Talking to Your Body (Part 1)

When's the last time you complimented your body on a job well done?

I thought so.

Too often, we're so caught up in what our bodies look like -- and all the ways we'd like to change them -- that we don't stop to appreciate what they can do. At long last, however, there's finally some scientific proof for what I've known since my days as Shape magazine's Weight-Loss Diary columnist: There is nothing that makes me feel better about my body than a little exercise.

It's not about reaching "goal weight." It's not about fitting into a smaller size. It's not even about a long-term plan for getting "fit." I'm talking about that immediate, in-the-moment feeling I used to get when I finished a workout. I felt strong, lean -- powerful -- and I didn't hate any part of my body.

I still get that feeling -- every time.

The University of Florida recently released a study backing me up. It found that the "simple act of exercising, not fitness itself" can make you feel better about your body.

I can relate to that.

But exercise can also help change the way we talk to our bodies. Simply put, it's hard to beat up on yourself after you've just run a mile or lifted a weight. No matter what else happens in your day, you know you've done something just for you, something that's going to make your body stronger and healthier.

It's a pretty powerful concept.

I'm constantly preaching exercise to the moms out there who've asked me "how can I learn to love my body?" Start with a walk. Pick up a light set of weights while you're watching TV. Do some push-ups. It doesn't have to be a formal gym workout or an hour-long commitment; the simple act of moving your body every day will have an amazing impact.

The bottom line is that exercise can transform the way you feel about your body. Notice I didn't say "transform your body" -- it's not about that. It's about appreciating your body and changing your relationship with it. 

In honor of Delta Delta Delta sorority's "Fat Talk Free Week," which begins Monday, I challenge my readers to do something physical every day. And if that little critical voice decides to speak up, feel free to tell it to shut up.

Comments

[Molly Fulton]

So true! I am more confident and appreciative of my body now as a runner, not because I look any better, not even because I feel better. I just really understand and appreciate this miraculaous machinery that we inhabit when I expend the effort to see what it can do.I blog about my experience as an unlikely running enthusiast and address this idea of body image and motivation a lot. Thanks for this great post!

[Monica Bhide]

Very true- what a fantastic post. I have really enjoyed your work and look forward to reading more from you.
Monica

[Sagan]

I really like this.

Much of the time I don't think of what I'm doing as "exercising". Instead, it's "taking a break" and that sort of thing. Doing what makes my body and mind feel good.

PS I find it funny that your daughter was giving you ideas for blog posts, because my mum says "you can blog about that!" to me all the time!

[Linda]

I hate to say this, but I find this to be very much not the case for me. I truly appreciate my body for being healthy and don't give it much hate for not being skinny. But my self-talk about vigorous exercise goes more like this: "Wow, I could not wait for that to be over. What I hear other people say is invigorating and satisfying is nothing but torture to me. It must be because I'm so irredeemably unfit. I suck." Sure, maybe I managed to do X (but not run a mile, because I absolutely can't). But I don't get a sense of accomplishment from having done it. If anything, I get a sense of inadequacy about how hard and taxing and un-fun I found it, when I imagine that "normal" people would find it enjoyable.