**Note: The blogs I read were swarming with posts about this topic yesterday. I purposefully wrote this blog before I read the other posts. The reason was, I wanted to write my true opinion on the topic before I started reading other opinions. I can be easily swayed...**
The picture above inspired my blog post today. This Fit Momma (Maria Kang) got a lot of flack when she posted this picture of herself on her Facebook page. Many people said she was fat shaming. You can watch her appearance on the Today Show here and decide for yourself!
Pictures like this are called "Fitspiration". Funny story. I asked my husband if he knew what Fitspiration was and he said, "No, but it sounds horrible." Haha! Anyway, Fitspiration (or Fitspo for short!) is messages or images that are supposed to inspire one to exercise or be fit. It stems from "Thinspiration"... You know, those pictures of super skinny girls that are supposed to motivate you to not eat!
Fitspo can feature simply an image of a model
with a bangin' fit bod!
Some Fitspo images have a message attached...
And there is the whole "No Excuses!" campaign.
That's where the Fit Mamma comes in!
Logic would assume that THINspiration is bad- because being super skinny is not healthy. But being FIT and EXERCISING is healthy. So what's wrong with Fitspo? Why is it getting so much hate? Well, a lot of the Fitspo images feature fitness models whose physiques are unattainable for the average person. So, for some people, the image produces positive feelings about exercise and eating healthy. In others, (for any number of reasons) the image conjures up negative feelings.
I think I am going to be in the minority when I say Fitspo actually DOES inspire me. Pictures of super skinny girls posing in bathing suits do not inspire me. But a picture like this...
...makes me want to KILL IT at the gym!!!
To me, this picture does NOT say,
"You SHOULD look like this."
It does not say, "You are worthless if you don't look like her."
To me, the image says "Wow! She is working really hard. She looks really strong.
I am excited to work hard and be strong."
To me, this picture does NOT say,
"You SHOULD look like this."
It does not say, "You are worthless if you don't look like her."
To me, the image says "Wow! She is working really hard. She looks really strong.
I am excited to work hard and be strong."
But, that is what the image says to me. To someone else, it could easily say something completely negative. That doesn't make me right and the other person wrong. It just IS. We can't help how a picture makes us feel.
I think the reason Fitspo does not bother me is because I am deciding what is MY Fitspo. If it makes me feel positive and motivated, it's my Fitspo.
There are a lot of images out there that motivate me and a lot that don't. I guess the key is that I am not letting the images tell ME what I should look like or aim to achieve. I am deciding that on my own!
I think the reason Fitspo does not bother me is because I am deciding what is MY Fitspo. If it makes me feel positive and motivated, it's my Fitspo.
There are a lot of images out there that motivate me and a lot that don't. I guess the key is that I am not letting the images tell ME what I should look like or aim to achieve. I am deciding that on my own!
For instance...
Not Fitspo to me. I am working on building muscle,
so this picture is not what I'm working toward.
(I'm not bashing her body. It's just not the body I am looking for.)
Not Fitspo to me.
It's more of the message I have a problem with in this picture.
It just doesn't conjure up positive feelings in me.
And her legs look Photoshopped.
I like this picture! It does motivate me!
She looks fast and lean. It makes me feel like running.
The only ridiculous thing is the cleavage poking out of her sports bra.
So in conclusion, the reason I don't mind Fitspo is because my definition of Fitspo is what makes ME feel good when I see it. If something makes me feel negative, it really isn't Fitspiration to me. And I should just ignore it!
I'm not letting someone else tell me what I should strive for. I am determining that on my own.
I'm not letting someone else tell me what I should strive for. I am determining that on my own.
Does that makes sense?
Oh by the way, please don't think I search the internet for pictures of muscular women and hang them on my refrigerator or make a dream board out of them. Obviously I searched the internet for the images I used in this blog, but normally pictures like this just show up in my Facebook news feed or in the blogs I read. It would be easy to avoid these images if I wanted to. I'd just hide the person posting them or discontinue reading the blog!
Oh, and as for the Fit "What's your excuse?" Momma? Well, I think her heart was in the right place. I think she did want to motivate women. I don't think she meant to say "You should look like this" or "You're lazy if you don't look like me". But I think that's what some people say to themselves when they see that picture. And that's sad! Because you need not look like that woman to be fit and healthy. She is indeed beautiful, and she surely worked hard for the body she has. But she is not the definition of beautiful.
Also, what is the difference between Maria Kang's "What's your excuse?" picture and the other ones? You've got double amputees running marathons, 72 year olds lifting weights... No one is mad when it says "What's your excuse?" under their pictures!
One more thing... and I must mention I am adding this part AFTER reading a few blogs on the Maria Kang topic. Many people are commenting that it rubs them the wrong way that she is posting pictures of herself and posing proudly. But what is wrong with being proud of hard work?? Are we to wish her to be uncomfortable in her body? I felt that way for way too many years- I wouldn't wish that one anyone. If she is proud and feels good, then good for her!!! She posted the picture on her Facebook page. We all brag on Facebook about our accomplishments! That's what 70% of Facebook is. (The other 30% is pictures of food, pictures of kids, and Buzzfeed links.)
If you don't like her picture, ignore it. Find something else that inspires you!!
Maybe it's this...
or maybe it's this...
or this...
this...
this...
Whatever! Surround yourself with positive motivation that works for YOU!
By the way, I am sure you are sick to DEATH of this topic right now, but before you call it quits reading about this Maria Kang business, here is a hilarious post with some funny "excuses". I didn't read the blog yet... I just looked at a few of the pics and I was rolling!
Oh by the way, please don't think I search the internet for pictures of muscular women and hang them on my refrigerator or make a dream board out of them. Obviously I searched the internet for the images I used in this blog, but normally pictures like this just show up in my Facebook news feed or in the blogs I read. It would be easy to avoid these images if I wanted to. I'd just hide the person posting them or discontinue reading the blog!
Oh, and as for the Fit "What's your excuse?" Momma? Well, I think her heart was in the right place. I think she did want to motivate women. I don't think she meant to say "You should look like this" or "You're lazy if you don't look like me". But I think that's what some people say to themselves when they see that picture. And that's sad! Because you need not look like that woman to be fit and healthy. She is indeed beautiful, and she surely worked hard for the body she has. But she is not the definition of beautiful.
Also, what is the difference between Maria Kang's "What's your excuse?" picture and the other ones? You've got double amputees running marathons, 72 year olds lifting weights... No one is mad when it says "What's your excuse?" under their pictures!
One more thing... and I must mention I am adding this part AFTER reading a few blogs on the Maria Kang topic. Many people are commenting that it rubs them the wrong way that she is posting pictures of herself and posing proudly. But what is wrong with being proud of hard work?? Are we to wish her to be uncomfortable in her body? I felt that way for way too many years- I wouldn't wish that one anyone. If she is proud and feels good, then good for her!!! She posted the picture on her Facebook page. We all brag on Facebook about our accomplishments! That's what 70% of Facebook is. (The other 30% is pictures of food, pictures of kids, and Buzzfeed links.)
If you don't like her picture, ignore it. Find something else that inspires you!!
Maybe it's this...
or maybe it's this...
or this...
this...
this...
Whatever! Surround yourself with positive motivation that works for YOU!
By the way, I am sure you are sick to DEATH of this topic right now, but before you call it quits reading about this Maria Kang business, here is a hilarious post with some funny "excuses". I didn't read the blog yet... I just looked at a few of the pics and I was rolling!
Please leave your comments. What do YOU think of Fitspo? Is it healthy or harmful??
Is all Fitspo created equal?
What sort of images DO motivate you to work hard??
Is all Fitspo created equal?
What sort of images DO motivate you to work hard??
