The idea that exercise is supposed to be a punishment for eating, or a workout only counts if you’ve burned X amount of calories, is something that has been engrained in many of us from an early age. It’s something that I’ve noticed is still prevalent on social media, with the young generation growing up with the same messaging we had in the 90s/00’s.  It’s also something that I have been guilty of doing for a long time.  I’ve been through the stages of calorie restriction, extreme dieting, punishing myself through exercise, all fuelled by body dysmorphia and the idea that thinness = happiness. I may have been on the way to achieving my goal weight, but I was unhappy, unhealthy and had a turbulent relationship with exercise.  I am here to tell you that exercise freedom is possible. You can learn to enjoy movement again without the overriding guilt that you haven’t ‘worked hard enough’. Think about what brings you joy, what your body responds best to, find activities to do with frie...