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[elainenam]

Standard of Beauty

Exercising has been an important part of my life for the past two years, and it’s why I decided to create a fitness blog. Fitness can be a very touchy subject for many, because there’s no denying that our society can be superficial. Body-shaming is common among different generations, and fat people are usually looked down upon.

I know, calling someone fat isn’t very nice… or is it? Here’s the truth: being fat doesn’t equate to being ugly or inadequate. The term ‘fat’ is a descriptor, and it’s the antonym of the word ‘skinny’. When we call people skinny, it’s typically deemed as a compliment. In reality, these two words are merely adjectives to describe subjects. Despite that, our society likes to use them to compliment or insult people. In fact, we tend to steer clear from using the word ‘fat’, and we replace it with slang such as ‘thicc’. With the way we’ve attached negative stigmas to the term, we collectively avoid using it. 

I, myself, was fat for most of my life, so I decided to lose weight for vanity. Looking back, I realized I was never unhappy as a fat person, and instead, I was unhappy with the way I was treated by others. Of course, in my case, I was clinically obese and actually struggled with my health. However, my journey was not for the sake of my health, and I developed a serious case of body dysmorphia. I no longer enjoyed food and I avoided it whenever I could. I lost so much weight that I struggled to function properly, and I was so focused on the little bits of skin I could tug at whenever I looked into the mirror. 

The second year of my fitness journey revolved around my obsession with my physique rather than my ability to perform daily tasks efficiently. Don’t get me wrong; there’s nothing wrong with aiming for your desired body type, but when it starts to damage your self-esteem, you’re still unhealthy. Food shouldn’t be your enemy, it should be your friend.

It’s 2020 now, and I’ve only recently begun to undo my unhealthy habits. Insecurity is still lurking around the corner, but I no longer feel the need to starve myself or limit the enjoyable aspects of my life. There’s no harm in treating yourself in moderation, and now my goal is to continue my journey in a way that allows me to enjoy life to the fullest. While the gym is important, I no longer chastise myself when I miss a day, nor do I abstain from eating that slice of cake on a Saturday evening.

Is the gym for everyone? No. Some people enjoy it, and others don’t. There’s nothing wrong with being skinny or fat visually; there’s only something wrong once you experience health complications. In that case, adjusting your lifestyle to treat those complications is the way to go. Believe it or not, skinny people can be just as unhealthy, but their looks often deceive others into believing otherwise. Compassion and empathy are crucial, and it’s important to keep in mind that all bodies are different. No one should be shamed for what they look like; you don’t need a six-pack to be beautiful, nor is that the only standard of health. Life is all about balance and moderation.

While you don’t need a gym membership to be successful, physical activity is something everyone should incorporate into their lives. Taking your dog on a walk, cleaning your room, or going to the community pool are all fantastic ways to get your blood pumping. 

If any of my posts have inspired you to incorporate more physical activity into your life, I’ve done my job. That being said, please don’t ever think you are less beautiful or worthy for not fitting some abnormal standard of beauty. Beauty comes in all shapes, forms, and sizes. Do not try to change yourself for others, because you are beautiful no matter what weight you are.

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What do I do if the gym is closed?

As most of you are aware, the coronavirus has been causing mass hysteria throughout the world. (And rightfully so!) As a result, all non-essential areas have been closed down—the gym being one of them.

There have been continuous comparisons made between the coronavirus and the flu, but healthcare professionals highly advise against belittling the virus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNuGATathug

Check out this video by Dr. Hope’s Sick Notes on YouTube. Not only is the virus highly contagious, but it is also far worse than the flu. While many people die from the flu every year, the coronavirus is much more virulent. This means that the virus is much more damaging to the body. While the virus is not airborne, it does live and linger on surfaces.

According to Professor Woo-Joo Kim from Korea University Guro Hospital, latest research from both the United States and the continent of Asia show that the average person becomes highly infectious just two days before they even exhibit any symptoms.

As you can imagine, the gym is one of the last places you want to be during a pandemic. We’re constantly touching equipment, dripping sweat, and coming into contact with others in confined spaces. As a gym junkie myself, I’ve admittedly been struggling without the gym. For many people like us, the gym is a second home.

On top of that, many of us simply do not have the funds to make a home gym. A mere set of dumbbells can cost anywhere from $50-$100! Not only is equipment expensive, everyone is bulk-buying products, and gym products are on that list! Most equipment, much to my annoyance, is sold out.

No need to fret! You don’t need any of that fancy equipment to stay in shape. What do you think those bulky cavemen did in the paleolithic era? They certainly didn’t have any access to gyms or fancy barbells!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MRNjTr6xrE

Jeff Nippard is a well-known trainer and powerlifter in the fitness community, and he shows viewers that it is indeed possible to maintain your body indoors. Keep in mind that you do not need to be a professional weight-lifter or an active fitness guru to partake in these workouts. His video is catered to all groups of people, from beginners to avid gym-goers.

Some of his workouts include doing push-ups on the floor, performing leg squats from the sofa, doing pull-ups from the dining table, and more! He shows us creative ways to make our homes an alternative gym. He even goes as far as to show us accredited studies and research on maintaining muscle without access to a gym membership.

That being said, it’s important to keep in mind that you won’t become the spitting image of The Hulk if you’re solely depending on home workouts. His video is for people who want to maintain their figures and weights. If you’re looking to seriously tone and build muscle, then home workouts won’t aid you. Of course, in this pandemic, you’ll have to endure until the gyms are open.

Bodybuilders in particular may see a slight decrease in mass if they’re away from their regimens for too long, but nothing is ever lost overnight. Just like it takes a long time to build up muscle, it takes just as long to lose all of the hard work. Pair that with a fairly decent diet and you'll be just fine!

Work out at home until it’s safe to go out, because the last thing you want to do is endanger others. Find creative ways to exercise at home and keep yourself safe during these hard times. Once the gyms are re-opened, you’ll be in a healthy state of mind to work-out again.

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The Connection Between Excessive Exercise and Body Dysmorphia

As a society, we tend to think of exercise as a positive and healthy hobby. While this is true, we often forget to discuss the drawbacks of exercise. 

Can you become addicted to exercising? Absolutely. In fact, gym addiction is a real thing, and sometimes, this addiction can be directly linked to body dysmorphia.

Before we delve in any further, let’s talk about body dysmorphia. What is it? According to MayoClinic, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is "a mental health disorder in which you can't stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in your appearance — a flaw that appears minor or can't be seen by others."

As human beings, it’s only natural to have a couple of insecurities. Some of us don’t like the way our noses are shaped, how our hips protrude too widely, or the extra weight we find in certain areas of our bodies. Many of us will find ways to fix these “flaws”, typically through surgical procedures or exercise. Plastic surgery is a luxury that many of us can’t afford, however, so we attempt to spot reduce and follow crash diets until we attain our fitness goals. 

That being said, what’s the difference between having insecurities versus body dysmorphia? Dysmorphia is a serious condition that harms both the mental and physical state; it causes us to amplify our flaws and make a bigger deal than it actually is. You’ll probably check the mirror way too often, criticize yourself for factors out of your control, and take anything anyone says about your body to heart. 

How can gym addiction and body dysmorphia be linked? Someone with body dysmorphia can rob themselves of all of life’s joys through extreme diets and exercise regimens. Not only does this way of life cause them to miss out on social events and special occasions, it’ll also deplete them of their energy. 

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as exercising too much. In fact, pushing beyond the threshold of 90 minutes can inflict more harm than good to your body. Recent studies show that there are cardiovascular disadvantages in excessive exercise. Working out too much could potentially give you the results you don’t want. Your muscles won’t grow, because your muscles need rest to grow. Your fat won’t go away just because you run two hours on the treadmill. You can work out for five hours every single day for a week, but you won’t drop that weight by the end of the week. If you somehow do, you won’t be losing it in the healthy way. Many people mistaken starvation and massive weight loss as progress, and this is an easy way to develop an eating disorder.

Working out should be a hobby, not a punishment.

Sources:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322734 (Links to an external site.)

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.027834 (Links to an external site.)

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0213060

[elainenam]

What do you think of when someone says they’re on a diet? What do you typically refer to when you say you’re on a diet?

Chances are, you’re thinking of weight loss.

The term “diet” is usually associated with weight loss, but in reality, the word is used to describe the type of food an individual consumes. The online dictionary defines it as “the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.” You can go on a diet to gain, lose, or maintain your current weight. There are several different types of diets, such as vegetarian, gluten-free, and high-protein diets. Depending on the type of diet you choose to commit to, your body will experience different effects. Today, I’m going to specifically talk about weight and weight loss.

To lose weight, go on a caloric deficit. Eat less. To gain weight, go on a caloric surplus. Eat more.

It sounds simple, but it really isn’t. If it was so easy, everyone could go on a diet and achieve their goals in a couple of months. Dieting requires mental fortitude and dedication, which can be difficult when we have other obligations to tend to. 

To lose weight, I’ve noticed most people attempt to restrict all of their favorite foods. They make the drastic jump from finishing an entire bag of chips to eating an abundance of celery sticks. Dieting isn’t about restricting yourself from all of life’s pleasures, though. You can still eat those chips! It’s all about moderation. Consume less of those chips. The same applies to everything else: instead of drinking cola six days a week, drink it only three days out of the week. Go for the baked chicken instead of the fried one.

How does this rule apply to weight gain? It’s just in reverse: eat a little more. Does this mean you should suddenly go to McDonald’s and buy ten burgers? No, just increase the amount of calories you normally consume slightly. Consuming an abundance of processed food isn’t good for anyone, even if your goal is to gain weight. 

Notice the photo above. The meals are essentially the same, but they’re different in portions. There’s an extra serving of rice in the weight gain photo, which is an addition to carbohydrates. The weight loss meal takes the extra carbs out of the equation completely, leaving only the vegetables to take up some of your carb intake. Generally, there’s a little less of everything, but not enough to keep you famished.

Here is a simple, but excellent day one regimen for weight loss. You want to consume lean meats, whole carbs, and fruits and vegetables. Get a good balance of everything. This site caters to a 1200 calorie diet, but the amount of calories you consume should be dependent on your current height, weight, and body fat percentage. Check for an estimate amount of calories you should consume with the TDEE calculator here: https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html You can also download the MyFitnessPal app to track everything you eat in a day to get a grasp of how much you’re actually consuming.

There are even more meal plans on Goodhousekeeping’s website:

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/g4351/1200-calorie-diet-plan/

Here is also a great guide for those who want to gain weight:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/3000-calorie-meal-plan#target-groups

As I stated earlier, eating at a surplus does not mean you should binge on junk food. Note that the guide advises to stay away from an influx of refined carbs, sugary beverages, and fried food. You should still aim to get your fill of whole grains, animal/plant-based protein, essential fats and oils, fruits, and vegetables. And again, the calculator and calorie tracker rules apply: be aware of how much you are eating and develop a relationship with your body.

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Exercise offers a variety of benefits, but one important effect of working-out is the improvement of mental health. Our society looks up to certain beauty standards and strives toward attaining the “dream physique”, but they often don’t recognize the benefits of mental health that accompanies a lifestyle of fitness. Exercise is not solely limited to the physical body; it is also effective in benefitting the mental state.

Many people in the world rely on harmful substances to cope, and some of these include cigarettes, narcotics, and alcohol. These are highly addictive substances, and sure, they may be fully capable of temporarily relieving stress, but inflict significant harm to our bodies.

Relieving stress isn’t the only thing working out does for us, though. Body dysmorphia is a recurring problem for many people in the world, and for some of them, fitness is the way to keep those insecurities at bay. That being said, I’d like to point out that all body types are beautiful. In fact, I think it’s crucial to remove the term “fat” from negativity and shed light to the beauty of fat men and women all over the world.

But for others (myself included), they may not love their bodies to the fullest. Some of us have been incapable of loving ourselves in the past due to morbid or clinical obesity. This is where fitness has allowed us to reduce our body dysmorphia, and not only is it a healthy habit to grow into, but it aids us in feeling better about ourselves.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6091217

Here’s a publication from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, which states that exercising releases an abundance of hormones called endorphins. Endorphins are responsible for bringing us euphoria and joy. There have even been studies that claim exercise can be just as effective as antidepressant pills, which is why doctors and physicians recommend exercise as a way to alleviate stress.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3674785/

When we improve the way we perceive ourselves, our mental health also drastically improves! From my personal experience of losing almost eighty pounds, I can confidently say it worked for me.

Don’t get overwhelmed, though! You definitely don’t need to be a certified trainer, fitness guru on social media, or a gym rat. Exercising is universal, and it’s for everyone! Whenever I go to the gym, I see elderly people, teenagers, and sometimes even children with their parents. You don’t need to make time for several hours at a commercial gym; you can go on thirty-minute walks, hikes, go biking, or even just move around at home to be productive! As long as you don’t binge on junk food and get your blood flowing every day, you might just feel better! You’ll surprise yourself when you see just how effective this can be.

[elainenam]

Holy cow! So, I stumbled upon Ben’s blog (https://www.boston.com/travel/lifestyle/2016/07/21/massachusetts-native-finish-3100-mile-walk-los-angeles-boston) a few days ago and decided to give it a read. I’m thoroughly impressed with his journey. In 2016, he made a five month journey, on foot, from Los Angeles to Boston. To give you a perspective of how far he’s walking, a flight from LA to Boston would take roughly four hours. If you were going by car, possibly forty hours.

There’s something so admirable about Ben’s determination and perseverance in completing his personal mission. For him, this is personal, and it’s another way to defeat this stigma that overweight people aren’t capable of performing physical activity. It also kills the idea that they are all lazy, which is so far from the truth.

Note that his fitness blog isn’t a glorification of six-pack abs or pumped biceps. I think all of us are so accustomed to this idea of “peak fitness”, which equates to rock-hard abdomens and tone bodies. In reality, those features are actually results of hard strength-training. Large muscles are not a sign of good health; in fact, after watching several documentaries surrounding steroids, power-lifting, and general weight-training, I’ve realized that many of these athletes are not always the healthiest. We’ve idealized and glorified one specific type of body, and many of us become deluded with the idea of molding our bodies to be the same. We forget that our bodies are all drastically different, and because of these differences, none of us will be able to perfectly replicate bodies we see on advertisements. It also goes without saying that many of these advertised bodies are Photoshopped, and we can’t edit or enhance reality. 

I believe that fitness blogs with realistic standards, expectations, and goals are ideal for those who want to begin their weight loss journeys. When you’re barely starting out and expect yourself to look anything like the models from ��Men’s Magazine’ by the end of the year, disappointment is right around the corner. Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with pursuing goals this way, but we also have to be realistic about them. Rather than striving to lose 100 pounds by December, tell yourself to lose 5 to 10 pounds per month. When you break down your weight loss goals in a realistic and simplistic way, it’s much more difficult to lose motivation. 

Ben taught me that progress is periodic, and change won’t happen overnight. With consistency, hard-work, and patience, we will be able to attain the results that are ideal for our bodies. His posts have allowed me to open my eyes to the importance of focusing on progress, rather than the end result of perfection. Our bodies are constantly changing as life goes on, so we keep that in mind along the way.