This is controversial.
And I know I’m stepping on sacred ground, but I believe it’s an important message.
Some people may feel offended. But it is not my intention to offend.
If you have genuine feedback, thoughts or challenges that are well thought out, I would love to hear them. You can message me and we can talk about it for as long as you want.
You may have seen the news about “Cosmopolitan” magazine advertising larger women saying “This is healthy.”
But they are wrong. And I’d go one step further to say it is immoral to try and convince people otherwise.
The main argument used for this unhealthy messaging is that you should love yourself. Everybody is different. One size does not fit all and we all come in different shapes and sizes.
And I agree.
We are all individuals. Some people don’t have the genetic potential to look like the models, actors and actresses we see on magazines and TV.
Some people are bigger and heavier set. Some people are smaller and slimmer. Some people can not get abs no matter how hard they try.
And above all, the ideal is to love yourself. To know your worth as a human being and to know you are capable of living the highest quality life possible.
Where I disagree...
Promoting severely overweight or underweight people and telling them it is an acceptable standard of health.
To tell them it is “healthy” is a form of gas lighting.
It may be more common to be overweight. It may be more common to have low energy. It may be more common to see people injured, in pain or on a form of medication...
Just because it’s become common, does not make it healthy.
What’s worse... living a lifestyle which is a detriment to your health is the complete opposite of loving yourself.
Encouraging people to accept a lower standard of living that could lead to countless health issues is, in my opinion, evil.
What I think the next step should be...
Stop comparing yourself to others. Stop looking at people who are telling you what the standard of your health should be and start discovering it for yourself.
Find an activity you love to do and do it to the best of your ability.
Imagine you went to a Park Run. You would see all different shapes and sizes.
But if you looked at the top 1% of fast times from every group you would begin to notice something...
Their body types would start to look more and more identical.
And the more you refined the top 1% the more they would look alike.
What you would see is which body type is genetically best suited to run 5km in fast times.
You may not be one of those genetically built 5km runners, and that’s ok. What you can be is the best 5km runner you can be. (If you like running)
Find out and see what your body, fitness and health could be like. Where could your potential take you?
As one of the great philosophers once said...
“It is a shame for a man (or woman) to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his (or her) body is capable.”