Things that Perplex Me!

I’ve had a few different thoughts churning around in my brain for a while now! None of them on their own seem like enough to make a blog but I figured I could share my top three with you in this one blog. We’ll call it things that perplex me. These are strictly my thoughts and opinions which may be different than yours and by no means are meant to offend.

1. Fitness Competitions

As a fitness professional – I really struggle with this one. While I believe it’s great to work hard towards a goal and be mindful about your diet and exercise, in my opinion, Fitness Competitions are more about vanity.

Contestants work out ridiculous amounts and eat extreme diets – neither the diet or exercise is a sustainable practice. And then for competition day – spray themselves as orange as possible, avoid drinking water so as not to look bloated or have water weight. Contestants pose in various positions but are not asked to do anything that would use their muscles such as lifting weight or sprinting. To me that’s about vanity not a healthy, strong body. And the biggest issue I have with this is after the competition most gain an average of 10lbs because it is impossible to maintain the workout regime/diet that got them there. Wouldn’t it be smarter to work on being healthier? Wouldn’t it make more sense to focus on a diet and exercise regime you can consistently succeed at? And how about working to towards a race or lifting competition that focused on strength not looks? Just my thoughts on that!

2. Clothing Sizes

It’s my perception that in recent years, some women’s manufacturers have changed their sizes to make women feel as if they have gone down a size.

For example: for years I was a size 4 or size 6 petite at Ann Taylor. In the past 2 years – I am now a size 2 and sometimes a Zero! My body and weight really haven’t changed that much. In fact, I still own and wear several of my size 4 and 6 petite clothes and they fit just fine. Aren’t we smarter than that? Who are the manufacturers really fooling? If I change sizes in my clothes I’d like it to be because I worked at it. We really shouldn’t worry so much about the number on our tag – we should focus on how healthy we are and whether we have a good amount of muscle versus fat.

3. Healthy Food is too Expensive

I hear this from time to time – It’s cost so much more to eat healthy! Well – yes it may cost a bit more to eat organic or shop the farmers market. But it also costs more to buy antacids, pepto, visit the doctor for IBS, joint pains and so on. I would argue the money you may spend to improve your shopping list will be money saved in the long run with better health, better energy and less weight gain. I made dinner the other night for two consisting of grilled chicken (I bought extra so I’d have some for our lunches too), baked peppers and onions, and sauteed spinach for about $15. I had plenty of leftovers too. I’m not sure but doesn’t a pizza cost about that much these days? It may require buying what’s in season and taking advantage of specials but eating healthy does not have to break the bank.

Well I’m glad I got all of that off my chest! I’m now going to make a healthy smoothie with fresh fruit and spinach, put on my size 4 workout pants and do a little Pilates… and you know what – I bet I’ll get the results I want with my sustainable strategy to being healthy 🙂