False Positives

I think in our society of memes and catchphrases, it's really easy to make excuses. It's really easy to hide behind motivational sayings and just live a stagnant life. It's also really easy to be more concerned with complaining than finding a solution to our problems.  The mindset that most quickly becomes a slippery slope (and believe me, I've been there) is the one that says: "My body is beautiful just the way it is." If it ended there, it would be wonderful. You've learned to love yourself and that is something we should all do. But it usually goes past that point into something unhealthy.

For some, it turns into bashing thinner people and basically treating their size like a disease. Not cool. If bigger women can be proud of their bodies, why can't smaller women? Don't be one of those. Maybe you're not insecure and jealous--but these kind of sayings make you look that way.

For others, it's using buzzwords like "curvy" or "thick." They start thinking, 'I don't need to lose weight. I'm curvy. Marilyn Monroe was curvy. [insert celebrity here] is curvy and she's hot." I'm not hating on curvy girls. I've always been one of them. But...

If you're eating healthy (and not over/undereating), exercising regularly, and your BMI is in check, but you're still hippy or chesty or have got some junk in the truck; more power to you! That's what I'm talking about. That's curvy. I was still that way when I was at a healthy weight. You know what's not curvy? When your doctor is telling you you're overweight, when you've got excess visceral fat (clinging to stomach), when you're eating like crap, when you're drinking like a fish, and when your version of exercise is walking from one bar to another. I'm getting back to curvy, but guess what I wasn't when I started this? Curvy. I was LUMPY. But it wasn't about looks. It was about the fact that I was always tired. I wasn't getting proper nutrition. I couldn't walk up stairs without huffing and puffing. And my BMI was in the overweight range.

It's all well and good to blow off society and their standards of beauty. The media is full of crap and what they want is unrealistic! But too many of us hide behind that and keep horrible habits. Your body needs exercise and proper nutrition. If you truly don't care about the looks aspect, that's fine! But if you keep doing what you're doing, one day the price will have to be paid. Maybe you'll age prematurely. Maybe you'll develop adult-onset diabetes. Maybe you'll have a heart attack. Maybe you'll dramatically increase your risk of cancer. Is it worth it? Will you still think it's worth it in 20 years?

I can't tell you how many women I see posting a status one day about starting a workout regime and how they're determined to lose weight...and then the next day posting something that's a cop-out like "Bones are for dogs" (again with the thin girl hate). All right, fellow chubster! I'll play your game. Meat and rolls belong on a dinner table, not a person, and muscles are for CHAMPIONS. It's unbelievably common to have falsely positive attitudes in public and then despise ourselves behind the scenes. It isn't healthy and using these cutesy little catchphrases isn't going to change the truth that you're not happy and your body isn't, either!

Staying on track is hard. Fitness for me is a back and forth thing. Kill it, kill it, kill it for three weeks and then I fall down for a week and barely muster a workout. I know it's so painful when you've got such a long way to go. But it's much worse knowing how far you are from healthy and not doing anything about it.