Actually, there have been times in both our lives when we really struggled with our relationship with exercise.

So much of fitness culture is based on the idea that you’re inadequate as you are right now, and we both lived feeling “less than” for a looooong time. Anything less than “perfect” meant we still hadn’t arrived.

After all, you can only be told so many times that you’re “not good enough” and still a “work in progress” until, eventually, you believe it and really start hating the process. If you’ve been struggling to get motivated to exercise, let us just suggest that you are not the problem.

?‍♀️ Hating your body is NOT actually inspiring.

And if you thought giving up on dieting and trying body acceptance would crush your motivation? Well, it hasn’t for us or the hundreds of mamas in our Member Community and online programs.

It’s a sad misconception that accepting your body is the same as “giving up” on your health.

When we started accepting our bodies, some massive shifts happened in the way we see movement, workouts and the ways they fit into our lives.

Exercise hasn’t felt the same since.

✨ It’s felt BETTER.

If you’re ready to delete MFP for the last time but don’t want to give up on feeling energetic and inspired to move your body, you’re in the right place.

3 Ways Body Acceptance Actually Improves Workout Motivation

Here are three amazing mindset breakthroughs we could only accomplish once we stopped obsessing about the way our bodies looked.

You’re more okay with being a beginner. 

Coming back to movement and exercise after your body has changed can feel frustrating. But nothing kills your vibe more than constantly comparing yourself to where you used to be or those around you.

Accepting your body’s current state and limitations allow you to choose movement that feels good for you RIGHT NOW and actually excites you. So before you try running 10k like you did once upon a time and end up feeling defeated, how about starting slow and gradually working your way up? You’ll feel more successful and actually feel motivated and inspired to stick with it. 

You know where you are, so you can move forward.

The biggest mind shift for both of us was seeing movement and exercise as more about function than aesthetic. Acknowledging and accepting where your body is now, allows you to make movement options that actually help your body FEEL better.

But you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you are. Acknowledging what your body can and cannot do at this time, helps you make informed decisions about what kind of movement is best for you at this time. If you love getting a sweat on but your pelvic floor isn’t quite ready for high impact, you can choose low impact options without slipping into a place of self judgement.

You learn to listen and trust your body.

Being able to hear your body’s cues around what kind of movement your body is craving is a real challenge if we’re constantly listening to what the fitness industry is telling us we should care about. It can be pretty hard to be motivated to move your body when it doesn’t feel good. Or it’s boring. Or hurts.

Your body is constantly sending you messages (hello again cranky knees) but when we’re so focused on what we should do and care about, we can’t hear our own body’s needs and desires. It’s super motivating to know that you can actually use movement as a way to support your body’s wants and knees. So instead of being focused on burning calories on the treadmill you might do some mobility work for your sore, stiff joints or do a quick hit of cardio that helps you feel energized!

Grab a cup of coffee and check out the Instagram Live below, where we share a bit more about our body acceptance journeys and what movement practices we left behind and what we added in when we finally embraced our bodies. ?

How Accepting Our Bodies Helped Us Love Exercise Again