You may have landed on these articles pertaining phrases like ‘running and weight loss’. You must have clicked on the headline thinking that it is going to provide you with some sort of solution or comfort. It will help you to become skinny too. But, the headline ‘everything you need to know about running for weight loss’ is what is known as ‘poison punch’. Poison punch refers to the diets and weight loss programs an workouts, messaging, imaging as well as products which promote the ideas that we need to be healthier and skinner.

It is understandable that you might be willing to look for weight loss solutions, but it is important to emphasize that weight loss is not the best motivation for working out or moving regularly if you are a woman. In fact, the fitness study of both men and women found out that women were more likely to believe they had failed at their exercise goals if they did not lose weight. Women who lose weight or achieve a particular physical appearance see it as an improvement or the goal which they would likely fail if they do not achieve the said set goals.

Having spent a considerable amount of time in the running world, it would be safe to say that the fitness industry rarely encourages healthy weight gaining or losing behaviours amongst women and men. You might be thinking that you need to lose weight because you lack energy or don’t feel well. But what matters is how you feel. You might be far more motivated if you regularly create a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle with a healthy regime. It also feels good that it connects you with a community if you go out and try to have some fun while working out or joining the meditation programme.

There are numerous reasons to move your body regularly:

  • It feels great
  • Mental health well-being
  • Time alone
  • Connects you with a community
  • It is a healthy way to close a stress cycle
  • It gives you something to feel proud of
  • It gives you something to work towards
  • It gives you a sense of accomplishment

And all of this is just the tip of the iceberg.

If you are feeling strong about what you are doing, it means that it is working for you. If you are not interested even if you are investing a lot of hours to it, it is important to feel strong and feel empowered. We are often fat phobic and poison punch seems to be everywhere. Therefore we need to remind ourselves that whatever we are doing, it should make you feel strong and happy.

There is no one weight or size one should be aspiring towards. If you feel like you are healthy enough to function properly and your work and life is not causing you any trouble physically, it is what is going for you. These reasons should also be one of the important things which should remind you of how beautiful a person you are even when you do not workout heavily at the end of the day. Your shape is not what should define you and should make your life the living hell.