Striving for Body Neutrality Can Improve Your Attitude to Fitness

Body neutral
Photo by Jade Destiny on Unsplash

Body neutrality is the idea that you don’t need to love or hate your body, you can simply accept and be thankful for it. This mindset can have amazing benefits for your mental and physical wellbeing and can totally transform your attitude toward fitness and exercise. If you struggle with negative self-talk and feel like you use exercise to punish your body, try engaging with the body neutrality movement and see where it leads you.

What is Body Neutrality?

Coined by body image coach Anne Poirier, body neutrality encourages us to think about our bodies in terms of function rather than appearance. Instead of trying to love our bodies, no matter the size, or hate our bodies because we don’t conform to restrictive beauty standards, striving for body neutrality can be a more accessible way to find self-acceptance.

Body Neutrality & Exercise

Instead of exercising to change the way our bodies look or punishing ourselves, body neutrality tells us to exercise to make our bodies FEEL good. Movement can be a way of connecting with our bodies, relieving stress, and finding enjoyment, rather than a painful means to a superficial end.

Benefits of Body Neutrality

There are many benefits of body neutrality in relation to fitness. You may find that you are able to build a more sustainable fitness routine when you’re not focused on unattainable weight loss goals. You might start to enjoy exercise more and actually get fitter because you’re having fun!

Many people find that they also sustain fewer injuries when exercising with a body neutrality mindset because they are more in tune with what their bodies need and when to stop.