If you grew up with a plus-size body, it’s very likely that you were “encouraged” or forced into sports or some form of physical activity by your family or friends. Of course, this is an idea rooted in diet culture, which believes that if you move your body, you’ll automatically lose weight.
As research is growing and many of us have personal experience, exercise does not necessarily result in weight loss, nor is it the most important reason to move your body.
Have you heard of the Joyful Movement?
Joyful Movement is a way to engage in physical activity that focuses on choice, happiness, celebration, intuition, joy, and flexibility. First, you need to find an activity that you really enjoy. It can be something as simple as taking your pet outside for a walk, dancing or swimming.
We often have grandiose ideas about how exercise should be, but the truth is that any form of physical activity is beneficial for both the mind and spirit.
Exercise has many benefits unrelated to weight loss. Whether it’s improving your sleep habits, reducing stress, or increasing your mindfulness, it’s important to find what works for you. Not everyone enjoys the same types of movements, and that’s okay.
If you’re lucky enough to have a friend who is interested in the same type of physical activity, try working out together. It’s always more fun if you bring your friends.
When starting your fun exercise journey, it’s important to set realistic goals. As mentioned before, the purpose of shifting your focus to celebrating your body includes not focusing on weight loss or burning calories. A realistic goal might look like starting with 15 minutes of exercise per day and adjusting it as you find something you enjoy.
Thoughts from a fat activist
This is not an easy transition, nor will it happen overnight. According to Daniel, @a_k_o_o_o_o, “I started to realize that moving my body did make me feel better physically, but I enjoyed moving my body in certain ways much more than in other ways. I discovered that it was one of the few things I really enjoyed. The combination of water and music didn’t seem like exercise to me.If you want to have fun moving your body, you don’t have to worry about appearance, so I encourage you to try different things. A recent goal of mine was to walk around Disney with my family, so finding an 8-week walking program that focuses on walking time rather than distance walked really turned me on. I did.”
Lindsay, @fantasyfattywho often hosts fun movement live shows on TikTok, has a lot of thoughts on this topic. they say, “The biggest thing is learning the science behind exercise and weight loss and discovering that exercise doesn’t actually lead to weight loss. Understanding that changes our whole perspective on movement and exercise. If you can think about movement. [exercise, sports, athletics, everything] We start choosing activities that make us feel good because we love them because they are something we do for fun, connection to ourselves and others, and mental and physical health. The more we focus on exercise for weight loss, the more we lose sight of the actual benefits of exercise and why exercise is so important to our human experience. ”
Lindsey makes a very important point regarding the science behind exercise and weight loss. According to the NIH article, “Healthy lifestyle and mortality in overweight and obese people”, a healthy lifestyle is associated with a significant reduction in mortality, regardless of baseline BMI.
Individuals were divided into groups based on BMI and amount of obesity. “Healthy behavior” For over 14 years, they stopped smoking, ate five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, consumed alcohol in moderation, and exercised 12 days a month.
Taking all four of these actions reduced overall health risk, regardless of a person’s BMI, with virtually no difference between all BMI categories. Most important to our point is that the participants’ weight did not change over time, regardless of the “healthy habits” adopted.
Lindsey also recommends starting the pleasurable movements slowly and gently. “Even when you’re pushing yourself, movement is meant to make you feel good, and you shouldn’t push yourself beyond what your body is capable of doing, as this will only lead to pain and injury. Do this The only way is to slow down and listen to our bodies. Be kind and gentle with our bodies. Don’t ask people to do something they can’t do just because they could do it five years ago or because the person next to them could do it.
How do you celebrate your body through movement? Let us know in the comments!
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Source: The Curvy Fashionista – thecurvyfashionista.com
