Decoupling Dieting & Exercise

For many of us, the words “dieting and exercise” are like “peanut butter and jelly”. They just go together. When you’re ‘on’ one, you’re ‘doing’ the other. Conversely, when you’re ‘off’ one, you’re definitely not ‘doing’ the other. 

Diet culture ingrains into us the idea that it’s not worth it to work out if you already blew your eating for the day, that because you exercised really hard this morning you deserve to eat fill in the blank tonight, and that your movement choices are dictated by what will show you burned the most calories. If diet culture is driving our decision to move our body, it inevitably falls into all-or-nothing thinking and is inextricably tied to our eating. 

Moving our bodies does not have to be a way to earn food, approval or self-esteem. It does not have to consist only of calorie-burning, high intensity workouts. Exercise does not have to occur by a rigid schedule, occur a certain number of days per week, or occur only in the context of ‘being good’ or ‘on track’. 

Totally separate from trying to lose weight and manipulate the size/shape of our bodies, exercise has many wonderful benefits. Movement offers an opportunity to connect with our bodies in pleasurable ways, reduces stress, and may help us sleep (to name a few benefits). Our culture’s obsession with weight and thinness robs us of the pleasurable experiences associated with moving our bodies.

For those who have experienced trauma and/or are living in marginalized bodies, the decision to exercise can be complex. It can feel uncomfortable, unsafe or painful. It can be harder to find welcoming places to exercise and/or might bring up unpleasant sensations (physical and emotional). If you feel like being present in your body in this way could be hard, it may be a good idea to reach out to a mental health professional informed by Health At Every Size to work with you through the process (you can find one at: https://haescommunity.com/search/). 

When we can make the difficult first step of trying to untie exercise from eating, we can step into the journey of becoming connected to our body. This route (where movement is not chained to dieting) is defined by being able to choose: if you feel like engaging in movement, what movement feels right for you today, and when/how long it feels good to move. Because when exercise is no longer a prescribed task with the purpose of controlling your body, you are free to choose the role it plays in your life (if it plays one at all at this time). And you deserve to experience that freedom. Not xx pounds from now, not after the New Year, not at whatever moment in time you think you’ll finally be deserving. Now. You deserve that freedom now.