There seems to be a great divide on social media when it comes to weight loss:
1. “Weight loss is TOXIC! Dieting is a sign that you hate yourself & you should stop that. Eat everything you want, only workout if you feel like it, and just love your body as is!”
2. “Nothing is better than FIT! Skipping a single workout means you’ve failed. Not hitting your macros on the nose means you’ve failed. Food is fuel, nothing more. No excuses. WORK. HARDER.”
We often struggle to find the middle ground between these two schools of thought.
And I get it: I used to diet HARD, feel restricted, get upset, and think “I shouldn’t have to do this. This is so unhealthy. I should just be FREE. Tracking food is SO disordered! Im done!”
Then I’d let myself go: stop tracking my nutrition, slow down on workouts, eat anything I wanted (& then some), claiming that any restraint of any kind was “restriction”… but then a few months later, I’d realized I’d gained 10 pounds, feel really unhealthy and lethargic, dislike my body, and get back on some sort of strict diet.
And for a while - hating my body DID fuel my diets. I had a terrible relationship with my body, and so I forced dieting upon it in order to lose weight.
But within the last few years, something has changed - I genuinely love my body. Bigger or smaller, I have so much love and respect for it.
Sometimes, I choose to lose a few pounds. I know this will be hard for some people to believe, but it truly is NOT out of hate for my body - just preference. Lynette at 155 pounds is awesome. Lynette at 148 pounds is also awesome. The latter just fits into my jeans a little better 😉 And I prefer that.
But by NO MEANS do I hate me a few pounds heavier.
Weight loss does not have to mean you hate your body any more than choosing NOT to lose weight must mean you love your body. Your love for your body is a separate journey - not defined by weight loss or the lack thereof.
You can love something and still want to change it or improve it.
Have you ever felt guilty for wanting to lose weight?
Stay connected with Lynette on
- IG @lynettemarieh
- Facebook: lynettemariefitness
- YouTube: Lynette Marie
- Website: http://lynettemariefitness.com
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