There is a lot of talk about “health”

How people are judged by their appearance under the veil of “health”

But… that kind of got me thinking… what exactly is “healthy?”

• Is it the ability to lift heavy weights?
• Is it the ability to run a really fast 500M?
• Is it the ability to run really far?
• Is it riding your bike to work?
• Is it eating organic?
• Is it having good blood sugar?
• Is it having good cholesterol?
• Is it being able to eat junk food while still maintaining safe vitals?
• Is it getting 8 hours of sleep without needing medicinal aide?
• Is it simply not ever falling ill?
• Is it having strong bones?
• Is it the ability to maintain emotional health?
• Is it exclusive or inclusive of those who have physical vices (ie: smoking, drinking, drugs, etc…)
• Is it moderation? (physical health being the goal)
• Is it indulgence? (mental health being the goal)

What is it? “All of the above” is not an option. It cannot be a requirement because, certainly, there are people who are physically fit and healthy who violate one (or many) of the random things I just stated.

So… what is it? What is healthy? It’s so abstract. It all of a sudden pissed me off to realize that people (myself included) use the word “healthy” when I’ll be damned if any one of us has a real inclination of what being “healthy” entails.

There are so many different “ways” to be “healthy” that gauging it is nearly impossible.

I hate language. It really irks me. F you, language. You suck.

Or, maybe I should just refrain from waking up at 6 am on a Saturday…

I feel like so many of us get caught up in the aesthetics of fitness. We say “I don’t care how I look, I just want to be strong, to run fast, to run far, to lift X pounds…

But we all know we’re lying.

Why did you start working out in the first place? Was it really because you wanted to get stronger or faster? Most of you… no. It wasn’t that way for most of us. Most of us looked in the mirror and thought “Good gravity. WTF happened to me?” and thus began the trip.

And, along the way, we formed a relationship with our workouts. We learned what we loved, what we hated (and why we need to do both.) We learned what we were good at and what we were bad at (and why we needed to do both of those as well…)

But somewhere along the way… we start chasing something more. We don’t only want to be fit and strong, we want to look good while we do it. So we start obsessing more over nutrition. Which, starts out innocent enough… then it becomes obsessive. Our relationship with the world around us turns foggy in different ways. 

We start looking at other people’s bodies and turning them into “goals” and “motivation” without stopping to think that the figure you’re aspiring for is not your own.

Sometimes we forget that these people are professionals. They often dedicate more time to it than what we do as a hobby or even as a “lifestyle.” We abandon the knowledge that often times, these men and women don’t retain these figures all year round, that there is bulking and cutting. They look awesome in the pictures we see because that’s when they do their photoshoots. 

The look of your body is not a pure indication of health. I have some really slender and aesthetically pleasing friends who I could absolutely destroy in a race. Who I could most likely out lift. Out-do in so many ways. Yeah… they have abs (all of them… douchebags… grrr) but, it’s just aesthetics. Who knows what their arteries might look like. Who knows how strong their lungs or biceps are? Maybe not as strong as yours.

Don’t worry about vanity weight. Deal with it if you want, but don’t feel like you need to.

Don’t get depressed when you eat a slice of cake and then scroll past pictures of fitness models. Just like lingerie models… it’s their job to look good. Me? It’s my job to be smart. Does that mean I can’t strive to look good? No. But should I probably suck it up and not get all grouchy when I have an 8 day week full of physics, biology, chemistry and general ed practice tests… forcing me to spend hours normally used working out my body for working out my brain instead?

Life happens. Enjoy it.

Get your ass off tumblr for a day. Go out and look at the world around you. LOOK at it. You may find you’re in better condition than you thought. When you look at yourself next to the general public… you’re like a frigging superstar. (After I came back from my Bahama cruise, I felt like a damn super model. I think I was the most slender person on the boat aside from the employee’s.)

So, cool your jets. Stop beating yourself up. No one gains from that kind of negative self-image.

Just some thoughts swimming through my mind. Sorry it’s not arranged very well. That’s why it’s thought vomit…

~Bonnie

(Source: motivationforfitness)