When I was in school, I used to go over magazines and articles online about how drinking some cucumber and lemon infused water helps weight loss or about how spicy food speeds up your metabolism, and all these article would get me a little bit excited. I was never desperate to lose weight as a teenager but i knew I had some problems with it so I would actually pay attention to the little tips here and there. What I didn't know back then but thankfully know now, is that there isn't a secret, no strings attached, easy, miracle way to lose weight (or body fat) without putting in real effort and taking care of your health. It's not like many people around me (or all of us?) growing up know what healthy really means. Everyone knows the usual, apparently losing weight means eating less and exercising more till you're at a happy shape then you go back to what you did before again. This kind of advice about health and weight loss, coupled with silly "tips" from health and beauty magazines and websites, don't do us any good. As you're reading this I can only hope you all know better as well. Many like to think something that's been published by certain kinds of websites or magazines are always right but that's just not true anymore. These have all been written by adults who may just genuinely think writing down every calorie you consume or drinking water when you're hungry is ideal for weight loss. I can't say much else besides the fact that these "tips" are so often just lazy suggestions, ignorant ideas and sometimes just plain dangerous advice.
Sure, I still know people who would happily go through a magazine and say "This article says eating chilli will help me burn belly fat" or "If I don't eat carbs after 4pm I'll be healthy!" and then actually try this out for a while until they realise it doesn't fix their problems. I've read articles on my news app (NewsLoop) that claim drinking Coke Zero is better for weight loss than water.... um, what?! And I know there are people who would believe this shit they call quality writing. I don't want any of you to listen to this kind of "advice". Take some real advice instead. Exercise regularly, nourish yourself with healthy whole foods, treat yourself every now and then, fill your mind with positive thoughts and surround yourself with great people who make you smile and give you actual healthy advice. There are no quick fixes. But the effort you put into your health will be worth it when you start experience the results of healthy living.
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Every single one of us follows tons of women on social media who are fit, healthy, happy and many times, have that lean tummy all the ladies want. I mean they look hella good, you know why we wanna look like that and why so many people think this is a 24/7 situation for them. I know to some girls out there, I'm one of those women who they think has a lean tummy because of some of my photos of videos. But follow me long enough and you know that's not the situation. I still get DMs from some girls asking me how they can look like me and as tempted as I am to send them photos of my rolls and flabs and unappealing angles, I don't, and instead I tell them their goal shouldn't be to look a certain way but instead be at the best of health.
Now let me explain something else. When you wake up in the morning, that's when your stomach should look it's leanest. Why? Because you've been asleep and haven't eaten or had anything to drink for an extended period of time. This is normal. I wake up, and unless I had a huge or fatty dinner, my stomach's pretty lean. And then i get out of bed, do everything I do, and I eat. And then what happens? I don't look the same anymore. AND THAT IS OK. When I was starting out with my journey, I used to only take photos before I ate in the morning, so I would "look better" and eventually I learned how stupid that was of thinking was. Now I wouldn't take any photos with the intention of wanting myself to look as small or lean or flat as possible. I try not to take any photos unless I've already eaten something because that's more realistic and that's what I actually look like for most of the day. These two photos below, they're both me, both from within a few months ago. And though i have some high waisted bottoms on than my bikini bottoms in that photo above, I'm sure you can tell I look a little smaller/thinner/flatter. And oh I wonder why. Both these days I hadn't had breakfast yet but instead got dressed for yoga and work respectively. It's not that I want to deceive people, I think most women posting fitness related things on their accounts don't want to deceive anymore. But that's just reality. You WILL look different throughout the day. It's okay to still be learning and think some women look lean and have flat stomachs 24/7 because sometimes you just don't know. I didn't know. I thought this was something I could achieve. But that's not ever going to happen.
You are going to eat and feel amazing. Sometimes you'll look like you ate a feast and other times you won't. Both are okay. Sometimes you might be on your period or that fatty meal from lunch is going to make you bloat. And that's okay too. You don't always need to look so lean or feel so great but accepting that is part of what your body is doing to keep you healthy and moving is so important. I'm not the first person to talk about it and I will definitely not be the last - but understand that no matter how good you eat or how much you workout, let your body do what it needs to do and don't get upset because it doesn't "look like that girl on IG" or "look flattering in the mirror" just let it do what it needs to do. Don't aim for a lean tummy or a bigger bum or arms that always look toned. Our bodies will do what they need to do but expecting them to look the way you want 24/7 is only going to hurt yourself. |
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