I found this article today and thought it was worthy of a share.
This article is not about your average transformation pictures of fitness. I like to say that a fit lifestyle, I am constantly working out, at practice, or hiking. But on the other hand, I really really enjoy ice cream and M&M’s. Let’s be honest, I work out so I can eat damn good food. However active I may claim to be, I’m not anywhere near as “fit” as some of the people I follow on instagram (Kayla Itsines, for example). Some girls I follow have perfectly sculpted bodies, and I am over here curled in bed with a Twix bar.
Don’t get me wrong, I am comfortable in my body. But sometimes looking at some of these fitness models, it can be quite discouraging. Some days, I will be scrolling through Instagram and see one of those pages and instantly get out of bed and go to the gym. I know I am not over weight, but I will catch myself comparing my body to their bodies. I can go from looking in the mirror one morning and saying hey, wow my abs are looking good, that core work is finally paying off or those squats are making my legs look tone!!! to that night seeing a fitspo picture on Instagram and realizing wow, my abs really aren’t that good, look at hers. I need to be like that… It’s kind of sad and pathetic really. That is one thing I despise about our culture now a days, everyone always compares. The grass is always greener somewhere else. But the grass is green where you water it.
ANYWAYS, I saw greatness in this article. I saw light because they showed transformations of themselves. How they pose, flex and stand for an Instagram shot vs. how their body looks relaxed. It almost makes them seem a little more human and shows other girls that their bodies are in fact, not robotic. Some of the girls shown in the article show how they stand, how they were their clothes and even the lighting in their pictures to make them achieve the perfect body. I look at some pages and I get all amped to go to the gym and be that fit, and then I think okay, realistically I don’t think my body would even let me be that skinny. Thanks genetics!!! I will even look at some other pages and wish that I had a hip/waist ratio like them (Nicole Meija is goals in case you were wondering). And how come no matter how many crunches I do and how many miles I run, I still have a pouch that hangs out over my pants?!? I remember looking at some of these pages seeing these girls and wondering if they even have rolls when they sit down… That’s very natural in 99% of the populations opinion, no matter how perfect your body is!
Here are some examples in case you’re too lazy to read the full article:
All in all, I’ve said it in previous posts, but we need to stop comparing. We all have different body types. Stop analyzing. Having goals is great, especially in a fitness mindset. But there is no need to feel disgusted of yourself when looking at some other girl’s fitness progress. But after reading this article, my eyes were opened and I realized that instagram shows the best side of these women. I also came to the realization that even their worst side is beautiful, as is every other woman’s. This article was such a great read and I highly recommend taking the time to read it because it was a great pick me up for my body image. And let’s be real, no matter how comfortable you are in your skin, its always nice hearing that your fitness journey is going just fine even though you have a food baby every now and then and you have rolls when you sit on the couch eating your twix bar. 🙂
-Han
the hannah holly 