--- description: Exercise improved people’s feelings about their body even if they didn’t lose weight or achieve noticeable improvements title: How to Feel Better About Your Body, Backed by Research image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ba8e5a49dc5fb2a/698861d8e20a8789a0a8d076/woman-running.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Psychology](/tag/psychology/) ## Psychology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How to Feel Better About Your Body, Backed by Research by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 2, 2015 4:01 AM CUT  Young jogger running Young jogger runningGetty Images by [Eric Barker](/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 2, 2015 4:01 AM CUT Exercise. I know what you’re thinking: _I knew that answer._ Here’s the interesting part: exercise improved people’s feelings about their body _even if they didn’t lose weight or achieve noticeable improvements_. They just felt better about it: --- > “” --- For more on how to get in shape using psychology, click [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/11/how-to-get-in-shape/ "undefined"). **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/03/how-can-you-feel-better-about-your-body/ "undefined")**_._** **Join over 205,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD "undefined")**.** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/ "undefined") [How To Get People To Like You: 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/how-to-get-people-to-like-you/ "undefined") [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4018735/body-image-feel-better/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4018735/body-image-feel-better/"},"headline":"How to Feel Better About Your Body, Backed by Research","datePublished":"2015-09-02T04:01:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:42:41.297Z","description":"Exercise improved people’s feelings about their body even if they didn’t lose weight or achieve noticeable improvements","url":"https://time.com/4018735/body-image-feel-better/","keywords":["Psychology","Body Image","health"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ba8e5a49dc5fb2a/698861d8e20a8789a0a8d076/woman-running.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7ba8e5a49dc5fb2a/698861d8e20a8789a0a8d076/woman-running.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"woman-running","caption":"woman-running","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4018735/body-image-feel-better/","name":"How to Feel Better About Your Body, Backed by Research"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Ultras: Alison Teal","description":"Meet The Female Indiana Jones.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ExXw3Q1i/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-04-06T19:21:34.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ExXw3Q1i.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4018735/body-image-feel-better/","duration":"PT2M43S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4018735/body-image-feel-better/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```