Who Likes to Move It?!

Exercise. What comes to mind when you hear that word? Often times, the word “exercise” comes with a negative connotation and people begin dreading the idea of running on the treadmill until they’re about to pass out, doing endless amounts of crunches or the crappy feeling when you worked your body past the point of exhaustion. What if I were to tell you that exercise doesn’t have to be bad? It doesn’t have to be a method of punishing your body, demanding efforts to control the way you look and it doesn’t have to be done to earn that ice cream sundae. Wouldn’t it be nice if exercise could be be a part of your life that not only is good for your mind and body, but something that can bring you joy and fulfillment? What if I told you that it could be just this?

Body Kindness by Rebecca Scritchfield, RDN, is an amazing book that talks about the concept of “Body Kindness.” Look out for future posts that will discuss more topics that are discussed in her book! One topic that she spends a chapter on is fitness. Let’s face it, it’s good to move our bodies! Our bodies love it and there are positive mental benefits as well! You’ll almost always hear health practicioners suggest exercise as a natural medicine to improve the conditions of depression and anxiety. But what happens for people who have Eating Disorders?

Those suffering from an Eating Disorder likely have had or are currently experiencing an unhealthy relationship with exercise whether it be pushing yourself past your body’s limits, exercising compulsively or exercising as a compensatory behavior when you feel you’ve eaten too much. So here comes the tricky part, how do we start to incorporate exercise or movement into your life again in a healthy and meaningful way without it becoming disordered? Before I go on, let me make a disclaimer; this post is not to override any medical advice that recommends you limit or not partake in exercise at all. If your Doctor or Nutritionist recommend this for your health, please listen to them. This post is intended for those who are not currently medically compromised as a result of their Eating Disorder. 

Let me now swap out the word “exercise” for “movement” since as mentioned earlier, the word “exercise” typically doesn’t bring up good memories for many. Body Kindness brings up 2 very important parts to finding how movement best fits into your lifestyle;

1. The “Why:” Scritchfield encourages you to think about your why, meaning why do you want to incorporate movement into your life? It’s important to note that changing your physical appearance is NOT a good enough reason. Not only does it typically become discouraging because our bodies don’t change fast enough to keep up our motivation, but it also quickly takes the joy away from any movement that could be fulfilling for us. Reasons that are encouraging and can help keep us enjoying our movement journeys include wanting to be able to keep up with the children in our lives, wanting to build more endurance so you can climb a mountain, wanting to improve our physical and mental health as well as wanting to increase energy. We can see almost instantaneous results that are in line with those more positive goals when we exercise for reasons that are not related to wanting to change the way we look. 
2. The “What:” The author now talks about what types of movement brings you joy. Not everyone knows their what. This is not to be discouraging, but rather can be seen as an opportunity to explore what feels good for your body and what brings happiness. What brings you joy today may change years from now or even months from now, and we can be playful in finding what our what is. Some find immense joy from running, while others enjoy dance and others may find joy on the Stairmaster blasting their favorite songs. Maybe the gym isn’t the place that brings you joy. If you haven’t heard it before, I’ll tell you now, you can live a happy, healthy and “fit” life never setting foot in the gym again. But if the gym is what brings you joy, go for it! If walking around the water brings you joy, do it! If Yoga is your pleasure, embrace it! Find what feels good, find what you look forward to and find how you can incorporate it into your life!

One last important point to make is that the meaning of “fitness” throughout this post is in line with what the author of Body Kindness asserted. A “fit” person does not mean someone who looks super buff and can run a 6 minute mile and bench press 450lbs, though it can. A “fit” person is someone who has found the movement that has brought them joy and incorporates it into their lives. Therefore, you can never see from the outside what someone’s fitness level is. There may be someone who is naturally thin, but does not incorporate movement in their lives while there may be someone who doesn’t look like society’s definition of fit, yet can go full-on beast mode. 

Let go of your pre-conceived notions of exercise and allow yourself freedom to find the why and what of your fitness journey. Be kind to your body along the way and listen to what it has to tell you.

Thank you for reading this post and please share with anyone who could find it helpful. If you have any questions, concerns or requests for future posts, please leave a comment or message me privately.

I wish you Body Kindness on your journey to finding your State of Balance!

​If you're interested in purchasing this book, see the link below!