Smitten Life

It's that time of the year again....The time where everyone tries to convince us that are bodies are problematic and we need to do something extreme to "fix" them. Obviously I see nothing wrong with having goals, they keep us motivated and moving in the right direction. But the dialogue and discussion around fitness goals in the new year is almost exclusively weight loss related/changing your body shape. There are so many fitness posts directed at women aimed to get them in the gym this new year. I love fitness, being healthy is important for everyone and working out is a key to that but shaming someone into working out is stupid.
Some of these posts/ads/marketing schemes come veiled as empowering women. This is frustrating because there is nothing empowering about telling a woman she will be worthy after she looses "x lbs" or if she works out "x amount a week" suddenly she's worthwhile. Empowering women would be telling them they are worthy and beautiful as is. Working out should be something we enjoy, or tolerate for health related reasons, it's gunna help you live longer and you'll have a better quality of life. Exercise should not be viewed as punishment for eating "unhealthy" foods or because we don't fit inside a certain box.
As a health professional I try to steer my clients away from weight based goals and try to get them to shift their attention to strength, endurance etc. This is a hard switch to make since we've been told from a young age how important being slender or perceivable fit. The main assumption when someone sees a larger individual in the gym is that they're there for weightloss, that doesn't have to be the case and to treat someone like that is shitty. We all need to leave our assumptions about bodies (our own and others) at the door.

1. No Body Shaming

Obviously no body shaming ourselves or others! I personally would ask people not comment on anyone's body in general (unless your opinion is asked for), because no matter how good intention your "have you lost weight? you look great" comment is, its going to reinforce the perception of slim = good. You can just simply tell someone "You look great, you look healthy, and happy" easy fix!

2. Stop Living By the Scale

I swear the week after Christmas I heard 5 different individuals in the span of 10 minutes complain they gained weight over the holidays. Anywhere between 1-7lbs. Guess what? Your weight fluctuates 5 lbs every damn day, if you think you gained 2 lbs, try taking a poop because it might be that. Also 5 lbs does not define your self worth, end of story.

3. Redefine Fit

Having a 6 pack does not equal being super fit. We have to wrap our minds around the fact that many people who may not look stereo typically fit actually can be quite fit. Someone said to me they wouldn't trust a fat trainer....but what does that mean. How do you know they're not fit? You don't know what their training protocol looks like, what their goals are...Take a step back.

4. Health & Wellness goals

Training for vanity and training for overall health can look very different, and they leave you feeling different as well. Training for vanity can leave you filled with anxiety if you miss a session or your self confidence becomes tied up in your perceived level of fitness. Long term it's pretty obvious that this is no good for your mental health. Training for overall health and wellness is meant to make you feel good mentally and physically. Having a strength based goal, wanting to get more endurance to climb a mountain etc. All great goals

5. Step Back from Social Media 

I, like a lot of other people am competitive. Therefore when I see someone doing something more than me, better than me, faster than me something inside goes "I need to do that too". This can be a great tool to help me train harder, it can also be a bad tool when my body needs a rest day. It's also super shitty to compare yourself to others. Social media is awful for this, so any accounts that I find myself doing this with I unfollow, I refuse to let instagram make me feel shitty. Unless something brings me joy or inspiration, it's not useful.

 Darcy got me this jacket for Christmas, although I picked it out. I have been on the lookout for a simple black leather jacket to add to my wardrobe for quite some time now. This one isn't real leather but the quality is really great and I think it'll last a long time. It's a piece that looks great with jeans and a sweater, over a cute cocktail dress, with almost anything really and I'm so glad to have added it to my wardrobe.

1. More Muay Thai!

2. Preventative Exercise

3. Work/Life Balance

4. Less Spending

5. Take Care of my Mental Health

Since it's now a new year and everyone likes to go bananas and make resolutions that they end up failing on within the first 3 weeks, lets talk about goal setting! Having goals is great and wonderful but don't set yourself up for failure right from the start:

1. Keep It Simple 

2. Check ins

3. Don't Give Up 

4. Accountability

5. Don't Overload