Build Your Strong Over Skinny Mindset

  It has gotten a lot better for sure, but the amount of women with “fat-phobic” dialog in their day to day lives is so common that it gets passed off and dismissed.  I think (especially coming from the industry that I was in and the diet culture built around it) that these thoughts and words have much more of an impact than we may think. 

Diet culture is more effective and influential than ever.  Anyone at any time, can go online and search “foods for weight loss”, “low calorie foods”, “21 day weight loss challenge”.  On top of that we have “influencers” online showing improper nutrition and more often than not, posting meals with far too little calories to sustain a lifestyle.  In this case, less is not more. 

            I know that most people have an aesthetic goal with their body instead of shooting for internal health benefits, and honestly that can be okay.  Many people start a weight loss journey and throughout their process, gain a drive for more knowledge. 

            Women would rather be thin than healthy.  Now you might not, and that is great!, but we still have a guilt culture around food.  We eat and punish ourselves with cardio because it burns those calories we just consumed.  We love feeling hungry because it means our body is shrinking.  When was the last time you walked by a storefront window and didn’t body check yourself. 

            Your day to day obsession with aesthetics will be what takes away years of genuine happiness.  That being said, this is not permission to throw the wellbeing of your body aside.  You can cardio yourself to death but you cannot out train a bad diet.    

            Eat right, be active, and your body will follow.  You can train and curate pieces of your workouts and diet to gain the body you want, but it is about doing it in a sustainable way.  No crash diets, no challenges, small incriminates of healthy habits, and a positive outlook on your journey.  

            Every singe person on earth could pick out something about their body that they do not like, this proves that your goal body will never be perfect enough.  You will always be fighting your inner thighs and lower stomach.  Unless you learn to celebrate the small victories, your end goal will never be attainable.  You dream body is not a physical goal, it is a mental one. 

 5 Tips to Kick Your “Skinny Goals”

•  Quit weighing yourself every day, weigh in once a week, if you are on a weight loss journey.  Also take your measurements once a month.  After a while, your weight will plateau or even rise, however you are most likely still losing inches which means you are burning fat AND gaining muscle yay!
• Stop counting calories in calories out.  Everyones resting metabolic rate is  drastically different and you may need more or less than the recommended amount, so listen to your body’s hunger patterns, don’t over do it, and choose wholesome foods.  Plus if you eat from the produce section, you do not need to count at all!
• This may sound dumb but HEAR ME OUT.  Only follow people on social media that give you nutritional advice, workouts, or healthy living inspiration.  Following skinny women online just so that you can find out what she does is not fair to either of you, she serves more purpose than being thin, and you deserve a healthy mind check.  She most likely has a high metabolism, and lives a different lifestyle.   
• Find healthy ways to decrease your stress.  Stress actually makes women hold on to weight because our systems tell us to protect ourselves.  Living a less stressful life will not only possibly help you lose some weight, but it will mostly aid in adding a positive outlook on your journey.  
• Ask yourself who you’re doing it for.  Are you trying to look hot so that you can feel confident in public? Who doesn’t right, but just a reality check, you care far more about how attractive you are than anyone else does.  Learn how to dress up the body you have for each stage of size, health, and season and run with it.