why being skinny is not the same as being healthy?

Happy Women’s Day, Lovelies!

This post is specially dedicated to all the badass women out there.

And, let me remind you that “You’re doing fabulous and we love you “.

All Body types are beautiful and don’t let anyone define you.

I have been through so much of this(body shaming) during my High School days and I never knew how bad it was, mentally and physically, until I experienced. I never bothered about the size and shape I was getting at that time. Though it was a problem for many I guess. All thanks to the beauty standards that we have set.But, now I am here and I love the way I am.

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 Why the long-legged skinny girl is the perfect model figure for most of us, Why fairness is the beauty parameter, Why are we striving to be someone we are not? 

Be who you are. Focus on being healthy, not on being skinny. Ditch that weighing scale and strive for overall well-being, not for the figures it shows. The feminine beauty ideal is a socially built idea that physical attractiveness is one of the women’s most valuable assets, and something all women should endeavor to achieve and maintain. This varies from culture to culture and is strongly connected to the female body shape as well. Few parameters will help you define someone as beautiful or ugly, let it be, the shape, size, color, height, anything. And, this is the root depression, eating disorders, and low self-esteem. This effects from a very tender age and proceeds to adulthood. To mark International Women’s Day, we explore how this “ideal” is ever-changing, forming a complex history throughout art and fashion – with damaging impacts on women who try to conform in each era. Thanks to social media, that we’re constantly trying to fit into the standards that were set, our urge to look more beautiful, sexier, popular is increasing with every scroll we make. Why models and actresses should not be your ideals? There’s a lot of editing and makeup that goes behind that perfect figure. Team of artists and editors will make sure that the picture fits all the beauty standards and thus diverting us from something really important.

Listen, Ladies! You’re beautiful the way you’re and strive to be healthy, not skinny. Let’s move straight to the quick facts to know more about this.

WHO CARES? YOU’RE THIN

Focus on being healthy, numbers will follow.

We all have that one friend in our group who stays slim, despite eating all the junk and not exercising at all. Maybe they have a good metabolism and we tend to believe that they must be fit and healthy because they’re not overweight. Most of the people think that it’s healthy if they can stay lean with their poor eating habits and not exercising. But they can have the same problems as obese people. Normally, when I ask thin people about their diet and workout routine, they reply that they don’t need it because they’re already thin and they’re blessed with an active metabolism. So, being thin means you can eat whatever you want without thinking twice about the nutrition value it offers?

No, Girl! Don’t’ focus on being thin, primarily focus on being fit and healthy. There’s a lot more than being just thin. So, if you see a thin girl working out at the gym, don’t ask her why is she doing that? Because fitness is more than this.

BUT THE BMI SAYS, IAM PERFECTLY FINE:

BMI(Body Mass Index) will tell if the person is underweight, normal or obese. It is a harsh measure of fatness. Computed by dividing one’s weight in kilograms by the square of one’s height in meters, it has been the regular measurement of fatness and fitness everywhere. The problem with BMI is that it is a measure of weight, and is not precise to excess fat as weight also holds bone and muscle. What we should be concerned about is extra fat and not extra weight. Excess fat and the place where it is located is what matters the most. Fat around the waist is most dangerous of anywhere else in the body. You can be fit at any shape and size, two people with the same weight will look different because of their body composition- a person with a higher body-fat percentage versus the person with high lean muscle percentage will fit into different sizes and health dangers. It is possible to have a normal BMI and lots of fat, called “skinny fat”.

So, What matters the most is body-composition. It will tell you how healthy or unhealthy you’re on the fitness-scale. Strive to improve body- composition and not just being lean.

You’re superb in all sizes, girls! “Judge the health of weight” before passing judgment.

ARE YOU KIDDING? JUDGE THE HEALTH OF WEIGHT?

Certainly, Not!

Okay, we’ll not complicate this anymore and we’ll get straight into the reasons that why thin doesn’t necessarily mean you’re healthy and how you can judge the health of weight?

• LAZY BUMS!

Yes, They’re the lazy bums and they have lethargy issues as well. Credit goes to the poor eating habits, they’re the people who believe that they can eat junk or other unhealthy foods(P.S. They will be thin, no matter what goes in). We’re in a society where if you eat a lot of junk and still be thin, then basically it’s a blessing. But, these poor eating habits are nothing but “Danger in disguise”, We’re thin, so eat anything. It’s the bad food choices that make you mentally slower or less motivated.

These poor eating habits have bad impacts on your health, so if you’re thin and you keep binging the street food, thinking it will not harm your body, well, think again baby. Overweight people often get defamed as lazy and lacking discipline. This is not always true.

• FAST METABOLISM? NAHHH..

They don’t have a fast metabolism, so if you think they’re blessed with a faster metabolism. Think again! This is not always true, because metabolism depends on the lean muscle mass also, greater the lean muscle mass faster the metabolism. Nutrient absorption is low in thin people(as the study shows). This means whatever food they eat, healthy or unhealthy, their body does not receive its nutrition, so their body lacks the proper nourishment due to this. So, they lack most of the goodness that food has to offer. This eventually leads to low metabolism which makes them apt to many threatening diseases. Concentrate on building and sustaining the lean body mass, if you want to increase your metabolism. It can be achieved through resistance workouts like weight lifting. Know more about the smart metabolism game in the next blog. 

• HIDE AND SEEK:

A strange game the fat plays, hide and seek. Hiding deep down those layers and creating so many problems. Thin beings with lower lean body mass have high fat in their bodies. Credit goes to the misconception that thin is fit and they don’t have to train, so they choose to remain seated on the couch with all the junk, raising the fat content. The visceral fat (fat layering our organs) and subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin) is much higher in thin bodies than in ‘fat’ or healthier bodies. So, those extra chocolates or burgers may not trouble you now but will undoubtedly do later.

• BYE IMMUNITY:

They have lower immunity. They tend to fall sick more often as compared to their healthier friends. This is because of poor food habits and lifestyle. Being thin makes them think that they don’t need those hours of exercise in a day and they can eat how much they want. As a result, their immunity decreases. Skinny fat (Normal BMI, but with a higher fat percentage) people can have the same metabolic risk as to the fat ones( higher BMI) and impaired immune system.

IS IT A FEAR DEAL?

Obviously, not!

If being thin naturally comes at this cost, I am not ready for it.

Strive to be healthy and not thin, numbers on the scale will follow.

Lack of exercise and a poor diet can cause so many other problems and can even make you look dull. What you put inside shows outside as well.

That’s what makes being thin worst sometimes if you lack exercise and good-diet.

WHAT TO DO?

• KEEP MOVING: Size doesn’t matter, just keep moving and try to add at least some physical activity in your daily routine. Do what you enjoy the most and stay active. You can do weight training, HIIT, cardio, hiking or just anything you wish to do. Don’t forget to love yourself. Do what you love and love what you do.
• DITCH THE SCALE: You’re more than a number, don’t let them define you. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t weigh yourself, weighing yourself will tell you if you’re in a healthy weight range or not. But, will tell you nothing about the body-composition(fats or muscles). Focus on what weight consists of and not on the numbers on the scale.
• EAT REAL, STAY REAL: Swap those high sugary drinks with water or fresh fruit juices(if extra sugar is not added). Those high sugary drinks will just add those empty calories. Nourish your body with some real food and ditch the so-called diet food. Do yourself a favor and eat something nourishing. You’ll thank yourself for the choices you make today years later.
• SHUT THE MEDIA: If those ads or shows made you think that being skinny is everything and that’s the only thing that makes you beautiful. Shut it, right now. The more we hear lies, the more we believe them. So, just close your eyes and ears and avoid that bullshit. You don’t need such negativity in your life, baby!

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Stay confident with what you have and remember that you don’t have to fit into the lies of society. Wear clothes according to your likes and comfort level. Fear no one. Don’t forget to love yourself.

Focus on your mental health. It is as important as physical health. Body shaming can have bad impacts on it. Body image is both mental and emotional-it’s both the mental image that you have of your body and the way you feel about your body when you look in a mirror. A healthy body image is being comfortable with the way you look and recognizing one’s qualities and strengths that make you feel great about yourself beyond weight, shape or size. Don’t believe the myth of the “perfect” body that you see in the Media, there’s a life beyond that.

Walk your head high and take care of yourself, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Self-esteem is all about how much you respect and value yourself as a person. And, the body image and self-esteem go hand in hand.If you don’t like the body you have or you’re unhappy with certain parts of the body, it’s hard to feel good about yourself. If you don’t feel good about it, you’ll not give it the respect and love it needs.

Treat your body with respect. Eat good food to feel better. Dress in a way that makes you feel good. Wear that crop top if you want to, not to impress someone, but to make yourself happy. Dress for yourself, love and respect yourself. It’s all about you. Shut the media and remember we all are the same, we have scars and stretch marks too. There’s a lot of editing and makeup that goes behind that “perfect-body” image.

If you want to live a healthy life, build healthy habits. Don’t follow the routines your favorite celebrity or model has, they have a team to look after what they eat and what they do. You have only you and that’s enough. Don’t starve yourself to fit into those sexy jeans or your favorite beach dress, lose weight because of the difficulties it might create. Fat loss is not only about dropping those extra kgs but also about dropping the old eating habits you’ve built so far. Focus on being healthy and not skinny, numbers will reflect.

What matters is the overall well-being, exercise, the real food that nourishes our body to function properly, and embracing the real beauty in various shapes and sizes of women. We’ve exchanged the truth for lies, glorifying the outward appearance more than the bodies we’ve been gifted. Stand for what is good and true, Ladies.

Wave goodbye to all the glamorized ideas of skinny in our heads and give your body, all the love and care it needs.

You’re a badass!