Why You Should Focus On Being Fit, Not Skinny

Since the 1960s, being skinny has become a female beauty ideal. While being thin is probably good for us, and being overweight is unhealthy, the main issue is that the fashion ideal often promotes a too-skinny look, so thin that it becomes unattainable for most women, and if we try to attain that look, we risk developing eating disorders.

BMI, or body mass index, is still the best way we have (though by all means not ideal) to gauge whether we are the best weight for our height. And as a general rule, it does makes sense to keep to a healthy BMI. Unless you’re an athlete or a body builder with an unusually high muscle mass, in which case BMI will not work for you. But for the average person, active or sedentary, it should work.

Having said that, your main focus should not be your weight, or being skinny, or fitting into a size 2 (or zero!) jeans. Rather, your goal should be being fit and healthy.

When the focus shifts from the number on the scale to our health, we tend to obsess less about counting (counting pounds, calories, grams of carbs or fat) and instead we focus on a better, healthier lifestyle. And this is what we should all be striving for. Simple changes, such as moving more – using the stairs instead of the elevator; reducing sugar, and replacing sour cream with greek yogurt and fat with applesauce in recipes; going outside more; being more active and less sedentary; adding whole grains to our daily menu and not keeping junk foods in the house.

All of these little steps add up to a real change in lifestyle, and overtime, this should reflect in our body weight too, especially if we remember to limit our portions.

Skinny can be natural for you, but if it’s not, trying to get there could be unhealthy – even dangerous. Instead, focus on being more active, making better food choices, and limiting your portions. It’s always better to focus on being fit and healthy instead of on some unattainable (for most) fashion goal of extreme thinness.

Souce: www.voskos.com