Strong vs. Skinny

Let’s say you had a really awesome week of hitting all your workouts, hitting them hard, coming home sore, sweaty and tired. Then you weigh yourself. Suddenly, the last 7 days of activity mean nothing to you because you’re too pissed off at the number you see above your toes.

Why do we do this to ourselves?

I had such a good workout last night on my own treadmill that I changed my Wednesday workout from only thirty minutes to forty. Then I suddenly hated myself because of that scale number.

Now, I knew I had to weigh myself at some point. I just signed up for a year of premium service with MyFitnessPal and I wanted to make sure I was tracking everything; the good, the bad and the ugly.

I went from sad, angry, disappointed to just downright self-loathing.

Then I remember, “Hey. Lady. Weight-loss isn’t necessarily your goal this year. That was so 2013. This year you want to get strong, not skinny.”

After that realization, I wrote this down.

I want to be strong, not skinny. I already look good in skinny jeans. Skinny is for those who want to stare in the mirror. Strong is for those who want to work hard to achieve things they weren’t able to last year. I don’t want my body to be just for looking at. I want it to do incredible things.

After coming to that conclusion, I calmed down. I realized what I need to do to become strong and healthy is to eat right, allow myself some pleasure, and to keep up with the fitness level I’m at right now. Did I get strong counting calories? No. Did I get as strong as I could be just running? Nope. Is it time to try something new? Yes. Yes it is.

Raise your glass of wine, water, Gatorade or Spark and say it with me, “I want to be strong, not skinny!”