Body positivity has been a huge movement in the fitness world, but the latest trend is body neutrality. Body neutrality differs from body shaming and body positivity in that it’s not about comparing your body to others. It’s all about valuing the function of your body over form. So, instead of trying to lose belly fat, it emphasizes building a stronger core.
Taking a body neutral approach to how your body works helps you find the motivation to workout while focusing on performance. When you exercise with the goal to make your body look a certain way, you’re punishing yourself for not looking that way which makes working out painful mentally and physically. If you force yourself to do exercises you don’t like, you’re taking the joy out of working out and you won’t be able to sustain it long term.
One of your goals when working out may be to reach a version of yourself that you were years ago like getting down to your high school weight or fitting into an old pair of jeans. This makes you feel bad about how you currently look, and body neutrality allows you to let go of past versions of yourself that you hold on a pedestal. It’s important to be present in the moment and how you look, instead of trying to be a past or future version of yourself.
