How do you make exercise not about weight loss?

[iwish]

@uticus My body is too broken to be fit I am really unlikely to ever hit PRs again without risking serious injury, but being active still feels good. I’m fatter now than I’ve ever been, but still appreciate some measure of thin privilege (e.g. can still buy clothes my size in stores). Accepting my body, including the limits on what it can do and the reality of how it looks has made it so much easier for me to set aside the outcome-driven training mindset I always worked out with before. It means there’s not really such thing as a bad workout anymore, too. Like, I might be feeling off on a given day and then I’ll feel off when I’m working out, but missing a split or having to deload no longer wrecks my mood.

 

[kimberlynicole]

@uticus Powerlifting! My husband introduced me to it 7 years ago and it completely changed my outlook on going to the gym. I never got crazy strong but I learned how to master the compound lifts, I did a meet once and I stopped thinking about burning calories at the gym. Plus, my butt has never looked better!

I also got into running a few years ago, and though I have never been consistent with it long term, it’s another way to focus on improvement. I’ve done a few races (10K’s and half marathons) and I love the atmosphere. Again, I’m not necessarily gifted in this either, but I get a huge sense of accomplishment from completing a run, even on a slow day.

Try a sport and focus on performance! You don’t have to be amazing at it, just focus on being consistent. I think you’ll be surprised with how much you learn to appreciate your body for more than just it’s weight.

 

[dawn16]

@uticus I finally changed my mentally about exercise and weight loss.
I had to realize my body is what it is.
I like seeing more muscle tone/ growth.
I tell myself that a little fluff is ok.
But you should have a goal in mind. Mine is to grow a bubble butt!

 

[shardul007]

@uticus Well, exercise has never helped me lose weight so that’s how it works for me

 

[lunacy]

@uticus Focus on personal goals and be consistent. Ignore weight loss. You will naturally lose weight and get stronger.

 

[decrescendo]

@uticus I enjoy weight lifting because there are lots of small improvements over a short period of time each time you go up in weight on a lift. I also had a MUCH better experience hiking on vacation last month and that was really motivating too. For cardio, I just like to zone out and listen to audiobooks or podcasts or music.

 

[shiranui117]

@uticus As an on and off overweight person (female), who had been exercising consistently for about 8 years, here's my perspective:

1. I genuinely believe that exercise isn't the way to lose weight. It's and "add-on" that helps you sculpt your body and feel great. There are a lot of study done that proved that we tend to compensate for extra burnt calories while exercising by cutting our NEAT calories. Our body likes to me in homeostasis. So going to the gym 2-3 times a week with intent of loosing weight is useless, even counterproductive, because you'll probably gain a few muscle pounds.
2. In exercise non weight-loss related benefits far outweigh all the weight-loss ones. I exercise to feel better, lighter, stronger, more energetic, for better sleep. After I felt all the benefits of strength training after first 6 months I never wanted to go back . Also it helps that after few months of missed training I feel stiff and sick, with lacking energy and trouble sleeping.
3. And about aesthetic aspect - even though I don't believe in exercise as a weight-loss tool (if you're not overdoing it), it still helps for "visual representation" (more toned look, less hanging skin while losing weight), so to speak . For example, I gained 20 kilos while on antidepressants, yet I looked almost okay until +14-15 kilo mark. Muscles helped me to not have protruding belly and look like toned chubbster

Hope it helps!

 

[shiranui117]

Also, I feel like superwoman when lifting those barbells, sometimes even outlifting some men there

 

[grateful4466]

@shiranui117 You don’t believe in fitness as a weight loss tool? What?

For a lot of people fitness is a key healthy weight loss tool, as the other option is just aggressive calorie restriction (which is hard to maintain)

 

[shiranui117]

@grateful4466 Well, not really. As I outlined I definitely see benefits (even visual) in training, but without improving your diet and eating less you're probably won't see results. I am the perfect example - I was always an active kid, taking dancing classes, jogging. And now gym. But over the years it had no affect on my weight, diet did (bad - I gained, good - lost weight)

As the saying goes - "you can't outrun the bad diet"

But I believe in a power of walking for weight loss! If you're not compensating burnt calories, that is

 

[grateful4466]

@shiranui117 Yeah, I mean they say weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise, so I totally get where you’re coming from. But I do think for most people being active is a physically and emotionally healthy way to approach it

 

[shiranui117]

@grateful4466 Sure, if it helps - then great! It’s just sad how many people I see who go into fitness with the only goal of losing weight and drop it after a month or so because the don’t see the results they want
My approach is in line with OPs - going into fitness for other goals than losing weight, and enjoying all of the benefits it brings

 

[lgadb]

@uticus 100% agree!

 

[lgadb]

So for me fitness/working out helps keep my mental in check- when I’m not working out I feel like my mental is off- the physique results is just a bonus from me keeping me in a good space mentally. Start with little steps don’t think about weight gain and or loss- your mind will feel better and your perspective will change once the routine is there- you got this!

 

[archangelks]

@uticus I used to exercise to lose weight, then I discovered running and in particular ultra running! For which you need to eat during to gage any hood of finishing and be strong Now I focus on my big adventure goals of going a certain distance and don’t care about my weight at all. It took years to change the mindset but it happened

 

[dawn16]

@uticus I’m convinced you only lose weight when you least expect it. At my thinnest, I was just coming out of being a broke teenager with no parental help and saving every penny I can, so not eating much.
But unfortunately, I’m the same with the gym so I can’t even answer that. I can’t wait to want to go to the gym because it makes me feel better

 

[winlifeoc]

@uticus Goals! Of the SMART variety (it's an acronym). Some good weightlifting goals can be picking up x% of your bodyweight (for deadlift - being able to pick yourself up is a great starter goal) or improving your Wilks score or other similar system or moving up a level on strength standards for your target lifts: https://exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards

Running goals can be pretty varied: Run x distance, run up a certain local hill without dying, training for races, run to the end of the block without dying, etc

I train the very best if I have an event goal like a big hike myself, but for years I trained with becoming a farmer in mind. I didn't want to go from city job to outside job and find myself not able to lift things or have endurance. I trained in units of sheep and had sheep posters in the basement gym. It helped btw!

 

[sammysamuels]

@uticus Find movement you enjoy doing, no matter how many calories are burned doing it. Set performance related goals (I’m currently working on getting my first pull up for example). Be in tune with your body and notice how working out makes you FEEL. Stop paying so much attention on your weight. Go through your social media feeds and unfollow the accounts that reinforce working out being solely about weight loss (some good Insta accounts to follow are nondiet_trainer, fitragamuffin and sportybethfc for example).

 

[johnhenrygroenewald]

@uticus Read the book ”Spark”

changed how I think about exercise

 

[newhistory]

@uticus I was talking to someone recently about how I was my fittest in 2020. I wasn’t the smallest or anything- that was when I was suffering with an ED and doing two a day workouts in 2015. In 2020, I was stress eating like mad, which was great because I was training for an ultramarathon. I ran my fastest 5k, and could easily sleep through the night, get up, and crush a 7-mile run before work. I wasn’t struggling to run 10 miles, and really enjoying my runs every day.

Realizing that I consider the spring and summer of 2020 as “the best shape of my life” was pretty remarkable. I was just running and eating like mad- and it worked out real well. I’m working my butt off to get back there- and focusing on the eating is the pet that really keeps it in check. Can’t run ultras and not eat.