In a society where body image is one of the biggest things people complain and criticize about themselves, everyone is looking for a quick fix to feel better about their bodies.
With as many as sixty percent of adults dissatisfied with how they look, Americans spend billions of dollars each year for products, from diet pills to cosmetic surgeries, that are designed to change their body size and shape.
A study done by the University of Florida and published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Health Psychology shows that feeling better about yourself and attaining a more positive body image through exercise isn’t as hard as people think it is.
Not to mention that using exercise as a way to increase positivity about your body is less expensive and much healthier than turning to diet pills and surgeries to feel better about yourself and your body.
The study showed that those who didn’t achieve their workout milestones, whether in reference to losing fat, gaining strength or improving their cardiovascular health, felt just as good as those who were more active and achieved their goals.
The study showed that those exercising more frequently, but less intensely felt better about their bodies than those who were exercising more intensely, but less frequently.
One of the reasons that exercising more frequently is more beneficial to you then intense exercising is because of the positive effects exercising and the release of endorphins has on depression and mental health.
People who exercise on a regular basis are typically more positive and therefore feel better about themselves.
This means that even making small changes will allow you to feel better about yourself, even if you can’t afford a gym membership or have limitations preventing you from being able to exercise with any intensity.
Some of the small changes that you can make, which will benefit you greatly, include, but are not limited to:
- Using the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible
- Walking around the block after dinner
- Taking a brisk walk on your breaks from work
- Yoga, or other low-intensity workouts
- Swimming
- Walking or biking to the store
If you are looking for some more intense workouts that you can throw into your routine, consider:
- Pushups, lunges, pull ups and squats
- Running
- CrossFit
- HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)
- Fitness Classes
- Weight training
One thing that is important to keep in mind is to set small goals for yourself. If you walked after dinner two days last week and three days this week, you are making progress.
Try not to set goals that are not related to your weight or body and instead focus on setting goals that are centered around becoming more active on a regular basis.
Some good goals can include:
- Walking around the block after dinner every day
- Riding a bike around the neighborhood after dinner 3 times a week, then 4 times, etc.
- Taking the stairs up to work three times a week
- Taking the stairs down after work every day
- Walking to work three days a week
Starting with small goals, such as taking the stairs down from the office, before taking them up, can help you feel like you are meeting them and making progress which will get your more active on a regular basis and help you feel better about your body image.
By making some small changes and being more active on a daily basis, as well as being more conscious about the foods you are eating, you are going to be able to acquire a better, more positive body image.
This is true even if you don’t lose any weight, go down any clothing sizes, build muscle, or gain anything in regards to your cardiovascular health. However, it is important to note that you will see benefits in all of those areas over time as you become more active than you have been in the past.
