What It Feels Like To Be A Woman And Hear The Word "Exercise" | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Health and Wellness

What It Feels Like To Be A Woman And Hear The Word "Exercise"

What does it mean to be a woman who exercises, or who doesn't exercise?

18
What It Feels Like To Be A Woman And Hear The Word "Exercise"
Diary of a Fit Mommy

Yes, this will be another one of those “to exercise or not to exercise” articles. Will you read it? Not necessarily. Will you skim through looking for the words of advice you want to hear? Most likely. It’s okay—we all do. It can’t be helped. But really, why do we choose to exercise? It’s torture, honestly. You bend and break your muscles to your will, day in and day out. All for what? Have you truly thought about why you choose to work out? Or not to work out? Do you like the body you have now? Do you think about the way it will change, especially if you are a woman? Maybe I think too much.

I do feel the need to jump on the bandwagon of “writing an article about exercising” because all too often I step into the gym and within the first 15 minutes’ multiple girls have stepped on and off the scale before, during, and after their workouts. I am not making this up, nor am I exaggerating and quite frankly, it makes me sad. Am I passing judgement? In a certain way, yes I am. We all pass judgement, whether it is a good judgement or a bad judgement. We all come at something with a certain bias that is written into our thoughts before we even think them. But that is a whole other soapbox.

I want to focus on the idea of the scale and what it means, especially to women, because most of my thoughts about myself and my body have revolved around the scale in one way or another, and I get the funny feeling that I am not alone. However, I want to go back to thinking about what it means to worship the scale because I want to tell them, “don’t listen to that hunk of metal! It lies! How you feel is what really should concern you!”

I really wanted to add my voice to the growing numbers of women who are saying, “me too!” when it comes to the struggle of exercising and body image acceptance. I am thankful that in the 21st century, and in recent decades, bodies of all types have become much more accepted and acknowledged on screen and in print. One thing is certain—your own body is not something to be ashamed of. Your will should be the only thing that determines the changes that you choose to pursue, or whether you even want to pursue changing at all. As always, what you are on the outside does not determine who you are on the inside. And all the rest of those cheesy inspirational quotes.

But a few things I have found on my journey from being very athletic as a youngster to much less athletic as a 20-something college student have helped me to stay real and steady on the course to taking care of myself both on the outside and on the inside. As a college student, we have tons of extra stresses that don’t need to be compounded with the added stress of worrying about what we look like. Yes, our bodies change as we age, it is a simple conclusion that we all must learn to work with. But, learning to love ourselves means constantly reminding ourselves of what we love about ourselves (am I right?).

Loving yourself means exercising to the extent that you are comfortable with, however many days a week you want to or can fit into your already busy schedule and pushing yourself when you are ready. Exercising also has many added benefits that can improve other areas of your life (there are science-y articles for that). Exercising is important no matter what size you are. You can be a size 0 or a size 22 and still reap the benefits of exercising. Again, it isn’t about what size you are but what makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside and like a badass on the outside.

Just because you choose to exercise doesn’t necessarily mean you must change your diet, or go on a crazy fad diet. Eating healthier is better for you because your body will be able to recover quickly and you will generally feel better if you eat more vegetables, fruits, and get lean proteins in your diet. But honestly, as a college student you won’t always have access to these healthier options all the time, although you should check out your colleges financial aid and the local farmers markets, and this doesn’t mean you must cut bad food entirely from your diet. It is about maintaining a balance that is comfortable for you. You can still have cheat days, just like you can take days off from exercising if you don’t feel up to it. In the end, it’s about doing what you want and being happy with yourself. The scale won’t tell you how you are feeling that day. It doesn’t even know how you are feeling. But you do. Be comfortable with who you are because in the end we all go out looking the same way we came into this world anyway.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Lifestyle

The Great Christmas Movie Debate

"A Christmas Story" is the star on top of the tree.

615
The Great Christmas Movie Debate
Mental Floss

One staple of the Christmas season is sitting around the television watching a Christmas movie with family and friends. But of the seemingly hundreds of movies, which one is the star on the tree? Some share stories of Santa to children ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), others want to spread the Christmas joy to adults ("It's a Wonderful Life"), and a select few are made to get laughs ("Elf"). All good movies, but merely ornaments on the Christmas tree of the best movies. What tops the tree is a movie that bridges the gap between these three movies, and makes it a great watch for anyone who chooses to watch it. Enter the timeless Christmas classic, "A Christmas Story." Created in 1983, this movie holds the tradition of capturing both young and old eyes for 24 straight hours on its Christmas Day marathon. It gets the most coverage out of all holiday movies, but the sheer amount of times it's on television does not make it the greatest. Why is it,
then? A Christmas Story does not try to tell the tale of a Christmas miracle or use Christmas magic to move the story. What it does do though is tell the real story of Christmas. It is relatable and brings out the unmatched excitement of children on Christmas in everyone who watches. Every one becomes a child again when they watch "A Christmas Story."

Keep Reading...Show less
student thinking about finals in library
StableDiffusion

As this semester wraps up, students can’t help but be stressed about finals. After all, our GPAs depends on these grades! What student isn’t worrying about their finals right now? It’s “goodbye social life, hello library” time from now until the end of finals week.

1. Finals are weeks away, I’m sure I’ll be ready for them when they come.

Keep Reading...Show less
Christmas tree
Librarian Lavender

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas is one of my personal favorite holidays because of the Christmas traditions my family upholds generation after generation. After talking to a few of my friends at college, I realized that a lot of them don't really have "Christmas traditions" in their family, and I want to help change that. Here's a list of Christmas traditions that my family does, and anyone can incorporate into their family as well!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Phases Of Finals

May the odds be ever in your favor.

2001
Does anybody know how to study
Gurl.com

It’s here; that time of year when college students turn into preschoolers again. We cry for our mothers, eat everything in sight, and whine when we don’t get our way. It’s finals, the dreaded time of the semester when we all realize we should have been paying attention in class instead of literally doing anything else but that. Everyone has to take them, and yes, unfortunately, they are inevitable. But just because they are here and inevitable does not mean they’re peaches and cream and full of rainbows. Surviving them is a must, and the following five phases are a reality for all majors from business to art, nursing to history.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

How To Prepare For The Library: Finals Edition

10 ways to prepare for finals week—beginning with getting to the library.

3255
How To Prepare For The Library: Finals Edition
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

It’s that time of year again when college students live at the library all week, cramming for tests that they should have started studying for last month. Preparing to spend all day at the library takes much consideration and planning. Use these tips to help get you through the week while spending an excessive amount of time in a building that no one wants to be in.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments