Categories: Fit, Happy, happiness in life, Happy | Posted by: Suzy Shulman
Between teaching classes and seeing private clients, I have plenty of downtime to research the latest and greatest in fitness and what diets are trending and what’s falling out of favor. I spend an inordinate amount of time on social media sites like Facebook and Pinterest (in addition to reading NYT and LAT wellness blog like it’s my job, which I guess it is). These are invaluable sites for me because they give me a greater understanding of what people are looking for in terms of weight loss and fitness.
The problem with a lot of the stuff out there, especially on places like the Health and Fitness board on Pinterest, is that many women believe that the images looking back at them are what they themselves are supposed to look like. Even I have fallen victim to this multiple times. These sites remind me very quickly that my body doesn’t measure up. I am clearly too short, too thick, and far too large to possibly represent what a woman in the fitness industry should look like.
I stare at my computer screen and wonder: if I, who LOVES my body and is PROUD of what it can do, can fall victim to such images, how do women who have lower self esteem deal?
Reading widely has also shown me that most people want to reap huge rewards from spending as little time moving as possible. Recent headlines include things like “Drop 10 LBS by Friday,” and the post was from Wednesday evening. Other favorites include: “How to have a better butt in 3 min, 6 fixes for anything that jiggles, get killer abs by doing nothing at all!” (This was actual headline from a magazine that I will let remain nameless.) It seems to go on and on and on.
I think about my journey into the fitness world, and why I started to work out. It was of a pure desire to change the external (only to learn that I needed to change the internal voice before I could possibly enjoy the external image). I actually believed some of things that I read. More important, I believed that the pictures staring back at me were accurate depictions of what truly fit women’s bodies look, and that I, too, would look like that.
Here’s the cold hard truth: I will never look like them. I will never have long, lean limbs. My strong, thick thighs will gobble up shorts that get in their way, no matter how many inner thigh exercises I do. I will not weigh 120 lbs. The more I exercise, the more muscle I gain. I will not get “skinnier” if I run more.
I don’t want fixes for anything that jiggles. I want exercise moves that turn me on and makes me feel good. I want the internal and external to both be happy. My body will always have curves. I will fluctuate in weight and will still love what I see in the mirror. I will do more than 3 minutes of exercise because I love to move and want to do more than that. I want to think, breathe, and sweat.
What I really want is an accurate depiction of fit women. Long, short, thick, thin, brown, black and white.
What helped me to quiet the voice that is so strongly affected by these images? Im lucky, I have an incredible ego. Seriously, no joke, I have always really liked myself, even when I have been a different size and shape.
My self worth is defined by my inner dialogue. Outward appearance is a by-product of a strong mind and set of deep seeded morals and ideals that I own and make work for me.
If you are having trouble hearing that voice than listen to mine. I will tell you that I love what stands before me. You are a force that takes up space and its awesome.
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