Working Out vs Accepting your body as it is
 

Can be tricky..

If you're a big fat slob and do nothing to improve your physique, that should mean you like yourself just as you are and feel comfortable in your body and probably have high self-esteem and confidence.

If you work out regularly to bulk up or get cut, that should mean you don't like yourself as you are constantly trying to change your image, and probably have low self-esteem and suffer from depression.

None of this is necessarily true of course, because if it was, all bodybuilders would spend all day in bed depressed and feeling sorry for themselves, but the truth is they ooze energy and confidence.

Does what I just said make any sense? :Oh crap

You work out to feel good, look good and be healthy! :)

You mean feel physically good or feel good about yourself? If you don't work out but 'feel good' there should ne no need to change anything.

How about just keeping your body in shape ???
If you take steroids to get there, you got mental problems. But if you just like taking care of yourself, nothing wrong with that. (And I don't mean spending 2 hours a day in front of the mirror)

bullshit. i work out, but only llike 20 mins of cardio/10 mins of strength training a day lol i do it cuz i dont wanna be a fat slop but im not aiming towards getting in shape like Britney Spears was back in the day, eoither.

There's a difference between 'keeping in shape' to maintain your figure and wanting to get rid of your gut and get a 6pack. Can that still be considered 'taking care of yourself'?

You can be happy with yourself and still want to improve or touch up.
Im a skinny ass guy, the largest I was at 187 & that was working out everyday and on amino & creatine (was 187 after the creatine water loss phase) but I am still happy with myself.. I do it for me because I just feel better doing it. Personally I think I do look better with more weight but Im still happy with myself now.. & I lose ALLOT of weight with moving back & forth recently etc.. Im down to about 155. So Im looking to "bulkup" again.. but if I dont.. so be it & if people dont like my skinny ass..too bad, cuz its kinda cute so their loss ;p

Are you serious? Someone is a big fat slob, because they are too lazy to work out...

if you don't use your muscles, they will fade away. you workout to counter that, so you can get around without canes, wheelchairs and run-a-bouts

This is not necessarily true. You can be fat and have no self esteem and you can be thin an have no self esteem. It is, in fact, easier to have high self esteem if you are thin and healthy, because you just feel better being yourself.

It is a common problem.

Should I improve myself or accept myself as I am.

The problem with this sort of thinking is that it's a false distinction. This is not an either-or thing, yet you look at it like it was.

The problem appears once you identify yourself with your looks, if you think: My sense of worth is determined by my outer appearance.

Then, of course, if you're thin you're better than everyone else and if you're fat, you're a worthless piece of shit.

But if you take your indentity and sense of self out of the equation, it doesn't really matter to your sense of worth whether you are fat or not. You're alright, fat or not. I guess that's the state you ascribed to the fat person. But that's not the case. There are tons of people who are fat and hate themselves for it and think they are inferior to others as a person.

The same identification problem is also possible with money, social status, your car, etc.

If your sense of worth isn't at danger if you're fat, you can change yourself rather easily, because you don't consider this a life-and-death all-or-nothing matter but just as the part of life that it is. This makes you more objective regarding the whole issue because your life is not at stake.

Now you can decide objectively and you see that being fit and healthy has lots of benefits and you can both accept yourself and work towards improving health and fitness. These two things don't have anything to do with one another. :2 cents: