Why Do You Work Out? Is It Hate Or Love?

Linette Teerlink • April 7, 2025

Do you hate your body or do you love your body?

This is something that not many people think about, but is arguably the most important determining factor to getting in shape. And not only getting in shape, but being happy once you are.

You see, most people begin working out because they don't like what they see when they look in the mirror. Or maybe they stepped on the scale and weighed more than they ever have in their life.

So they get motivated to make a change.

They tell themselves, "This is the summer I'm going to wear that bathing suit that's been sitting in my closet for years." or "I can't stand this, I told myself I'd never get above 170lb's, I need to get back down to 150lb's."

And if you are just beginning your fitness journey, this is totally normal and 100% okay. But this line of thinking will only get you so far.

If you maintain this hate based mindset on your fitness journey, you will never be enough. Once you hit 150, you will still not be happy with how you look. You will want to hit 140. Or maybe you are sitting at 150 but now you hate the way your arms look so now you want to change that. And maybe you weigh what you want and your arms look perfect, but still you compare yourself to Beyonce and wish you looked like she did. It's never enough.

It's like the person who values money more than anything. Typically this type of individual wants more money because they hate not keeping up with the Jones’s. Or maybe they want to prove their "doubters" wrong, so to "show them" they strive to become rich. And in doing so they fail to realize, both of these things are hateful motivations. 

Keeping up with the Jones's is only important if you hate yourself and do not see your own value. Similarly it is not important to prove yourself to anyone unless you have negative emotions toward yourself and do not think you are adequate. This person allows money to motivate them, and because of this they will never have enough and never be satisfied.

So at a certain point, the transition needs to be made to getting fit because you love yourself.

Because when you love something what do you do? You take care of it.

If you love your body you want to nourish it with real food because that is what's best for it. You want to move and sweat regularly because that is what's going to give yourself the best quality of life possible.

Making this transition isn't easy and it takes time and patience. To be honest it is completely mental.

The most straightforward way to begin making this transition is to bring awareness to your thoughts. Do not judge yourself when you get on the scale. When you find yourself critiquing your arms, stop yourself and begin telling yourself how much you love your arms instead. 

This helps reinforce gratitude which is in the same vein as love. And before you know it, instead of telling yourself you hate your arms you are telling yourself you love your arms because they do so much for you on a daily basis and because they do so much for you, you want to take care of them. You may also realize how grateful you are to have them as you realize that some people don't. And because you've been blessed with working arms, you make the most of having them. 

You begin working out and taking care of yourself with a loving mentality as opposed to a hateful one.

So next time you find yourself being judgmental of how you look or what you weigh, stop those thoughts, and instead tell yourself out loud that you love yourself and are grateful for yourself.

It may feel awkward at first, but I promise you it is the most important thing you can do to make your fitness journey effective, sustainable, and enjoyable.


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