A Perfect 10!!

Look through any magazine or online advertisement, and you will see GORGEOUS people with PERFECT bodies.  Or should I say that what you’ll see is what the advertising world would like us to believe is “perfect”.  There is no such thing as “perfect” and there is no one look that will appeal to all people.  Some people are attracted to those who are tall, others to shorter people (like me … short, that is … I’m short!)  Some like those who are thin, others like athletic, and still others find people are bigger to be sexy.  Straight hair, curly, wavy or even bald.  Light skin, dark skin, caramel or freckled. Blonde, brunette, redhead, purple, pink, blue, green, etc., etc., etc.  Like they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Saying one is better than the other is a complete travesty.  Being a specific body type isn’t what’s important.  But, staying healthy, well, that’s important for everyone, no matter what body type floats your boat. 

Unfortunately, staying in shape and staying healthy is not so easy to achieve.  It takes work.  Hard work!  And human nature is for us to gravitate towards the easy, towards the lazy.

Actually, I’m one of those strange creatures who likes to work out.  That is, once I’m actually doing it. See, even for me, I gravitate towards the lazy if I’m not actually doing the exercise.  If I’m sitting on my comfy couch, watching some stupid television show and noshing on something yummy, it can be rather difficult to make myself get up and do some exercises.  Even harder if I have to actually get into exercise clothing and walk to the gym!

So how can I get myself motivated?  Well, looking in the mirror and focusing on the jiggly parts could help.  But while that may make me healthy in my body, it’s not really healthy for my soul.  I mean, let’s be honest, we ALL have jiggly parts.  Ok, maybe not someone who enters body building competitions, but they still have parts that they want to improve.  So focusing on the negatives about ourselves is not the answer. We should all want to improve (physically, mentally and emotionally), but berating ourselves isn’t a healthy way to go about it.

Looking through those magazines or online at photos of people in shape isn’t a way to go about it either.  I mean, first of all, those photos are touched up.  Sometimes A LOT! But even if they were realistic (ha!!), just because you see someone with fantastic abs, or really nicely sculpted arms, it doesn’t mean that you will look like that, no matter how much you exercise.  We all are born with different body types, and just because we want to look a certain way doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll get there.  At least not without some plastic surgery, and that’s not what I’m suggesting here!

For me, I am never going to be able to sing Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” song and have anyone believe the lyrics are about me!  I definitely have “white girl butt” syndrome!  I do squats, bridges, lunges and all the other exercises that are supposed to plump up your derriere.  But my butt never gets much bigger than it currently is.  And oh how I wish I had a bubble butt!! But sadly, that just won’t ever be the case. 

So rather than focusing on achieving a body shape that would be worthy of a Sports Illustrated cover, I think people need to focus more on making themselves healthy!  Focus on doing things that will make your heart stronger, and you bones less frail as you age.  Get yourself moving a bit more, and sitting around doing nothing a bit less.  Eat a bit more of the healthy stuff and stay away from the crap a bit more. And do it starting right now!!  Because the younger you start this, the more it will become a part of who you are, and the less difficult it will be to accomplish or to keep up as you get older!

That doesn’t mean that we should all spend a ton of cash and buy expensive gym memberships.  Just focus on doing a few things differently.  Like, maybe get off the subway one stop early and walk the extra few blocks on a nice sunny day.  Take the stairs, instead of the elevator (especially if you only have a couple of flights to go up or down.)  Or just turn on some fun, energetic music and dance your tush off!  If it’s a nice evening, take a short stroll around the neighborhood after dinner to work off the calories.  And instead of grabbing that bag a chips, grab some nuts instead.  Boring?  How about sprinkling them with a bit of seasoning?

Do these things, and no matter your body type, you’ll have a body that appreciates all you are doing to keep it healthy!!