My Fitness Plan and Body Image

I hope your new year has gotten off to a good start, mine certainly has! I've had a busy social calendar and am well on my way to achieving my new years resolutions. I have a few exciting projects starting soon that I will share on the blog in some future posts.

In this post, I want to cover a very important issue facing pretty much everyone today. Personal body image insecurities are not discriminate of gender or even age! Eating disorders and low self-esteem because of weight concerns are affecting children even as young as three these days, and despite many efforts, these problems aren't going away.

This is obviously not new information to you, as media consumers are bombarded with positive and negative information on what we "should" aspire to look like. But I hope to be a good role model and share my thoughts on my own personal body image.

I am 5'10" (178cm tall) and a size 8-10 Australian (generally an American 6 or Small to Medium). According to my BMI ranking I am juuuuuuust right! But according to magazines and insta-models, my tummy isn't toned enough, my legs are too large, my thigh gap is non existent and my breasts....are small and humble (well according to me and Shakira :anyway P).

Some girls envy my body, calling me thin and glamorous because of my height. But I know others hold me to different, unrealistic standards. I have been declared too big for the modelling industry, but too "lanky" for the boys to be interested in me back in high school. Funny how the world works isn't it?

So what do I think? My opinion (besides my doctor's) should be the most important and relevant one, after all, it is my body! Well to tell you the truth, I do not work for my body, which may or may not be obvious. My fitness regime has fallen on the wayside, and while I eat a balanced diet, I could definitely be more selective with the food I consume, and lay off the sweets.

So am I happy with my body? Yes and no (unsurprisingly).

I want to feel healthier. Everyone should be 100% happy with their body if they feel 100% healthy on the inside. However, I don't think most people feel that way, so that should inspire us all to lead a healthier lifestyle, not what we see in the mirror. Its easier said than done of course. I'm not completely happy with either of those things, but I endeavor to concentrate on my health and feeling good, rather than what I look like. If my health improves, hopefully this will be reflected in my physique. But, if I get healthier and my body stays the same, I will do my best to accept myself, "flaws" and all. My body isn't perfect, but its mine. It gets me from A to B, and I'm alive and generally healthy. And that's what matters, not my thigh gap or dress size.

This goes along with wanting to be fitter. I want to be able to run greater distances in shorter amounts of time. I want to be less tired and able to swim, play and dance for as long as possible. Fitness is about living life, not about how it makes your body look. Yes I also want to look more toned, I would be lying if I said I didn't find that attractive. But I don't enjoy working out unless I'm dancing or playing a sport with someone. That's fine if you do, work out because you love it! But if you don't love it like me, find the balance between doing the activities you love, and working out so you get closer to achieving your health and fitness goals, which should not include looking a certain way.

Only recently have I felt comfortable without board shorts on when in my bathers. You're only young once so I started to tell myself that I'm beautiful, and after a while I finally believed it. It did help that I can be slender with little effort and my boyfriend is very loving and supportive. However, I don't want to put zero effort in. If you only live once I want to live life to the fullest and be the happiest, healthiest and fittest I can be! And if that makes me more "beautiful" and makes my body slimmer and more toned, that's a nice bonus (plus as we get older, it gets harder to look good with no effort, so I should cultivate good habits now!).

However, let your own body be what it is meant to be. I often wish I could have the beautiful curves some women have and hate, but my body will never be that way. Love what you have been blessed with! You can appreciate a slim woman, or a curvy and busty one, without feeling like that is the definition of beauty. My definition of beauty is being a kind person, taking care of your health and exuding confidence, no matter what your body naturally is. When you are confident it makes you more attractive, inside and out!

This month to aid my health-quest, I am joining a new gym and starting a new fitness routine. Plus I will be eating for fuel more than pleasure. I believe sugar is a drug, and I am addicted! But I will talk about letting yourself indulge once and a while (a must!) and enjoying a balanced diet in a future post. As mentioned in my last post, I am not "getting fit" as part of a new-years resolution. Being healthier and fitter is a lifestyle change and a life-long journey.

Thanks for reading this post! I would appreciate any comments, lets start a discussion on Body Image! Also, please check out my friend Trisha's blog http://thepinkestgirl.com/ . She captured these photos of me, and I can't wait to look back on them when I'm old and wrinkly and appreciate the young body I had :)