Recently, I decided to hop on the fad train and try one of the newest fitness crazes (I won't mention which one), so I signed up for a class (the first one being free-woohoo!). During the intro, a representative comes out and interviews me, asking my activity level, what kinds of exercise I enjoy, etc etc. One of the questions, he asked was "when would you say you were at your fittest?" I asked "do you mean at my healthiest?" and he shortly responded "at your fittest." I thought about this question, gave the guy the benefit of the doubt, and said right now I was at my fittest, because right now, I'm eating well-balanced meals, not freaking out if I only get to exercise twice a week, and enjoying my time with friends. Do I weigh about 10-15 pounds heavier than I did when I was at my "fittest"? I sure do. But then again, when I was at my "fittest", I was eating 1400 calories/day and exercising every.single.day, for at least 40 minutes, and I'm talking like hard FB workouts, all the time. I would go 6 days eating clean (broccoli/rice/black beans), and then binge eat ice cream and cream puffs for 24 hours (close to the point of getting sick), and then go back to eating 1400 calories again. I thought that if I ate so well during the week, one day of eating like crap certainly couldn't hurt me.
This representative frustrated me, because yes, although now I don't necessarily look "fit" (I have love handles and a booty, sue me), I approach fitness with a healthier mindset than I ever did before. If I wanted to have kids, I'm much more suited to. There can be this push in the fitness industry that equates looks with health, which I think distorts our way of thinking. Can we sustainably do these hour long workouts 4-5 times/week forever, through the madness of having kids, moving, starting jobs, LIFE? Yes, I think it's awesome to have fitness goals (they keep me motivated), but I also think it's crippling to set someone up on a path to have rock hard abs for life to get in the way and then they're faced with the disappointment of not being "fit" anymore, even if they are still healthy. I don't necessarily look "fit", but I could kick someone's ass at weightlifting or HIIT if I wanted to (thanks, FB!) Anyway, that's my two cents. Thanks for listening to me rant. Anyone else feel the same way?
"Fit" vs. "Healthy"
Recently, I decided to hop on the fad train and try one of the newest fitness crazes (I won't mention which one), so I signed up for a class (the first one being free-woohoo!). During the intro, a representative comes out and interviews me, asking my activity level, what kinds of exercise I enjoy, etc etc. One of the questions, he asked was "when would you say you were at your fittest?" I asked "do you mean at my healthiest?" and he shortly responded "at your fittest." I thought about this question, gave the guy the benefit of the doubt, and said right now I was at my fittest, because right now, I'm eating well-balanced meals, not freaking out if I only get to exercise twice a week, and enjoying my time with friends. Do I weigh about 10-15 pounds heavier than I did when I was at my "fittest"? I sure do. But then again, when I was at my "fittest", I was eating 1400 calories/day and exercising every.single.day, for at least 40 minutes, and I'm talking like hard FB workouts, all the time. I would go 6 days eating clean (broccoli/rice/black beans), and then binge eat ice cream and cream puffs for 24 hours (close to the point of getting sick), and then go back to eating 1400 calories again. I thought that if I ate so well during the week, one day of eating like crap certainly couldn't hurt me.
This representative frustrated me, because yes, although now I don't necessarily look "fit" (I have love handles and a booty, sue me), I approach fitness with a healthier mindset than I ever did before. If I wanted to have kids, I'm much more suited to. There can be this push in the fitness industry that equates looks with health, which I think distorts our way of thinking. Can we sustainably do these hour long workouts 4-5 times/week forever, through the madness of having kids, moving, starting jobs, LIFE? Yes, I think it's awesome to have fitness goals (they keep me motivated), but I also think it's crippling to set someone up on a path to have rock hard abs for life to get in the way and then they're faced with the disappointment of not being "fit" anymore, even if they are still healthy. I don't necessarily look "fit", but I could kick someone's ass at weightlifting or HIIT if I wanted to (thanks, FB!) Anyway, that's my two cents. Thanks for listening to me rant. Anyone else feel the same way?