“Blame yourself for why people don’t like fitness, because we made it hard for them to like when we set the standards for another person’s body”

It never had to be this hard to stay healthy until one day someone decided healthy is determined by weight and someone else said skinny is the only way to be and someone else said well if I am not skinny then I am not pretty and someone else said If I am not skinny and I am not pretty then why should I even try. I quit.

We blame the media, we blame our neighbors, our upbringing, our environment and sometimes we even blame “God” but I have yet to hear anyone blame themselves for why fitness has gone this route. Why did we decide that fat means ugly and skinny means pretty, why did we decide that exercise and healthy eating is the only way to be healthy, why did we decide that healthy means looking the part and unhealthy is sloppy. Why did we set such high standards for everyone to reach when everyone is different. Why cause people to go into eating disorders to feel perfect, why did we use a model on a magazine to identify with.  Using “Plus size” models is our way of apologizing to everyone for how vain we are, unfortunately its a bit too late to apologize for the problems we have caused.  

Here we are, the problem & we use very small solutions to temporarily “fix” things. Here is how we managed to temporarily fix things in my opinion:

• “plus size” models, while I believe we should have women of all sizes modeling, and have them be proud of who they are. I do not agree with the fact we make it so obvious that it’s still “2nd place loser” to be “fat”.
• stores have a “plus size” section but only offered online. this makes me grumpy and I will discuss my feelings on this in another post. Why should someone have to go online to find their size.. because your store chooses to cater to the “petite”
• organic foods/veggies/fruits, we push for people to eat healthier, but keep the prices on healthier foods higher

These are just a few things I have issues with, there are plenty more which I will make mention in future post. I find it disgusting how people walk around so vain because of how they look and shun anything that doesn’t fit the “bill”. Open your minds folks, everyone is going to look different from you and you can choose to be the reason we come together or you can be the reason why we fall further apart.  When we preach about fitness as personal trainers, we forget we come off intimidating and hard on people, we don’t take time to consider the actual person and their needs. People are why people aren’t comfortable with who they are.  Yes, I have mentioned the scale, the words, the media, but its US that create all of those things and use them to put down others. We are the problem & the solution is to work on US and work on SELF and create a positive foundation that will lead others on the right path to true health & happiness. Thank you for reading, comment, share, like, follow. 

Sincerely,

Your blogger Shay-lon

Simple Creates less problems

When I think about how we spoke about “body shaming” and why it wasn’t a good thing, I had to stop and also think about what words can be used to describe a person’s body without intentionally being negative. It’s really hard to think of many words to talk about the body without being honest & so that is why I came up with just a few simple words that can be used but have a HUGE meaning behind them. Underweight, overweight, normal weight, obese, these are all the words I came up with to use when describing someone’s shape.  The reason I have chosen these words are because they are simple & get straight to the point. 

The problem with using these words are because only one of them is “good” & the rest are somewhat not so good but that is why I think this is a good start:

• No one can tell you what “normal” should look like because normal is different for everyone. Ha!
• If you are underweight, you most likely should gain some weight and if it is an illness then this needs to be addressed with a Doctor & someone close to you that you can trust
• Overweight will mean you should lose weight
• Obese means you need to lose weight, talk to a doctor about any ailments or conditions you might be facing or have because of your weight and decide how you want to lose this weight

Easy enough? I find that no matter how we say it, being overweight or obese is never going to be a “good” thing and so there is no real technical way of making someone happy by using these words but at least these words confront the problem instead of disguising it & that goes for underweight as well.  Sometimes “beating behind the bush” makes the circumstances worse than what they should be. If I was to be really honest with you, I would tell you to stay away from describing a person’s body but since that is not going to happen, how about we stay away from degrading people’s body.  Professionals use these words & I don’t see why we shouldn’t because they are FACTS, they aren’t meant to put people down, or make one body more superior than the other; these words are meant to guide you in the right direction and bring things to light.  

If society continues to use body shaming words, this field is doomed & people are going to start to not care about their health and wellness at all, which is what I don’t want to happen.  I want everyone to care about what goes into their bodies, their fitness level, being able to keep up with their everyday routines, mental health & how healthy they really are.  What you should do is reevaluate your bodies using these words I mentioned up top & decide if that is what you want for yourself; either “yes” or “no”.  Change what you don’t like but do it knowing that you want to be healthy and within normal range of weight. This is a baby step & as soon as we dig in deeper than we can jump into specifics. 

Are you healthy?

Overweight, underweight, obese, normal weight?

Are you okay with this?

Please share, follow & comment.  I would love to hear from you!

Sincerely,

Your Blogger Shay-lon

Staying fit during the Holidays is hard, but you can do it.

Tips & Motivation

Holiday Tips

If Christmas and the following holidays have you worrying about how to stay on track to a healthier new you, then worry no more because I have some great ideas I would like to share & a couple of links at the top that will get you started!

• Stay active & stay moving if possible.
• proportion your plate, make sure you have a mix of everything
• eat dessert; just keep in mind how much of it
• gain some support and share your stories of your fitness goals and achievements
• meet some likeminded people who also enjoy fitness
• lessen the stress & smile; mental health is just as important

Share these ideas with your peers & make it something you do each holiday after the next! 

I will not be posting tomorrow because of it being Christmas, look forward to hearing from me again sometime after Christmas.  Enjoy this holiday with family, friends, and laughter.

If you are spending this Christmas/holiday alone, keep your head up and stay positive! Dedicate your time helping other families and volunteering at local churches, soup kitchens, or local places. It’s never easy to go through a holiday alone, but it can be done and sometimes it has to be done for whatever reason it may be.  I believe the beauty of a holiday comes from the person’s heart.  Presents, food, peers those are all something that goes into a holiday but it is the person’s heart that makes a holiday worthwhile.  Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday &Happy New Year! Please comment, share & continue to follow me.

Sincerely

Your Blogger Shay-lon

If you have a problem with a scale its because you have allowed the numbers to determine who you are.  Solutions to the problem: 

1. weigh yourself with an open mind
2. ask yourself when you get off the scale is this healthy
3. don’t look for results, look for a number then find results by using a solution
4. have a goal weight & a plan (for after you are off the scale; NOT BEFORE)
5. stop weighing yourself for self gratification & belittlement
6. Don’t pay attention to the media (YOU DETERMINE WHAT’S HEALTHY FOR YOU)
7. keep positive & stop comparing yourself to others
8. weigh yourself same day and time, once a week. no more (so you can keep tabs on your journey)
9. stop punishing yourself
10. stop talking about your weight; no one cares as much as you do and you are the only one who holds the key to where you want to be

Hello & Welcome 

This is my first blog 

 & this is an introduction to the author-myself