"We must claim our bodies as our own to love and honour in their infinite shapes and sizes. Fat, thin, soft, hard, puckered, smooth, our bodies are our homes." - Abra Fortune Chernik (20/21 Century Essayist)
I just rolled in from the gym.
I don't know about any of you, but I have to FORCE myself to go to the gym. IT'S WORK! And the remuneration is quite often intangible. My heart is supposed to work better, my immune system stronger, my butt is supposed to get tighter. But unless you are a die-hard gym-rat that eats 5:1 vegtables and protein only, five meals a day... then chances are you still look like you, working your buns off at the gym... only you've got deadly shoulders and decent stamina on the eliptical. YOU GO GIRL!
I don't really love the gym either. All that recycled air. And excess CO2. Germs. I never touch anything until I wash with soap after handling all that weight equipment. I much prefer the fresh air outdoors. But, never fail, come October it's me and 17 other women over the age of 35 vying for use of the treadmill and the weight equipment. All of us look pretty much the same. Softer in the centre, dimply in the rear, rosy in the cheeks and wet under the armpits.
I can't help but compare myself against everyone else while I am there. Not in a negative "ooh see I am better/faster/stronger/thinner than her' way... but in a reassuring myself way. "ooh look, her thighs look like mine. See I AM normal."
"We have to have faith in ourselves. I have never met a woman who, deep down in her core, really believes she has great legs. And if she suspects that she might have great legs, then she's convinced that she has a shrill voice and no neck." - Cynthia Heimel - (20/21 Century Writer)
I am not at the gym to try to acheive the unattainable.
(What is the unattainable? THAT I WILL EVER LOOK LIKE ANYONE OTHER THAN ME.)
No matter how hard I try - I will never have legs like the women in pantyhose or razor ads. I will never have breasts that stand up and sing in a tight tee-shirt with no bra. I will never own abs that are six pack, bounce a quarter on them, 9% body fat abs. WHY? One, because I have no energy, time or desire to work that hard and eat that clean. And two, because I, genetically, am built just as I am. When I look at my mother and my grandmother, I see myself there. I see where my body is destined to be. I see similarities in facial features and skin tone. Cellulite and body tone. AND I AM OKAY WITH THAT.
So why then the gym? Mental health, emotional health, physical health. Because I feel better. Because I am trying to be pro-active. Because I need to move my body. Because I CAN move my body. Because I want to be able to move my body in 40 years.
"God made a very obvious choice when he made me voluptuous; why would I go against what he decided for me? My limbs work, so I am not going to complain about the way my body is shaped." - Drew Barrymore (Actor and Producer)
I saw an ad the other day for a new weight loss product on the market. Another one. This diet pill and magic weight loss fits world we live in is what makes a consistent exercise and weight loss regimen so difficult for women. We are continually told that improving our bodies should be easy and fast. We are always looking for an easy fix. Diets. Pre-cooked, measured and weighed food in microvable boxes.
It's all a big fat lie. YOU ARE BEING LIED TO.
There is nothing easy or fast about being committed to improving your body, losing weight or managing your health through eating better and routine exercise.
Women are yet to believe that it is a lifestyle choice. Exercise is for our own good as opposed to being simply about the way we look. It should be about treating your body well as a gift to yourself. Instead we beat the crap out of ourselves for not looking like 14 year old models in magazines or 20 year old singers and actresses on the television.
Until we get it into our heads that we are not our wrinkles, dimples, stretch marks and 'flaws' we'll continue to be sold on promises of quick fixes and supermodel results.
" I am beautiful as I am. I am the shape that was gifted. My breasts are no longer perfky and upright like when I was a teenager. My hips are wider than that of a fashion model's. For this I am glad, for these are the signs of a life lived." - Cindy Olsen (20/21 Century ADvocate of Topfreedom)
I just rolled in from the gym.
I don't know about any of you, but I have to FORCE myself to go to the gym. IT'S WORK! And the remuneration is quite often intangible. My heart is supposed to work better, my immune system stronger, my butt is supposed to get tighter. But unless you are a die-hard gym-rat that eats 5:1 vegtables and protein only, five meals a day... then chances are you still look like you, working your buns off at the gym... only you've got deadly shoulders and decent stamina on the eliptical. YOU GO GIRL!
I don't really love the gym either. All that recycled air. And excess CO2. Germs. I never touch anything until I wash with soap after handling all that weight equipment. I much prefer the fresh air outdoors. But, never fail, come October it's me and 17 other women over the age of 35 vying for use of the treadmill and the weight equipment. All of us look pretty much the same. Softer in the centre, dimply in the rear, rosy in the cheeks and wet under the armpits.
I can't help but compare myself against everyone else while I am there. Not in a negative "ooh see I am better/faster/stronger/thinner than her' way... but in a reassuring myself way. "ooh look, her thighs look like mine. See I AM normal."
"We have to have faith in ourselves. I have never met a woman who, deep down in her core, really believes she has great legs. And if she suspects that she might have great legs, then she's convinced that she has a shrill voice and no neck." - Cynthia Heimel - (20/21 Century Writer)
I am not at the gym to try to acheive the unattainable.
(What is the unattainable? THAT I WILL EVER LOOK LIKE ANYONE OTHER THAN ME.)
No matter how hard I try - I will never have legs like the women in pantyhose or razor ads. I will never have breasts that stand up and sing in a tight tee-shirt with no bra. I will never own abs that are six pack, bounce a quarter on them, 9% body fat abs. WHY? One, because I have no energy, time or desire to work that hard and eat that clean. And two, because I, genetically, am built just as I am. When I look at my mother and my grandmother, I see myself there. I see where my body is destined to be. I see similarities in facial features and skin tone. Cellulite and body tone. AND I AM OKAY WITH THAT.
So why then the gym? Mental health, emotional health, physical health. Because I feel better. Because I am trying to be pro-active. Because I need to move my body. Because I CAN move my body. Because I want to be able to move my body in 40 years.
"God made a very obvious choice when he made me voluptuous; why would I go against what he decided for me? My limbs work, so I am not going to complain about the way my body is shaped." - Drew Barrymore (Actor and Producer)
I saw an ad the other day for a new weight loss product on the market. Another one. This diet pill and magic weight loss fits world we live in is what makes a consistent exercise and weight loss regimen so difficult for women. We are continually told that improving our bodies should be easy and fast. We are always looking for an easy fix. Diets. Pre-cooked, measured and weighed food in microvable boxes.
It's all a big fat lie. YOU ARE BEING LIED TO.
There is nothing easy or fast about being committed to improving your body, losing weight or managing your health through eating better and routine exercise.
Women are yet to believe that it is a lifestyle choice. Exercise is for our own good as opposed to being simply about the way we look. It should be about treating your body well as a gift to yourself. Instead we beat the crap out of ourselves for not looking like 14 year old models in magazines or 20 year old singers and actresses on the television.
Until we get it into our heads that we are not our wrinkles, dimples, stretch marks and 'flaws' we'll continue to be sold on promises of quick fixes and supermodel results.
" I am beautiful as I am. I am the shape that was gifted. My breasts are no longer perfky and upright like when I was a teenager. My hips are wider than that of a fashion model's. For this I am glad, for these are the signs of a life lived." - Cindy Olsen (20/21 Century ADvocate of Topfreedom)