realistic inspiration

First things first, an update on my progress: I’ve finished 2 weeks of my 18-week training plan. Every two weeks, the walk/jog workout increases in intensity. The last workout of the first two weeks felt really great—I eased right through it and didn’t feel too fatigued at all, so I think the plan is just the right pace. We’ll see when I start the next intensity next week. Honestly I’m a little nervous that it’s going to be too hard, but I have to remind myself that on Day 1 that’s how I felt, and two weeks later that same workout was easy for me! One day at a time!

Now I want to talk about expectations.

The other day I went to Pinterest to find some inspiring quotes and images to help keep me motivated as I go through this 18-week process. I searched for “fitness inspiration.” Here are a couple of the many not inspiring images that came up:

 <— Girl 1.

Problems: This girl is a model—therefore she is undoubtedly airbrushed. (Trust me on this—I’ve done many a paper on the subject of the portrayal of women in media. Those legs have been painted!) Also, most of us will never be that skinny. Her frame is just small. Also, her legs look stronger than they really are because she’s standing on her tiptoes.

 

<—Girl 2.

Problems: Again, genetics play a big part here. I could never look like this as my ribcage is much larger than this lady’s. Also airbrushed. This woman is a celebrity—it is her job to look her best. Do you have a full time job? Is it to work out all day? Do you have a personal chef and a personal trainer and spend your entire day working on how you look? No? Then you cannot look like this woman.

 

There are so, so many images like this floating around as “inspiration,” on Pinterest and other places. I’m not really sure why we women (sorry, guys!) feel like we have to look like these people to be fit! It’s ridiculous, but even more so, it’s sad. We have to have realistic expectations about ourselves and about the potential of our own bodies.

I don’t mean to make this sound like, no matter what level of health you’re at right now, you’re not capable of being fit—every body has the potential to be lean and strong. But your “fit” will look different than my “fit,” and most of our “fits” will never look like the ones in the above images.

While you may not be an airbrushed model who works out eight hours a day, you are beautiful. You have the ability to be healthy and feel better.

And if you need some motivation, maybe these images will work a little better:

Now get out there and find out what your body can do! :)

realism & optimism

It is good to have ambitions about your body. It is good to want to build muscle and be stronger. It is good to want to tone up and lose some fat. It is good to want to eat healthy and feel better. Honestly, it’s good to want to make the body you’re given as fit as it can be. What is not good is having unrealistic expectations about yourself.

There are some things you can’t change about your body. For instance, I will never be pencil-thin. I carry my weight in my hips and even if I only weighed 100 pounds (which would look sickening, by the way), I would still be shaped like a pear. I have a prominent nose and it’s not going anywhere. Some men are naturally thin. Some women have thicker legs than others. Some people have knobbly knees and bony shoulders.

Some people look at others (particularly celebrities) and yearn to look just like them. But you know, I will never look like Keira Knightley. Nor will I ever have a bust as big as Kim Kardashian’s. But I can eat better, exercise more, look better, and feel better because of the choices that I make about myself. I can hone the body I have into its most beautiful state without being worried about comparing it to someone else’s.

It’s okay to want to improve—it’s not okay to want to be someone you not only aren’t, but can’t be.

Be the best you possible.

image by klaireebearr on Flickr

this is me

This is me. I chose this picture very specifically for this post. I’m not wearing make-up, my hair isn’t done, I’m not really posing for the camera trying to look my best, and, most importantly, this is a profile picture, and I much prefer a straight-on shot of me than a profile pic. We’ll get into why in another post, but I wanted to go ahead and post a picture of myself that isn’t my best picture, if nothing else to show you that I mean to be transparent here. I want anyone who reads this to understand that you aren’t the only person who feels the way you do about your body. It’s very important that all of us get it—it is normal to have these struggles and feelings of inadequacy. But what isn’t normal is letting those struggles and feelings run your life. See that it might not be the best photo of you and move on. A photo only shows people your visual aspects, and those aren’t the most important, despite what our world might be telling us.

I also wanted to post a photo of myself to show you that it isn’t just certain types of people who feel insecure. I’m a relatively average girl. I am overweight but not by too much (according to health standards, mind you!). I have relatively clear skin, small ears, a nose that curves out, uneven toes, unruly hair, dark under-eye circles, and very peely finger nails. Why is all this important? Because I have to live in this skin, with these bones. This is me, and I have to improve myself as much as I can to live healthily and happily, but I have to accept the things I can’t change.

And so do you.

the antivanity 101

“Seeking health & happiness in a world demanding flawlessness.” 

I have always felt very passionate about the issues of self-esteem, media, body image, societal expectations, and health vs. superficial beauty. This is probably because I struggle with all of these myself. Please don’t anticipate that I have it all figured out. I struggle particularly with confidence among other things. But we all do. All of us have felt like we’re too tall or too short or our boobs are too big or too small or our feet look funny or we have weird knees.

Here on The Antivanity I’m going to write about my own struggles with self-esteem and body image, about how to try to combat those negative feelings we have about ourselves, and especially about prioritizing health over looks (something I notice almost 100% of women grappling with in my daily life). I’m no expert, but I’m right in the thick of it…

just like you.