I don’t know about you, but it seems that everyday there is a new post or article that conflicts with what I just learned the day before. For example, you open social media and you see a bunch of posts about health at every size, intuitive eating, lifting heavy, anti-running/cardio. Scroll a little farther and you’ll see the exact opposite message: you must count macros, barre workouts, how to lose 10 lbs, HIIT workouts, and more. Besides being completely overwhelming and exhausting, all this mixed information is confusing!

What would happen if opposing sides of the fitness and wellness industry stopped arguing with each other about which workout or “diet” is better and instead met each individual with where they are at today. We are all unique, with different interests, personalities, past experiences, genetics etc. Instead of smothering our clients, friends, family etc. with guilt over their chosen method of movement or lifestyle, what if we offered compassion, empathy, understanding, and support for where they are at right now. Wouldn’t that make for a far more successful fitness and wellness industry?

At the end of the day, if you enjoy your workout and lifestyle AND (this is super important) it makes your body feel good, then DO IT! I have heard countless times, I should be running but I HATE running. Well then why are you trying to run? Unless your sport or job depends on running (ie. track athlete etc.) then you absolutely do not have to run. I would encourage to look better into the “why” you feel the need to run if you hate it and find a different approach that would be more enjoyable for you. To keep it simple, if you don’t enjoy it, your not going to keep doing it. For food or diet choices there is no one size fits all approach. It is important to recognize that different styles of eating will work better for some and worse for others. Does the idea of counting calories and macros make you feel overwhelmed and stress? Then this might not be the best choice for you. Do you enjoy adding structure to your routine and can you look at numbers objectively without self criticism, guilt, or shame? Do you have an understanding of basic nutrition and are looking to optimize your athletic performance? Then maybe macro might be a good choice for you. It’s important to note that you may need to reevaluate if your lifestyle/workout is the truly the best choice for you if your unhappy with your results, consistently getting injured, have low energy, poor sleep, difficulty balancing your nutrition etc.

It’s important to recognize that we can all benefit and learn from both sides. For example, the health at every size movement recognizes that there is so much more to health and wellness then just the number on the scale or your physical appearance. It takes into account sociocultural factors, personal preferences, mental health, accessibility, internal health (think blood work, feminine health, bone density etc.) and so much more. On the other hand, the Marco-counting/Diet/Weight-Loss culture recognizes education and could provide tools to help individuals understand the food their eating and make a physical change if this desired.

Whatever method you choose, it is important that you understand WHY you have chosen it. Does your chosen method support the goal, do you enjoy it, does it makes your body feel good both during and after? These are all questions that we should be asking ourselves. If your answer is no, to any of these then I would dig deeper into your "why” and consider finding a solution that would work better for you.

At the end of the day I think we can all agree that we want to support long-lasting sustainable change that is both encouraging and motivating to each unique individual. If we are all unique, then wouldn’t it make sense that there are multiple approaches to achieving the same goal? The goal of creating long-term success in habits, lifestyle, health, and wellness. What would the fitness industry look like if we stopped criticizing every idea that doesn’t resonate with ourselves and instead offered compassion, support, and understanding to our clients, friends, and family to create a world that was filled with healthier, happier, humans? So the next time you hear about an individuals approach to wellness, recognize that it might be the correct choice for them, offer your support, compassion and understanding, and at the end of the day, make choices that feel correct for yourself and your goals.

Finding a workout or program that you enjoy and brings you success can feel overwhelming. If you would like help with your workouts contact me here.