eating Principle #8: Respect Your Body” here!
Want to learn more about intuitive eating?
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