Reasons Why I Exercise That Have Nothing to do With Weight-loss

I remember when I first started working out at my local YMCA and I would see this woman there everyday, just killing it. She'd work out so intensely and yet she never lost any weight, which I thought was so odd. At the time, I was 19 years old and didn't have a clue about health, fitness, or how our bodies function physiologically. It also didn't occur to me that people may be at the gym for other reasons than what I was there for. Deep into my disordered eating and orthorexia, the only reason to go to the gym was to lose weight and get in shape. Looking back at this mindset, I cringe. Not only was I disillusioned by diet culture, I honestly didn't know why she wasted her time there if she wasn't improving her physical appearance. The shallows of my mindset at the time are elitist, prejudice, and down right ignorant. Unfortunately, there are more people that think with this same logic. I don't often call a certain way of thinking wrong, but with this matter- I absolutely will.

Upon ending my long torrid experience with disordered eating habits and society's fat phobic standards that served as the foundation of my thought process, I was able to find my way to intuitive eating and FINALLY set myself, my mind & body - free. I've written posts about each of these stories in my past if you are interested (My story of disorder: here and how I've dealt with life after macro counting: here ) going into greater detail. I have finally landed in this place where I am able to live a life where my workouts and food are not consuming my every thought and I finally have space in my mind to be creative, to focus more on what's important in life, to add value to relationships, and just live, simple as that. I am so blessed to have realized how much life I wasn't living and I wanted to share some reasons that I have for exercising almost daily that have nothing to do with weight-loss, if you are looking for insight on how to progress past forced movement to a more joyful place.

Exercise offers some great health promoting benefits & many people benefit from adding them to their life, however sometimes we become consumed and even obsessed with exercise. This can have a negative impact on our health, lead to injuries, and even sour or relationship with fitness for good. So finding reasons other than weight-loss can be very beneficial. For me, exercise helps me focus. It allows me to get creative, or honestly allows my mind to go blank. I have incorporated running back into my weekly routine and have loved switching it up after not running steadily for the past 3-4 years. I take an annual PT test that requires me to complete a mile and a half run, however that was never an issue for me and I never had to train to do so. I had stepped away from running to focus more on building strength in the gym & quite honestly, I got a little bored, so having a new goal of running a marathon was pretty neat this past year. It was nice to get back to my roots, something I used to share with my dad, and where my love for fitness started.

Working out gives me a sense of who I am, not just on the outside or defines who I am per my profession, association with the military, or even my passions or interests. It's hard work and dedication to train like I do and I enjoy that it's cemented in me as such. It's something that I am committed to and that makes me feel whole. I love pushing myself and showing up daily. Exercise promotes goal setting and allows me to prove to myself my level of dedication, determination, and commitment I can have to myself to follow through. I feel not only strong physically, but also mentally.

It allows me to see things in a way that I may never have gotten the chance to. Even in the time of my life when I wasn't running regularly, that is my preferred method of working out while traveling. I have seen more of cities on my hour long early morning/pre-dawn jogs than I have in the hustle and bustle or in a car. Some of my favorite cities I have ran in are Chicago, San Antonio, Biloxi, and Columbus. I am able to spot local coffee spots, bakeries, delis, and authentic pizza all in a quick run. I see the bare naked city before it's streets get crowded and life emerges. Something very humbling about a solo run in an unfamiliar city.

Workouts not only allow me to work up a sweat they promote flexibility and blood flow. Stretching has become one of my favorite ways to button up my night as well. It is a vital component of recovery and I have witnessed that first hand making me a huge proponent in stretching and resting too! Stress relief is another great reason to add exercise, not that I use this as my therapy, but it allows for me to have an outlet to blow off steam, take my thoughts and work through tough things while removing myself physically to have this alone time to be with my ideas for a little while.

And finally, exercise humbles me to my core. Awhile ago I started changing my verb-age around exercise to "I get to run/lift/stretch/rest/workout today.", instead of, "I have to _____________ today." Why? Because there are individuals out there that simply can not. I have an amazing abled body that I am so blessed everyday to move in whatever way I desire and I can not forget that. These are my reasons why I find the time to exercise and what exercise means to me in my life. I hope you all find the peace I have found with my body, movement, my mind, and this world. It is attainable, but it isn't easy to fight society's unattainable standards.