Thursday, May 19, 2016

Love Your Body

What do you see when you look in the mirror? How does that make you feel? We are faced with our self every single day. There is no escaping the reality of the truth about how you feel about you.

I realize this is a very touchy subject for some. You guys know me as a straight-talker but I will do my best to be gentle in my approach regarding the related topics. However, I will be totally honest as I would like for to be totally honest with yourself when considering my questions. Are you ready to read this?
I have been serving in the fitness industry for over 12 years now so I have had thousands of conversations regarding weight. In every race there are individuals who are overweight and /or obese for various reasons. Some tend to have medical conditions and some simply over-eat. For those who choose to over-eat, I have a question: How much do you love your body?

You can tell others and yourself all day that you are comfortable in your body and you love who you are. I'm sure you are comfortable and that could be the problem. You have learned how to manage your life around sustaining excessive weight. What would you do if you didn't have to live life in such a manner? You would probably be willing to go out with your family and actively participate in activities. Is your comfort worth not being who you really are able to be? Remember this; comfort leads to complacency which leads to weight gain in this case.  Get uncomfortable my friend.
Love yourself enough to be able to be honest to yourself when you look in the mirror at your naked body. This doesn't mean hate what you see. Looking in the mirror at your naked body is a good time to be critical on the changes you want to make with your body. Visualize how you want your body to look and imagine how you would feel to have that body. Make the necessary plan and take the necessary steps to get there. If you don't know where to start, consult with a fitness professional.
If you are overweight or obese and happy being that way, you have a positive mentality. Good. Let's build on that. There is nothing wrong with "having meat on your bones," but if that "meat" causes health problems, it's time to make some changes. It's common for African Americans to think having meat on your bones, basically being fat, is a sign of eating good-a little to good! Slow down on the soul food. Being overweight or obese is not a term of endearment. Be honest and call it what it is. Loving yourself means taking care of your health too. Not just being happy with who you are.
It's been commonly known in the Caucasian American community that thin is healthy. Wrong! If a thin person has a high body fat percentage, that could pose health problems- the same as those faced by someone overweight. So thin is not always a good thing. You could be a skinny-fat person. 
Don't get the wrong idea about body types. There is an ectomorph, one who is relatively thin, a mesomorph, one with a muscular or athletic build, and an endomorph, one who has rounded features and has a tendency to retain fat more so than the other two body types. One last note; there is no such thing as being "big boned." It's just not physiologically possible. Big boned =endomorph. Regardless of your body type do what's necessary to get fit and healthy.

As always, thank you for your time and for putting your health first.  

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