I hate when people view me exercising as some sort of unhealthy, desperate attempt to look like a thin supermodel because I must hate my body! When in fact, the opposite is true. I work out because I love my body, and working out is one of the best ways to stay healthy~ physically and mentally. If you’re a woman trying to work out, you’ve probably heard at least one of the phrases below:
“You don’t need to work out,you look fine!”
“You don’t need to work out, real women have curves!”
“You’re so skinny, why would you work out?”
“You’re not THAT big.”
“You’re so big, why you gonna start working out now?”
“You look good with meat on your bones. Why you wanna look skinny?”
I’ve found that it often gets ignored that working out helps reduce anxiety, keeps depression at bay, and helps you live a longer,healthier life. Whether or not your aim is to lose weight, exercise has many benefits, but people are still going to comment on whether or not you“should” be working out.
Scenario1: You’re already thin.
I’ve fallen into this category before, although I’m not so thin anymore. People will see a thin woman working out and wonder “Why is she working out? She’s already skinny! She must have an eating disorder”.
Nevermind that she could be trying to tone her muscles, get a stronger heart, or be stronger in general. When I was thin I was often met with the idea that because I was already thin, working out would “make me so thin I would disappear”, or that I just didn’t need to work out.
The aim is not always to lose weight. So what’s the answer to “You don’t need to exercise, you’re already thin!”
The answer is: I exercise because exercise is a healthy habit.
Scenario 2: You’re seen as insecure.
Perhaps you’re not-so-thin, but you still like to do your work out. You might be met with a sigh and a pitiful “You look gooood, why you working out? You look fiiiiine… Do you not like how you look?” Right now, I fall into this category. Not thin, not big, just wanting to work out for my general health and well-being. It can be perceived as low-self esteem, and it has.
When in reality (like I said above) I love my body, and that’s why I want to take care of it.
So if you’re not thin and you’re not big, and people are wondering why you’re concerned with working out,what’s the answer to their silly questions?
The answer is: I exercise because exercise is a healthy habit.
Scenario 3: You got CURVES/meat on your bones.
Chubby is cute. It even sounds cute. It sounds like you’re bubbly and carefree and you do what you want with your body. Bigger girls have “meat on their bones” and are met with the ever-circulating-on-Facebook comment of “REAL women have curves”. I think the women with this body type are met with comments like “Girl, you look good. You got curves. You don’t need to workout” (there’s that phrase again). People might think you’re insecure, trying desperately to lose the extra pounds, or that you’re afraid you’re going to get heavier. When in actuality, I’ve seen bigger girls get on a treadmill and do 20 minutes of running, when I can barely do 5. You can be big, and you can be healthy, and you can be working out for your health. Losing the weight is not always the aim, and if you’re chubby and working out to get toned, get healthier, or to keep your current weight, then work out! And if you are doing it to lose weight, then kudos to you! Work out!
When people are wondering why you’re exercising, since your curves are just fine, what’s the answer to their wondering?
The answer is: I exercise because exercise is a healthy habit.
Do you see a pattern here? 
It doesn’t matter what you look like, your age, or your personal reasons for working out. I know I’m sick of being asked WHY I’m trying to work out because of my body type, or being told I don’t “need” to. When in reality, we could all be doing some exercise for our health, because exercise is a healthy habit.
Woo hoo! 
