SLICE: Skinny versus Fit
Liesl Frankson
IT’S THE time of the year when the reality of all the bad, unhealthy decisions we’ve made through winter start to weigh heavily on our shoulders…not to mention our waistlines and buttocks.
As the weather changes and we shed layers of clothing, we are struck by a sudden urge to shed a few extra kilos in the process. With one month to go before spring, the Wits Vuvuzela newsroom, like the rest of South Africa, has been hit by a workout wave.
Fitness challenge
I’ll be the first to admit I’ve also taken up the fitness challenge. Thanks to one of our journalists, there’s now a scale at the front of the newsroom and I think everyone is looking for a quiet moment to weigh themselves so they can assess the damage when no one’s looking.
Even though we’re calling it the fitness challenge, most of us seem to be obsessed with losing weight. Most people automatically assume skinny people are fit, but that is definitely a factoid. I’ve met people who weigh far more than me, but are able to do physical activities I’ve only dreamed about in my wildest fitness fantasies.
I look at these people and admire them because they’ve got it right. They are healthy and fit. That should be the ultimate goal. It shouldn’t be eating once a day so you can look like a reed in your shorts after you’ve been pigging out all winter. Because no one can tell what you look like under all that clothing.
Hollywood has okayed the big booty
Even though things have changed and Hollywood has okayed the big booty, we’re still trapped in a place where we think the hollow-cheeked look is sexy and – stranger still – we continue to resort to extreme means to achieve it. Extreme diets dominate our lives even though we know how bad they are for us. The solution is simple: exercise!
Instead of taking the lift to get your doughnut, how about using the stairs? If you aren’t willing to exercise, then face facts and start eating more healthily. So stop complaining and take action. If you don’t like what you see, change it. You can eat anything you want in moderation, so watch those portions. Get active every little bit counts.
If good old-fashioned exercise and healthy living isn’t your thing there are plenty of other fun ways to get the job done. Dancing is one way. Turn on your favourite song and shake it up for a good hour, you could burn anything between 300 and 700 calories without even noticing.
If you forget about being skinny for a second and chase after a healthier, fitter you
If you forget about being skinny for a second and chase after a healthier, fitter you, I’m almost certain your new dream body won’t be too far behind. And remember your dream body doesn’t have to be the slim and slender physique of Keira Knightley or Nicole Kidman if its not in your genes and, if it is, lucky you. We’re all different and we need to embrace and work with what we have been given.
Whatever you choose to do, start now and do it all year round. Then you can be the one laughing at those of us in a tailspin over how we’re going to look in our shorts when summer arrives, asking us to show her what we’re working with.
