I have a confession:
I am really over the health and fitness industry. The more I learn about health, nutrition and fitness, the more convinced I am that the whole movement is nothing but propaganda. The information promoted by the media, online influencers and even some health and wellness businesses does not line up with what I have learned. And it is frustrating!
I understand that the bottom line for any business is making money.
So when it comes the the health and fitness industry it is no different. In order for a company to survive they must make a profit.
They push the agenda that you are unhealthy, lacking , or deficient in some area and they have the cure.
They push the agenda that you are unhealthy, lacking, or deficient in some area, that you can't solve your own problem and they have the cure. They hand you both the problem and the solution, displaying only a picture, calling it health, while really they are just telling you what you should look like. Is it really about your inner health or is it about consumable products and the profit they make?
In order to sell them continually, they must market to us in such a way, so that we feel like we can never quite measure up so we are always ready for the next cure, diet or solution that will finally solve our problems. The problem however remains, failure sets in and this promotes such an unhealthy and toxic diet culture as we continue to strive for a version of health that is based off of looks and not true inner health.
Endlessly we are told how we can be healthier, how we can get thinner and look better; so we perpetually strive to achieve a goal that may never fit or worst yet, one that can not be maintained. The problem with the picture of health that is portrayed is it is not necissarily a proper picture of what good health looks like. It seems to be based all off of looks. How can we judge good health just by looking at the outside of a body?
The idea that if you are thin you are healthy is both dangerous and untrue. Even though some one may not be overweight, that does not mean they have a clean bill of health.
The idea that if you store any type of body fat on your body or that fat leads to all health problems is also not 100% true. The natural process of storing fat and dealing with obesity are two different things. While there are risk factors due to obesity, there are health benefits in storing some fat.
The truth is: good health is not all about size.
The truth is: good health is not all about size. True health is about how efficiently your body is able to function, fight off disease and illness, heal and adapt to the constant changes of both its internal and external environment.
Your body needs healthy dietary fat and stored fat in order to perform its every day functions.
Of course if someone is over weight it may benefit them to add healthy habits to their lifestyle and in the process loose weight, if done properly this is healthy to do so. However, once the body finds a place where it can maintain a healthy weight and function efficiently, one should not endlessly strive to loose more weight.
The goal should not be to be thin, the goal should be to be healthy. As unhealthy as it can be to have an excess amount of extra weigh,t it is also unhealthy to not have enough muscle mass or weight to maintain healthy bodily functions. What no body talks about is how unhealthy being too thin is. Many who are thin suffer with eating disorders. They punish themselves when they eat a piece of cake, throw up their meals, won't eat regardless of the stomach pangs, they over exercise and over stress their weight.
I think no matter where you fall on the spectrum, there is pain and shame when it comes to our bodies and the food we eat thanks to the toxic diet culture that has emerged.
It seems only one body type is promoted, a body type no one I know naturally has...All the while no two bodies are exactly a like. We are automatically set up for failure from the beginning.
So I am here to lend you hope. We can break up with diet culture and gain back our security and follow our innate knowledge of health!! We don't need to endlessly "diet" to be healthy.
What if we stopped focusing on weight and our pant sizes and focused on being healthy individuals who make healthy choices? Who cares what the scale says as long as you are living well?
This constant striving for thinness is exhausting and honestly for some its not realistic. And that is OK!!!
I am over the industry's obsession with how we look on the outside, while dying on the inside as we constantly worry about what we will eat next and what time, if we are exercising enough, feeling bad if we don't eat clean, stressing if the fruit wasn't organic, wondering if our butt is too saggy, does my fat roll show... and the list can go on and on.
Obsessing isn't healthy, its distracting.
Obsessing isn't healthy, its distracting. It distracts us from living a life that we fully enjoy. Healthy living is living in the present moment, grateful for what you have. Whole health is not only functioning well, its also being comfortable in one's skin regardless of any flaws one may have.
I have decided enough is enough! I will live life and make healthy choices and along the way I will embrace my body for the shape it is and accentuate it!! And I hope you do the same!
Eat yummy foods, enjoy some pizza, be sure to have dessert, eat good fruits and veggies and fill your life with intentional movement, while also finding time to rest and relax. Living healthy shouldn't be stressful! Since I have broken up with diet culture I must confess I am happier and feel more confident than I ever have in my whole life.