The Link Between Fitness & Self Esteem

Self esteem can often be attributed to how a person feels about their body and their looks. It often has a great deal of influence on how they see the world. Working out and getting in shape can have a big impact on your self esteem. It releases feel good chemicals in the brain that helps you feel better and more invigorated. 

These chemicals are also effective even if you haven't lose much weight yet. Using exercise to release these natural brain chemicals also gives your self esteem a nice boost too. You also get the satisfaction of knowing that you're working towards something that will make you feel better over time.

How does fitness and exercise relate to self esteem?

It can be a vicious cycle and one that's hard to break. People with low self esteem generally don't want to work out. They rarely ever feel like working out and often have a negative outlook on anything that requires them to get up and do something. To break this cycle you need to start getting in some daily exercise. It's almost a Catch-22; you need to exercise so you'll feel better and have a better outlook, if you had a better outlook you'd feel more like working out.

If you've suffered from low self esteem for awhile, it can take awhile to start rebuilding yourself. Starting an exercise program is one of the best ways you can do this. It's not a quick fix and it's not a magic bullet, but once you start doing it and your brain is more efficient at releasing those feel good chemicals, you will start to notice a difference. You'll even start to crave the new feelings that exercise can give you.

The best thing to do is find a way to break the cycle and start working out. Over time it will become easier, you'll feel better and your self esteem will increase as well.

Does starting a fitness program help build self esteem?

You should find that you're happier and feel better about yourself even before the weight starts coming off. Yes, looking better will boost your self esteem later on, but in the beginning, feeling better about yourself will keep you going until you start noticing changes in how your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror. A fitness program can definitely help you work towards building your self esteem.

How to start a fitness program when your self esteem is low

Yes, this can be difficult. As I mentioned earlier it can seem like a Catch-22. You need to start with small goals in mind. If three minutes is all you can make yourself get up and do, then it's a start. Do it. Keep telling yourself that you will make progress and it will work to make you feel better physically and emotionally.

Don't expect a miracle too soon. It will take time. If you can do three minutes a day for a week or two, you can start adding one or two minute increments each week or every other week. Before long, your endurance will increase and you'll start to look forward to your daily workout. Just remember, don't make it so grueling that you dread it. Start small and work your way up to longer workout times.

A few minutes each day is enough time to get those brain chemicals awake. It may take a few weeks to really start feeling their effects, but you need to realize that they've become inefficient from non-use. They need time to adjust and work properly too.

How building your self esteem through fitness helps your self esteem in other areas of your life

Once you start exercising and feeling better about yourself and your body, this can bleed over into other areas of your life. Self esteem in one area often leads to self esteem in other areas. Getting your brain chemistry right has a lot to do with how you feel about the work you do, how much effort you put into a job and how many challenges you're willing to take on. It also has a lot to do with how much you want to do.

Starting an exercise program and building your self esteem can leave you with a willingness to keep the house cleaner, get out and socialize more, start new hobbies.

Learning to feel good about who you are is a journey that takes time, patience, self-awareness and an ability to forgive yourself. As difficult as that may be, the rewards of self-confidence, improved relationships, a more positive self-image makes it worth striving for. 

Getting in shape and daily exercise can lead to building your self esteem. It starts small, you'll start to feel better. The chemicals the brain starts to release will help fight off mild depression and give you a better sense of accomplishment and a more positive mood.