Casey Johnston’s journey through dieting and running shifted dramatically after discovering weightlifting, reshaping her relationship with her body. Once obsessed with not being fat, she found inspiration in a Reddit community that valued strength over appearance. In her book, "A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting," Johnston explores how strength training not only empowered her physically but also emotionally, aiding her recovery from an abusive relationship and disordered eating. Her transformation embodies the shift from a punishing view of exercise to one that embraces joy in movement and self-acceptance.
"I don't lift to be hot. I lift to be strong," Johnston recalls one devoted powerlifter posting online.
Johnston writes movingly of how learning to lift weights helped her build emotional strength after leaving an abusive relationship and a toxic job.
She discovered, she writes, that 'my body could feel good to be in, powerful even. My body could do things.'
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