The 'Get-Fit Not Thin' Revolution

So despite plus sized modelling becoming more of a thing and attempts to try make people of all sizes appreciate their bodies, there is still this constant desire to find skinny  version of ourselves especially for women. There is a shift developing here with a movement toward losing weight and conditioning one’s body in a healthy way. Those who have a goal of getting fitter and finding a better body, as I do myself, you may have noticed the emergence of the ‘Get Fit Not Thin’ revolution. The goal is to train hard and eat a controlled yet balanced diet to build and tone muscle and lose weight in the process. The biggest emphasis here is to actually eat but to make all your meals controlled. At the end of the day your body needs all of the five food groups but just in smaller amounts than we used to think.

Now this move to getting fit and having a healthy body is great in that it promotes healthier weight goals but this is a double edged swords in that it still does not necessarily promote a healthier body image. This is because, if you search through the countless motivation pictures for getting fit, or just see how it has manifested online and in gyms you are still confronted with the leanest, sexiest and most muscular men and women alive. And let’s not kid ourselves, they’re hot. Now, depending on body type, some people, like me for instance, just may never be able to achieve that look, unless they live at the gym. But to be fair not everyone has the time to do this. The feelings of inadequacy about your body because it will not turn into a muscle machine are still very present for curvy women and men whose stomachs just will not shrink. I am a curvy woman, I have been that way my whole life and I eat quite healthily and I do pole dancing a minimum of three times a week. I am surrounded constantly by women who just have the most stunning bodies. So I have experienced the frustration of having a body which will not go lean and look like theirs. I do have the benefit of being able to appreciate my own strength though, which appeases me so that I have favorite parts of my body the same way that I have parts of my body which I hate.

So this is my input to this dilemma. The ‘Get Fit Revolution’ is primarily about being healthy, about eating right and exercising often. Healthy does not mean that you have to be size nothing-but-muscle, but that you and your body need to be in the best shape possible. Maybe you are like me    and for me, being in good shape means that my curves aren’t a problem. Ok I will admit to not being as cardio fit as I would like but I’m working on that. But I have strength and energy and everything is working as it should so I am still in very good shape regardless of the size of my clothing.

So here are the guidelines that I try follow to be fit and healthy. Carbs are not evil, but they are not your best friend either. The key here is to eat a few good carbs such as starchy vegetables. Butternut is my personal favorite and it can actually be a whole meal on its own. You should then avoid simple or ‘dirty’ carbs such as pasta, bread and general baked goods on a daily basis. You can have these foods every once in a while as a treat but they are not an everyday food source. For example having pasta or bread once a week is fine but more than that maybe not so great, but if it is all you have to eat, please just eat it. Starving your body is not going to get you anywhere. But things you should try and avoid at all costs (unless you do practically live at a gym, then you can pretty much eat whatever, but for the rest of us…); chips, takes out like Mac Ds and KFC because you are not just getting carbs from them but also a ridicules amount of oil.

Protein however, is your best friend in this venture towards getting a healthier body, especially lean protein such as chicken. And if you are looking for cheaper foods then eggs are a perfect protein rich food. If you can base most of your meals around protein instead of carbs then you will be feeding your body in a smart way because it will have to burn fat with less carbs and sugars to burn and the protein helps to build muscle. But remember that you can over do it here too! Too much protein is bad for your liver. The trend is to pump your body full of protein and nothing but protein. Please Do Not Do This!! Your body needs the other nutrients too, otherwise you will run into problems. You see if your body burns away all of the easy to use energy, it may start to digest muscle. If you are trying to build and tone muscle then this is not going to help you.   

Fruits and vegetables are always your friend, just remember to control the amount of fruit that you eat because it is still sugar even if it is natural sugar. The recommended amount these days is two pieces of fruit a day at most three. I will admit, if someone told me that I was not allowed fruit I would be so grump because that is my replacement for sweets and cakes and such things. For some people a sweet tooth is unavoidable, so instead of going to sweets just have fruit, seriously, some pineapple for example is a really sweet delicious treat. Please do not go for those protein bars though because they have so much processed sugar in them. That’s why they taste so nice.

For exercise, 20 to 30 minutes of cardio three times a week is a good rule and this can be whatever kind of cardio suits you. I personally hate running and I really struggle to do much without struggling to breathe. This is why I own an exercise bike and that works for me, so you really have to find what you enjoy. The benefits of having my bike at home is that I can just open up my laptop and watch something while I ride so that I don’t get bored which makes it easier. I have heard that some people love spinning class and other people prefer swimming as it is the easiest kind of exercise for your joints. I am lucky in that pole dancing is the perfect combination of weight training and cardio. Just find a way to enjoy the exercise that you are doing because if you hate doing it you are more likely going to fall off the wagon and end up giving up.

Weight training is the number one way to tone and build muscle for more definitions and strength. This is how those sexy people in the motivational pictures get those ripped muscles. But please remember that you can weight train all day, every day, but if you do not eat right or do cardio, you are not going to see the results that you want to see. Also keep your weight training balanced, most people will alternate training legs with arms which works well. You should however always do core work. If you do not have time, access or even the money for a gym there are loads of at home exercises you can do. Planks are almost a perfect exercise as they work your core, yours arms and your quads. You can also buy cheap weights to help you, for example at Dischem you can get 4kg kettle weights for R100. Two of these are great when doing leg exercises such as squats and lunges which are both great for scalping your thighs, bum and quads.

Finally, if you are going to use a diet supplement, that is cool, but do your research. Check what is in it, check what each of those things do and if you need to speak to a professional, do that! If you are taking the wrong thing it may be fighting all of the hard work that you have been doing. I personally use a product called Aminoliq which contains Choline Bitartrate (8000mg per 100ml) and Inositol (1125mg per 100ml). These two are vitamin B based natural fat burns but because it also contains a lot of Amino Acids I prefer to use it only before training otherwise, what is essentially protein just sits there.

 So that is, at least, my take on this whole situation. As I said before I am not one of these lean gym bunnies so I cannot give a full proof plan to look that way. Also there are a lot of success stories about people who have gone from over weight to ripped so it can be do if you have the time and dedication to really do it. But just remember that being healthy is more important than being lean and muscly. If you are having to put yourself through hell to get to that dream body then it is not worth it and you are probably missing the point of being healthy. There is no one diet fits all approach and some exercise may just not be for you. So find what works for you and go with that. As long as your body feels healthy and you can feel good then that is what matters. So good lucks and healthy living.