This fitness blogger awesomely pointed out the problem with how we view losing weight
Listen up, because this one’s important. Fitness blogger Chinae Alexander just shared some cold, hard truth: Losing weight hurt her confidence. In fact, her whole fitness journey is sort of to blame. The difficulty with #fitspo and smoothie bowl porn is that it ignores a fundamental truth: That whole correlation between weight and healthy habits is kind of BS. It’s all well and good to track your progress – who doesn’t love hitting a goal? – but it’s dangerous when we focus on the numbers. In fact, research shows an inverse relationship between self-esteem and how often you weigh yourself.
Alexander says that before losing weight, her confidence came from within – but once she started her fitness journey, it was fueled by the positive feedback she got from others.
In an Instagram post from earlier this week, Alexander writes:
"The difference between this photos isn't my level of happiness or contentment with myself. Or what measure of beauty I relate/d to (FYI I thought I was hot shit on the left)💁🏼. It's not my confidence. Or the affection I feel for myself. ✨The ONLY thing different is a number of inches, some discipline, and time. ✨If you don't believe you are worthy of love at 225 lbs, you won't grasp it 70lbs later. It won't matter if you see your ideal body in the mirror, your confidence doesn't come from smaller sized yoga pants...it has to be soul-deep. And it has to be foundational to be transformational. 👋🏼 You don't need to have rock solid abs, or free-flowing air between your thighs, or a marathon under your belt to find your value. It exists within you ALREADY, my dear. Dig deep and find it. 👌🏼"
Alexander makes SUCH an important point here. If you’re starting a fitness journey, you need to do it for the right reasons. If you don’t already love yourself, weight loss isn’t going to change that. There are so many benefits to exercise and eating well: better sleep patterns, more energy, glowing skin, stronger joints. Weight loss is just a side effect – it doesn’t happen for everyone, so you’d better be ready to get the most out of your healthy lifestyle either way.
If you’re working out and you’re not happy, take a leaf out of Alexander’s book. She writes: “I stopped obsessing over the number stitched on the tag of my pants. Or how I compared with everyone else, both on social media and in life. I put away the food scale. I let myself have that extra glass of wine. I spent more of my time helping others and less time thinking of myself. ”
Now that sounds like a pretty great philosophy to us.
