Personal trainers share how a weight-neutral approach to fitness can improve your health and help you enjoy exercising more.
arah Cottrell’s relationship with movement—and her body—has long been complicated. In high school, she battled an undiagnosed eating disorder that stirred up toxic exercise practices. She recalls feeling like she was “bad” if she didn’t work out a certain way, and she engaged in cyclic dieting in an attempt to fit the societal idea of an “acceptable” body.
Puzanovova is one of a growing number of personal trainers coaching their clients through a weight-neutral lens, an antidote to theamong exercise professionals. It’s an approach that prioritizes holistic well-being while shunning the scale, helping to promote a sustainable relationship with exercise—a reward Cottrell has experienced herself.
But in American adults who have overweight and obesity, the annual probability of attaining weight loss of 5 percent or more is just one in 10, according to a sweeping 2023 analysis inEnter: a weight-neutral, non-diet approach to fitness coaching. The exact details vary from trainer to trainer, but the method is always rooted in the same idea: Weight is not the only indicator of health, nor a useful one at that.
Instead, it emphasizes that all bodies can and should be in motion—and that there isn’t one “right” way to move, says“It shouldn't be such an adversarial or punitive relationship with movement,” she says. “I think to get more people to move, we need to shift as an industry from that frame of, ‘No pain, no gain. You need to have these 1,000 calories burned in a workout.’ As a trainer, I just meet people where they are.
“If we could go back in time and just erase messaging around weight in either direction and do a whole societal lobotomy—make it like we've only ever really cared about health, sustaining your life as long as possible, and living the life you want to live—I think we'd have a lot more active people and people who are active in a way that is joyful for them,” DiLossi says. “I think we'd have a lot less people who use exercise as a punishment.
But when the “why” behind exercise is centered on enhancing and maintaining overall well-being, folks are more likely to stick with it; there’s no arbitrary number on the scale to achieve, so movement remains a key pillar of one’s lifestyle over time, DiLossi explains., 80 women with “high body mass index” participated in a health promotion program that was either weight-neutral or weight loss-focused.
“When I talk about movement, I always say it's not about making your body smaller; it's about making your life bigger and expanding your capacity to engage in life's big and little adventures,” Puzanovova says. “...It's a way to care for ourselves in the here and now and in the future.”Well+Good articles reference scientific, reliable, recent, robust studies to back up the information we share. You can trust us along your wellness journey.
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