"Skinny" Girls Have Goals Too!
For as long as I can remember, I have ALWAYS felt that people are constantly questioning why girls with “petite” builds are working out and eating healthy…as if we don’t have the right to live a healthy life, even if we don’t have weight to lose. I think what most people don’t understand is that skinny does NOT always equal healthy & that a majority of people assume otherwise.
Skinny fat is when you are a normal weight, or maybe even underweight, but lack muscle tone and ultimately are “unfit”…yes it's true!!! We cannot forget the importance of physical activity regardless of our body type! Women, regardless of weight or age, should be lifting weights at least 2 times a week to gain muscle mass AND be doing some sort of cardio every week for our heart health.
Do you know what sucks??...being on a health & fitness journey and grabbing a cookie (BECAUSE YOU LIKE COOKIES, WHO DOESN’T)…and someone looks at you and says “is that a part of your diet??”. First off, assuming that someone is on a “diet” because they like to eat healthy 80% of the time is WRONG, and so is assuming that someone who takes care of themselves shouldn’t be allowed a cookie?? OR let’s talk about going out to dinner and ordering a salad…all hell breaks loose when a “skinny” girl wants to eat a salad for dinner! Salads are BOMB, salads are NOT the healthiest thing on the menu (most assume otherwise), and you should be able to order one without people around you saying “ugh of course you are getting a salad”. On the other end of the spectrum—people usually commend someone who is over weight for eating salads & making choices to try to be healthier/lose weight. Do we look down on your average person for eating 2 cookies? NOPE. Why is skinny-shaming okay but fat-shaming is not? I may never struggle with being judged for being overweight, but I am judged for my size and hear unkind comments about the choices I make in my everyday life.
In NO world should it be okay to judge someone based on how heavy they are — or by how skinny they are. Bottom line.
Skinny fat is real…under eating is real…BUT the ability to change is also real! I have always had a
petite build & have kept myself in what I considered “good” shape (which usually meant going to the gym, running 2 miles, and walking around nervous & aimlessly for another 30 minutes) BUT what I didn’t realize was the impact that food had on my body. I learned very quickly that it was more important to be eating MORE of the RIGHT foods and LESS of the WRONG ones. AND it turns out that 45 minutes of cardio at the gym was not producing the changes that I wanted to see in my body (YES I wanted to change, even when other people thought I looked “good” and didn’t need to be working out). 30 minutes of strength training & fueling my body DID produce those changes. But what I had to do was ignore the people who were making me feel lost, confused, unmotivated & discouraged and remember MY health is important. Sometimes support is a missing piece, and being able to get that support from women who empower one another CHANGED my life in ways I could have never imagined possible.
Let’s stop thinking that “skinny” girls are trying to lose weight! Skinny FAT to skinny FIT ladies! #strongnotskinny