Experts and gurus have body issues too

When I started focusing on getting stronger instead of just “toned”, my life changed. I overcame my fear of lifting heavy weights and cut back on what seemed like an endless amount of cardio. The best way I can describe it is that I found my voice in the gym. I found me. Working out was no longer a chore or another box to tick off on my to-do-list, but rather something I looked forward to. Something that grounded me. I was continuously surprised by my newfound strength. Me, who at just over a mere 5 feet tall with no prior lifting experience could suddenly pick up the big weights and pump iron just like the big muscly bros beside me. I could keep up with the those guys and girls at the gym who were once intimidating.

Moving my exercise focus to getting stronger allowed me to break free from the cycle of poor body image (for the most part). But I think that is the key. The pictures you see on social media of your fitness icons and gurus are snip-its in time, their highlight reels. Even though some people can maintain a lean physique all year round doesn’t mean that they don’t have poor body image days too - days of eating shit and lazing around on the couch watching Netflix.

It can be easy to forget that not everyone loves their body all the time. Not everyone’s goal is to be smaller. Some people just want to be stronger and healthier. It can be easy to make food choices based on weight and totally forget about making food choices for better health in the long run. It can feel simpler to head to the gym and do the same thing you have always done because you ‘should’ rather than because you want better for your body.

You can continue scrolling through your social media feeds for the leanest bodies, which can either serve as an inspiration or make you feel like crap. But don’t lose sight of the fact that your weight does not determine your worth. Everyone has poor body image days and daily struggles, no matter how fit they are. They too have those feelings “not good enough”.

When you feel good about your body (or even just okay with it), it’s easier to make nutrition choices for health reasons instead of for weight loss. You can walk into the gym thinking about how you will turn up your strength game and not how you will make your ‘sweat cry’ today. You can start to make the connection between mind and body: what it can do, what it wants to do and what is the driving force. You start to find something greater than weight loss to put your energy into.

Choosing strength over being ‘smaller’ was the little shift I needed in the gym to make major gains. It was this shift that led to physique changes, even though that wasn’t the primary motivator.

Similarly, making food choices to have better health today and tomorrow, instead of because I wanted to get thinner, changed my body shape naturally.

It is these little shifts in thinking that can really be the turning point you are looking for. I’m not saying that you won’t have perfect body image days every day. But when you look at making decisions for your body that are based on what’s best for it, rather than how you want it to look, you’ll start to see (and feel) real change.

Only Quit On a Good Day!

Coach Cindy