See Blythe’s Weights. Shiny and new 4kg hand weights! So purty :D The 3kg weights were just not cutting it, literally ;)

myfitness-app:

internal-acceptance-movement:

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF DURING A BAD BODY IMAGE DAY:

1. Recognize that fat isn’t a feeling.

There are always underlying emotions that we attach to feeling fat. When the “I feel fat” thoughts start up, try to identify what you’re feeling underneath the body dissatisfaction. Are you feeling lonely? Anxious? Invisible? Scared? Ashamed? Inadequate? Whatever the feelings are recognize that they are separate from your body. 

2. Treat yourself as you would a friend.

Because it’s difficult to be kind to ourselves in the moment when the body hating thoughts take over, try responding to your thoughts as if you were supporting a friend. What would you say to someone you loved who was battling your same struggle with body image?

You wouldn’t tell them to not eat for the day in order to compensate for what they ate the previous night. You wouldn’t tell them to punish themselves for their body size through over-exercise, self-harm, or abusive eating habits. You wouldn’t tell them they were worthless or unloveable because of their weight. So why do you tell yourself these things? Break the cycle and start treating yourself like a friend—you deserve that kindness and love from everyone, especially yourself. 

3. Recognize that you are so much more than the size of your body. 

What you look like does not define you. It doesn’t discount your worth as a human being. You are so much more than a number on the scale. As a living, breathing, feeling human being you have inherent value. You are special and important and loved. You exist and therefore you matter.

Your appearance is such a small part of who you are, and it certainly doesn’t warrant enough power to discount the person you are inside. You aren’t your body or your weight—you are your goals and dreams and passions and values. You are your strengths and talents and insight. You are a soul and a spirit and a force of nature. Your body does not define you. 

4. Shift your focus from the external to the internal.

Make a list of all the people you look up to and are inspired by—not because of their weight or appearance, but because of who they are and what they do. Write out all the qualities they have that make you appreciate and value them.

Use the list as a reminder that it’s the internal things—our dreams and passions and goals and morals and insight and character—that truly define who we are and draw people to us; not how we look.

You are no exception to this. Try making your own list of things you like about yourself that have nothing to do with appearance or body size. If you have a difficult time creating one, ask some friends and family to help you. 

5. Think about what you want to be remembered for after you die.

I don’t want people to remember me for what I looked like, what size jeans I wore, or what I weighed. I want to be remembered for the person I am. I want to be remembered as someone who brought about positive change in the world. I want to be remembered as loving friend, partner, and family member. I want to be remembered for my passions and my creativity and my strength. I want to be remembered as someone who made a difference. What do you want your legacy to be? Chances are, it doesn’t have to do with weight.

6. Instead of focusing on the size of your body, start focusing on what your body allows you to do. 

The human body is an incredible force. When we get caught up in the number on the scale and size of clothes however, we forget just how lucky we are to have a fully functioning vehicle to engage in life with. So stop hating your body for the way it looks and start acknowledging and appreciating your body for all that it allows you to do.

Make a list of each activity and feat your body helps you to partake in and accomplish. If you want to be even more specific, list out each body part and describe all the things you wouldn’t be able to do without it. Your body is strong, powerful, and beautiful, regardless of it’s size. Choose to treat it with love, compassion, and gratitude instead of hate and judgement. 

7. Challenge your negative thoughts.

You may not be able to change the way you feel about your body today, tomorrow, or a month from now, but you can begin the process by challenging the thoughts in the moment. Write out a dialogue between your negative voice and a healthy voice. If you have a hard time coming up with positive counters to the negative thoughts, pretend that you are speaking positively about a friend or loved one.

Even if you don’t believe the things you say to counter the voice, it’s still important to speak out against it, because each time you argue with the thoughts, you are taking away some of their power and reclaiming your own. The more you challenge the thoughts, the less you will believe them. The more you argue back, the easier fighting the voice will become. 

8. Allow yourself to feel your feelings.

There is a lot of built up energy and emotion underlying the way we feel about our bodies. Holding in how we feel or engaging in behaviors to numb out may make us feel better in the moment, but in the long run, it doesn’t remedy the pain we feel. It doesn’t make us feel better and it keeps us stuck.  

Releasing the energy and painful emotions underlying our body shame requires us to feel our feelings. Whether that means throwing a tantrum on the floor, venting to a friend on the phone, punching a pillow, screaming in your car, or crying in bed, you need to allow yourself to feel your feelings. Let go of the judgement you have about what you feel and recognize that you are feeling these things for a reason. Give yourself permission to release your emotions and let everything out. 

9. Do self care.

When you’re struggling with body image, distract yourself with healthy coping mechanisms. Take a bubble bath, get a message, ask for a back scratch, cuddle with a pet, make plans with a supportive friend, watch your favorite movie, get a manicure, listening to calming music, do deep breathing—whatever it is, make sure it’s something self-soothing and helps you get out of your head.

10. Be kind with yourself.

You may not be able to control the way you feel about your body, but you can control what you do in response to how you feel.

Instead of beating yourself up, you can choose to treat yourself with compassion. Instead of engaging in unhealthy and abusive behaviors, you can choose to do self-care. Instead of treating your body as an enemy, you can choose to treat it as a friend. Instead of isolating yourself, you can choose to reach out for support and surround yourself with positive people who make you feel loved and accepted. Instead of agreeing with the negative thoughts, you can choose to challenge them. 

***You have more power than you think—don’t let the way you feel about your body keep you from living.

Coping with bad body image days may not be easy, but it is possible.

Don’t give up.

You aren’t alone.

Things can and will get better.

(via yulie1022)

judgefreelife:

muffintop-less:

My Beef with the Word “Tone”

For as long as I have been blogging now (a little over 2 years), I’ve come across the word “tone” in just about every question, comment or post that I get. I must admit, even I have tagged my posts with the word, because I know that more often than not, girls find my blog by searching with that word. I understand that it is a very popular word, especially among women, as it suggests a certain fit look. But it’s important to realize that the word tone is a sales ploy (not a scientific term) typically aimed at women who are not familiar with working out or the process of getting in shape. More than anything, the point of this post is to explain exactly what “tone” is and how to achieve it, so that you ladies won’t fall victim to a clever marketing gimmick on a product that might not be necessary to reaching your goals!

Let’s take a closer look at what most girls have described “tone” as to me: Tone implies a fit body with some muscle definition and not a lot of visible fat. It is a healthy and desirable look with feminine curves, but not much “bulky muscle”.

What tone really is: building muscle and then losing body fat.

Myth #1 Keeping You From Your Goals: Unfortunately, the myth that women are capable of bulking up and building muscle like a man is still annoyingly persistent. I’m not sure who invented this silly fallacy, but if I were to ever meet them, I would certainly give them a piece of my mind! ;) Women do not have the levels of testosterone necessary to “bulk up” the way men do. Even MEN have trouble putting on muscle mass. When I hear girls and guys tell me they “don’t want to get too big”, I can’t help but sigh. You will NOT be able to pick up a pair of heavy dumbbells and wake up the next morning looking like the incredible hulk. Most men and women have no idea how much effort, time, dedication, and discipline it takes to achieve “tone”, let alone a muscular physique! Remember, if it were EASY to be that in shape and all it took was picking up a heavy weight now and then, EVERYONE would be in shape! 

So, to sum it up: In order to achieve “tone”, you must build muscle and then shed fat (in that order!) Here’s why:

Myth #2 Keeping You From Your Goals: So many women believe that they can just do a bunch of cardio and diet to “lose the weight first and then tone up” afterward with resistance training. But the problem lies in the fact that if you have built NO muscle, you won’t have anything to “tone”!  Just for the record and for those of you who didn’t already know this, it is physically impossible to turn fat into muscle. Fat and muscle are two entirely separate tissues in the human body, one cannot become the other. In other words, you cannot “tone” fat. It’s so important to focus on building a solid foundation of muscle FIRST. Keep in mind that muscle is metabolically active tissue… The more muscle you have on your body, the more calories you burn just by being alive! Pretty great right!? This increased calorie burn makes it THAT much easier to lose body fat! In addition, with an increased calorie burn, you can eat more calories than you could have with less muscle on your frame.

So what’s my “beef” with the word? I mean after all, it is JUST a word. But the truth is, this word gets in the way of results. It gets in the way of progress both mentally and physically. People get so caught up being afraid of the myths I mentioned above and focusing so much on what they falsely believe this word to be, that they don’t train hard enough to ever reach their goals. Think about it this way, if you are like me, you probably toss anything and everything into your large purse. By the time you’re walking out the door, the thing weighs a good ten pounds! Does lifting that purse make you “tone”? Does lifting your hair dryer, water bottle or back pack make you tone? Now if those don’t…. why would a 5 pound dumbbell do that? It won’t… and that’s because in order to build muscle, you must CHALLENGE your body with heavy weights! I constantly challenge my body with heavier weights, and by no means do I look “manly” or “bulky”.

Now For The “How To”: In order to build muscle, and then lose the body fat (which at this point you realize is what “tone” really means), you must eat a clean, nutritious diet with plenty of protein, complex carbohydrates & healthy fats. You must also regularly perform challenging, resistance training several times a week and incorporate cardiovascular exercise as well. Keep in mind that the AMOUNT and TYPE of cardio is completely dependent upon your body type, your nutrition, your individual goals and a variety of other factors. So you will have to experiment and figure out what works best for YOU. There are some supplements that can help this process, such as protein powder and fish oil. However keep in mind supplements are meant to supplement, not take the place of a nutritious, balanced diet. Work hard and have patience with yourself. It takes time and a great deal of effort, but if you believe you can do it, you WILL.

this is the first time I’ve ever heard “build muscle then lose fat” not “lose fat and then tone” and my mind is blown.

(via carrotandkale)