Some people exercise for health.
Others exercise out of a sense of competitiveness or accomplishment.
But by far, the most popular reason that people hit the gym is to make their bodylookbetter.
They want to lose weight, be jacked, have abs, or look toned.
But I would like to humbly suggest: maybe that shouldnt be youronlymotivation.
I dont mean that its wrong or bad to care about how you look.
We are all subject to appearance-related pressures both from within ourselves and from society at large.
Your body is what it is, but how you feel about it is a complex construct.
If youre just trying to lose fat, youll begin seeing results pretty soon.
If youre trying to gain muscle, though, it may seem like the process takes forever.
Because it kind of does.
And if you want to gain muscleandlose fat?
That takes even longer.
You have to eat more to build the muscle, then diet off the fat, and repeat.
You may never get your dream body
But lets say you keep working.
For a lot of people, the answer is: not really.
Maybe you might see your abs, but youre unhappy that your waist is blocky.
Maybe your butt is big, but its not big enough.
Maybe your arms are toned, but now your shoulders wont fit the jackets you like to wear.
Nobody cures their eating disorder by getting thin enough and saying yep, Im perfect now.
The problem was never their body in the first place.
If you recognize yourself here, that doesnt mean you oughta quit the gym.
(it’s possible for you to find resources from NEDA, including a helpline,here.)
But you may need to change your focus at the gym to keep yourself pointed in a healthy direction.
What if you focus on what your body cando?
You dont have to give up your interest in changing how you look.
Were human, after all.
