All products featured on Self are independently selected by our editors.
However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
For many years exercise was, to me, purely a tool to manipulate my body.
Amber Venerable
Exercise was how I punished myself for what Id eaten and sometimes what I wanted to eat.
My mind always went back to debits and credits of calories and fuel.
It was a mind-set I couldnt shake.
Over many years and through a lot of self-work, my mind-set and behavior have completely changed.
In my experience, its something you have to work at.
I had to change a lot of behaviors so you can start thinking about exercise in a new way.
But the good news is that it worked for me and Ive seen it work for my clients.
Heres how I overcame my unhealthy relationship with fitness and weight:
1.
I stopped following media or influencers that reinforced diet culture.
I started following accounts that celebrated movement and body diversity.
If youre awash in images that reinforce the value of thinness, its really tough to stop valuing thinness.
I started tracking everything other than calories.
Each day my goal was to check that those numbers meant that Id created a caloric deficit.
If they did, I would deem the day a good one.
I still cant believe how much power I gave to numbers!
Fortunately there are tons of ways to keep track of things we do for our health.
I like to track my moods, mental health, and how I feel about my body.
These are the things that help me keep track of how Im feeling physically and mentally.
In every fitness journey there will be peaks, valleys, and plateaus.
For me the peaks are when Im feeling great, Im crushing my workouts, and everything is aligned.
But when I hit a valley, Im just not feeling it as much.
Then there are plateaus, those frustrating times when you feel like working out just isnt getting any easier.
Having these ebbs and flows to how you feel and how your workouts feel doesnt mean youre failing.
In fact, it means youre succeeding at having an organic, authentic relationship with exercise.
I totally re-evaluated my relationship to my scale.
Truth be told, I didnt get rid of my scale entirely because I occasionally weigh myself.
But its gone from my sight line and that puts weighing myself out of my mind, too.
However, I strongly recommend really thinking through your relationship to the scale.
For example, how often do you weigh yourself?
Does the number on the scale have a pretty big effect on your mood or your day?
Does your weight at a given time influence how much youll eat or workout?
I stopped doing exercise I didnt truly enjoy.
It felt wrong and just plain sucked.
So, I stopped doing this program because I was in it for all the wrong reasons.
I found the variety in workouts, mostly in the outdoors, suited my personality.
These goals werent about weight loss and shredding pounds but more about athletic victory.
That is the only motivator that keeps my fitness routines sustainable.
Its really important to align your fitness routine with what makes you feel good.
Choosing something thats too severe can trigger all sorts of unhealthy habits or extreme behaviors.
Remember long-term sustainability is the key.
relationship with working out.
Of course, staying on the emotionally healthy side of that line can be easier said than done.
All products featured on SELF are independently selected by our editors.
If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
