2730: [Part 2] Body Image and Exercise: Healing a Troubled Relationship by Rachel Trotta on Self Acceptance

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[00:01:05] This is Optimal Health Daily, Body Image and Exercise, Healing a Troubled Relationship, Part 2, by Rachel Trotta of racheltrotta.com. And I'm Dr. Neil.

[00:01:16] Hey there and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily, where I simply read to you from the best health and fitness blogs for free.

[00:01:22] I cover fitness, nutrition, stress management, weight management, and lots more. This is kind of like an audiobook, but articles from a bunch of different authors, and always with permission from those authors, of course.

[00:01:36] Now, today is Wednesday, and like I do every Wednesday, I like to share a little bit of inspiration with you. So with that, here we go.

[00:01:43] Quote,

[00:01:44] We will be known forever by the tracks we leave.

[00:01:48] Dakota Indian proverb.

[00:01:50] All right, now remember, before we get to today's post, this is Part 2 from yesterday.

[00:01:56] So if you're new here or are skipping around, I'd recommend listening to yesterday's episode first.

[00:02:02] But if you're all caught up, let's hear Part 2 and continue optimizing your life.

[00:02:10] Body Image and Exercise, Healing a Troubled Relationship, Part 2, by Rachel Trotta of racheltrotta.com.

[00:02:19] Motivation comes and goes, and it can be a real mistake because of the physical and mental health benefits of exercise to only exercise when we feel like it, or when we're having a body image meltdown.

[00:02:31] Consistency is the most important aspect of how we move our bodies.

[00:02:35] Sticking with a habit through the ups and downs of life can be incredibly impactful.

[00:02:40] Plus, because of the mental health benefits of exercise, we often feel better about our bodies when we're exercising consistently.

[00:02:47] This may be partly because of the confidence that comes from exercise performance, like finishing a race, for example.

[00:02:54] And it may be partly due to the biological factors that underpin how our bodies respond to movement, like endorphins, decreased stress, and so on.

[00:03:03] But whatever the source, making exercise a big part of life is highly satisfying, and it benefits body image to show up for workouts regardless of how we feel about our bodies at the moment.

[00:03:15] This means that we sometimes exercise when we don't feel like it, and it may also sometimes mean that we don't over-exercise just because we're feeling low about body image.

[00:03:26] Strategy 4. Fuel your exercise.

[00:03:29] This is one of the biggest issues that I often address with onboarding clients, particularly women who are 40 years of age or older.

[00:03:36] In order to promote weight loss, they have often stopped eating breakfast, yet their workout falls in their fasting window.

[00:03:44] What I professionally recommend is that walking is the only exercise you should ever do fasted.

[00:03:50] If you're doing anything more than 30 minutes of walking, exercise fuel is a must.

[00:03:54] When it comes to calories and exercise, we absolutely must flip the script from

[00:04:00] I'm exercising to burn calories to

[00:04:03] I'm taking in calories to fuel my exercise so that I perform stronger and get better results.

[00:04:11] If you're skipping meals to burn more calories, you're putting the cart before the horse.

[00:04:15] You may get pleasing short-term results, but you're endangering your ability to maintain your results over time

[00:04:21] because of the hormonal consequences of under-eating, which tend to catch up with you later.

[00:04:26] The truth is that when we are well-fueled for exercise, we tend to work out harder, which means better results over time.

[00:04:34] Long story short, if you want to build a healthy relationship with exercise, stop using it to burn calories

[00:04:41] and instead, see it as a way to build muscle and improve overall fitness.

[00:04:46] Ultimately, being more fit and muscular is going to improve your metabolism, making your fat loss goals more attainable.

[00:04:53] But if you start with the calorie burn model, you're going in the wrong direction.

[00:04:58] Tip. Consume 30-60 grams of carbohydrate per hour of endurance exercise.

[00:05:05] And while it can be a little less for strength training, it shouldn't be nothing.

[00:05:09] A light pre-workout snack of a half a banana can be a great start to a workout, followed by a full meal afterwards.

[00:05:16] But for strength training, almost anything is better than nothing.

[00:05:21] And strategy 5. Question and resist body fixes.

[00:05:26] Pro tip. Do not build your fitness plans around exercises that promise to fix something about your body.

[00:05:32] Something that you feel is a problem area or flaw, for example.

[00:05:36] I can practically guarantee you that the exercises will be ineffective and ultimately unhelpful.

[00:05:42] For example, you cannot flatten your stomach with crunches,

[00:05:45] or get rid of loose skin on your arms with triceps exercises.

[00:05:49] In fact, I recommend intentionally following a full body plan that emphasizes functional fitness with large ranges of motion.

[00:05:58] Ironically, heavy squats will go a lot further to toning your arms than doing hundreds of bicep curls.

[00:06:05] While in another blog post I've talked more about the myth of spot toning,

[00:06:09] for the purpose of this post, let's focus on the fact that you think you need to get rid of something in the first place.

[00:06:15] Especially as we age, it is normal for healthy human bodies to have characteristics like looser skin.

[00:06:21] You can't tone up something that's not related to muscle gain or fat loss.

[00:06:26] Yet when you feel dissatisfied with your body,

[00:06:28] you may look to exercise to tighten up something that's just part of your body.

[00:06:33] There are times when acceptance is healthy.

[00:06:36] It takes mental strength to embrace a changing body.

[00:06:38] It doesn't mean you give up on your exercise or your other healthy habits,

[00:06:42] but it does mean that you release fixation on specific aspects of your appearance

[00:06:47] so that you can see yourself more fairly and more fully.

[00:06:50] It's extremely helpful to zoom out and get a bigger picture of yourself

[00:06:55] so that you're not zooming in on the small details that bother you.

[00:06:59] This self-acceptance can prevent you from being fooled by predatory advertising

[00:07:03] because your self-worth is not tied to the specifics of your appearance

[00:07:07] or how you match up to arbitrary beauty norms.

[00:07:11] Conclusion

[00:07:12] Do most of us need to move more?

[00:07:14] Yes.

[00:07:15] But should we push ourselves with all-or-nothing thinking,

[00:07:19] cut out breakfast to burn more calories,

[00:07:21] and subscribe to conventional standards of beauty and self-worth?

[00:07:24] No.

[00:07:25] Exercise can play a much more powerful and helpful role in our lives

[00:07:30] than we often allow.

[00:07:31] When you detach exercise from body image anxiety,

[00:07:35] it can be one of the most positive things you can do for your self-esteem

[00:07:38] and overall well-being.

[00:07:44] You just listened to part two of the post titled

[00:07:46] Body Image and Exercise, Healing a Troubled Relationship

[00:07:50] by Rachel Trotta of racheltrotta.com

[00:07:53] and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:07:56] Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:07:58] I want to go back to something today's author, Rachel, mentioned

[00:08:01] about fasting before a workout.

[00:08:03] Rachel mentioned that this is not something she usually advises,

[00:08:07] and I tend to agree.

[00:08:08] If we ignore the safety concerns for a moment

[00:08:11] and think about athletic performance in a fasted state,

[00:08:14] we'll find that research in this area is sparse,

[00:08:17] so we can't really say for sure

[00:08:19] what may or may not happen over the long term.

[00:08:21] What we can say is that not eating means you're not consuming energy,

[00:08:26] proteins, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients,

[00:08:29] which we know are important for athletic performance and recovery.

[00:08:33] Now, to try to make up for all of those missed nutrients after the fact,

[00:08:38] so let's say we fast before the workout,

[00:08:41] do the workout,

[00:08:42] and then try to make up for those missed meals afterwards,

[00:08:45] this could lead to overeating.

[00:08:47] But if we do focus on the athletic performance side of fasting,

[00:08:51] one study did find that male athletes following an intermittent fasting diet

[00:08:55] experienced reduced speed during their workout.

[00:08:58] But like I said,

[00:08:59] there may also be some health and safety concerns

[00:09:02] when it comes to fasting before a workout.

[00:09:05] For some,

[00:09:06] they may end up fainting or worse

[00:09:07] due to low blood sugar levels.

[00:09:10] Low blood sugar levels in general

[00:09:11] can make us feel weak and jittery.

[00:09:13] In fact,

[00:09:14] I would say that if anyone falls under the following categories,

[00:09:17] they should properly fuel before a workout

[00:09:20] and avoid fasting.

[00:09:21] Like those that currently have diabetes

[00:09:23] or those with low blood sugar to begin with,

[00:09:27] those that are of 50 years of age or older,

[00:09:31] children,

[00:09:31] and those that are pregnant or breastfeeding

[00:09:33] should probably not fast,

[00:09:35] especially before a workout.

[00:09:37] All right,

[00:09:38] that'll do it for today.

[00:09:39] Thank you so much for being here.

[00:09:41] Thank you for listening every day.

[00:09:42] I hope you're having a great week

[00:09:44] and I'll see you back here tomorrow

[00:09:46] where your optimal life awaits.