Why is it hard to live a healthy lifestyle?

     I feel like I say this in all my blogs, but once again this one is going to be real laid back. 

     I want to talk about weight and gym culture. I feel like weight is an extremely sensitive topic when it really shouldn’t be. People think of weight only in pounds and fat, but the most important part is really the distribution of it. People don’t realize that you can weigh 200 pounds and look tall and skinny. Then you can also weigh 200 pounds and be short and thick. The way the world thinks about weight makes it seem like such a negative topic when it’s not.

     In my opinion what’s on the scale does not matter, because what even is a “normal” or “average” weight. Those things don’t exist to me, because everyone is so special that you can’t create a ‘norm’. In my opinion, what’s on the scale doesn’t really matter, because it doesn’t equate to what you look like in real life. As long as you’re healthy and your organs aren’t overworking themselves to perform their jobs, I feel like weight doesn’t matter. That comes with a stopping point because everything has an extent. I’m not saying it’s okay to not care about how much you weigh, but don’t overromanticize being a certain weight.

     Me in particular, I work out almost every single day, but I’m not trying to lose weight, I’m trying to gain weight. I’m gaining it and it’s coming on fast too. My goal is to be strong. No matter how much I weigh, I want to look strong and feel good about my appearance. My main focus is weight gain, so I lift weights, but since I’m exercising to gain weight that weight that I’m gaining comes on as muscle not fat. Muscles weigh more than fat, therefore my numbers on the scale will go up even if I’m getting into better shape. I feel like there’s aa stigma around weight, exercise, and the scale. Everyone should exercise no matter how petite or thick they are. Exercise is for health not to look a certain way or to lose weight.

     There is also this stupid myth that people only exercise to lose weight which simply isn’t true. Gym culture can be very toxic, especially for newcomers, because they are finding their way around. It can also be toxic, because around new year’s when everyone has their resolutions, everyone makes getting in the gym a goal. They start that goal in January and give up by March. The gym is not an easy thing to commit to. It takes a lot of hard work and effort. You will not always be motivated, but you must be disciplined. Don’t look at the gym as some sort of tiring chore that you hate looking forward to. Look at it as a peaceful time to better yourself, physically and mentally. I feel like people see so many things as chores and that makes them not want to do them. You have to romanticize things like going to the gym, eating healthy, or anything else that will improve your life. 

(*These images do not belong to me, I got them from Google*)

The people  displayed in these images are some of my inspirations which may be the focus of my next blog…

Author: Aleria Holmes

Aleria Holmes I'm a Senior Literary Student at MSA with a passion for writing much stronger than a hobby. After high school I plan to attend Columbia University to major in Creative Writing (screenwriting specifically) and minor in Psychology. I love what I do and I hope to make a career out of it someday. View all posts by Aleria Holmes