Today’s Fit Five Friday features Lindsay from New York. Let’s see what she has to say about health, fitness, and her body.
If you’d like to submit your answer to the Fit Five, email me at bigfitdeal@gmail.com!
1. What do you love about your body?
As a practitioner and instructor of yoga, I love that my body can do things that consistently amaze me. When I started doing yoga, I would look at my instructors and wonder how I would ever be able to contort my body into that pose, and yet each and every time, I was able to. I love and respect that my body, which is by no means the body you would expect a yoga instructor to have, can do the things that it does (and sometimes, can do more than even those people who have the yoga body we all imagine!).
2. What would you like to change about your body?
I would like my body to decide on what it is going to be. I have always been a yo-yo when it comes to my weight; my weight always fluctuates. I have thinner years, and fatter years. Hell, I have thinner months and fatter months, for that matter! It makes it very difficult to keep a wardrobe. Every season, I feel like I’m having to buy new clothes to fit a smaller or bigger me. It’s something I’ve never understood, always struggled with, and something I wish I could change.
I also would like a faster metabolism. Those who know me, know I am pretty sure I have the slowest metabolism known to man.
3. Have you ever been or are you currently on a diet?
I can’t say that I have ever been on a “diet” but I have certainly had struggles with my food. If anything, I have disordered eating habits. I have limited my food intake, only eaten certain things, or not eaten at all, but it was never specifically for a “diet” and it wasn’t necessarily to lose weight, which is usually the goal of a diet. I have used the control of food as a way to feel in control of my body and my life, which to me, is a worse behavior than dieting.
4. Have you ever or do you currently belong to a gym?
I don’t believe in gyms. I don’t need someone (who likely knows less than me about anatomy, and certainly knows less about MY body and what I need than I do) to tell me what I should do to “get fit,” which really means “look like them.” I don’t feel comfortable in gyms. Instead, I work out in my house, walk or hike outdoors, and practice yoga (and not in a studio or a gym, either!).
5. What does fitness mean to you?
Fitness means being happy, healthy, and content. Fitness is not about a certain weight, or a certain amount of muscle mass, or god forbid a certain BMI number. Fitness is about longevity: about making smart decisions and doing sensible things with and for your body to ensure you have a long, healthy, and satisfying life.
Bonus: What is your current fitness goal?
My current fitness goal is to challenge myself with some yoga poses that scare me mentally and physically. Arm balances, anyone?
