Awesome fitness goals for women

Those words were uttered from a gym member's lips seven years ago, and she hasn't looked back since. She isn't the only one choosing health and fitness goals that don't have a damn thing to do with weight/fat loss, and she is reaping the countless rewards a new path provides.

According to most women's magazines, commercials and products, it's easy to assume losing body fat, fixing flaws, and looking better are the only reasons a woman can have to move her body and eat well.

If a woman is on a cardio machine or even squatting and deadlifting in the gym, it's because she's trying to 'tone up' and fix her flawed features. If a woman eats a healthy meal, it's because she's 'watching her weight'.

It's true though, women have a history of relentlessly striving for weight/fat loss. For years (even decades) that's all they can focus on.

Shrinking down and burning fat is the sole reason they exercise or go on a diet or even strength train. They diet and program-hop searching for the 'holy grail' magic program that will finally deal to their stubborn fat stores and deliver a happier life.

I've done it all too, and thankfully, through the years, I have discovered numerous other (and way better) health and fitness goals women can have instead of losing weight or fat and fixing imperfections.

For example, to:

Feel awesome in our body.

Increase stamina and energy levels.

Increase physical strength.

Increase physical strength even more.

Learn new abilities and skills.

Have pain-free movement.

Improve overall quality of life.

Build and maintain muscle mass.

Increase bone mineral density to ward off osteopenia and osteoporosis.

Maintain independence with the passing years.

Improve balance, co-ordination and stability.

Help relieve anxiety and stress.

Improve mental and emotional health.

Boost performance in other sporting or recreational activities or whatever the hell else we want to do better.

Kick self-imposed limitations to the curb.

Improve sleep quality.

Be able to declare: "I did that. What else can I do?"

Contribute to personal self-care.

Carve out some 'me-time'.

Keep the 'energy dial' on high.

Be more instead of feeling obliged to pursue all things 'less'.

Do something, simply for the hell of it, because we can.

Invest in immediate and long-term health.

Reveal to ourselves how strong we truly are.

Achieve cool goals like deadlifting twice our bodyweight or busting out our first unassisted chin-up, or anything else we deem important.

Be a good role model for our children and others.

Maintain our sanity (they don't call strength training sessions 'barbell therapy' for nothing).

Do something because it's important to us, makes us happy, and to heck with what anyone else thinks.

Discover our unique strengths and abilities, and to further expand them.

Make health and fitness something we get to do instead of something we have to do.

Build health, energy and a body that serves us, to be able to do things that bring happiness, joy and fulfilment.

If you've had enough of constantly chasing weight/fat loss or using the scale as the sole indicator of your success, try tackling some of the goals shared above.

Harness the power that gets unleashed when you say: "Screw fat loss, I'm going to get strong." You will be amazed, as so many women have been at what happens to your body and mind when you change your approach to health, fitness and nutrition.