Managing Risk at Your Site
from Health and Fitness:Healthcare Systems Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2x0CoEk
I Hate My Body and Think I Always Will
"Even though you’re chubby, you’re still beautiful," a sweet older lady said to me after my performance as Dancing Girl No. 4 in Tacoma’s finest community theater production of Crazy for You. The woman said it with such heart, as if I needed to know how remarkable it was that I managed to perform the spectacular feat of being presentable while fat. I knew this lady didn’t mean anything cruel by her backhanded compliment, but the sad truth is, I agreed with her. I think I have a terrible body. I hated it then, I hate it now, and the truth is, I probably always will.
You might also like READI’ve always been a chubby girl. I remember being 5 and feeling the pain of my legs rubbing together under my shorts (it’s safe to say a thigh gap has forever eluded me). My weight fluctuated through my teenage years, until I made a real effort to lose weight in my late 20s, which I did. I was never precisely thin (I plateaued around a size 12), but I was smaller than I’d ever been. But after moving cross-country and becoming besties with clinical depression, all that weight came back… plus an extra 30 pounds for good measure.
Now I’m back to living a healthier lifestyle, and my mental state is much better—but guess what? My body issues are still here. I try to eat well, go to the gym, and not obsess about my weight. I know lots of girls have cellulite and stretch marks—they’re perfectly normal—but that doesn’t make me like them on my body. My hope is I’ll learn to like my body if I can just focus on being healthy. Who cares what my weight is as long as I feel good, right? But if I’m being honest, healthiness isn’t what I really care about; if you offered me a magic pill that made me thin but less healthy, I’d swallow it before you could even finish listing the potential side effects.
I’m not advocating this line of thinking; I know it’s a terrible way to be. But that doesn’t change the fact that in my screwy brain, my body can only be a good body if it becomes a thin body. Why do I feel this way? Nobody comes out of the womb thinking, "Hi, I totally need some milk ASAP, and also, fat people are gross," but years of seeing slender people dominate the entertainment industry has created some pretty unrealistic expectations. And when we spend our whole lives hearing other women snipe at themselves for all their imperfections, that behavior makes us look for all the "imperfections" in our own bodies. Every female figure we come across, from politicians to models, are subjected to comments based on their looks... which makes us internalize the idea that looks are the most significant thing women have to offer.
When I see article after article about how important it is to love yourself and your body, it makes me feel like I’m not only failing at being thin but also failing at being the right kind of fat person.
After a while, all those little signals add up. A study published in the June 2017 Pediatrics found that 9- to 11-year-olds held a significant negative bias against fat people. An earlier study from the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology found the fat bias started as young as 3 years old. Three! Clearly, the message of body hatred gets out early and only gets harder to overcome the older you get.
Here’s one thing I want to be very clear about: Just because I hate my body doesn’t mean I hate yours. I see other girls my size or bigger and often find myself thinking, "She looks great," or, "That woman is awesome, but I could never pull off that outfit." I don’t think you need to be any specific size to be beautiful, and if you’re a bigger girl who loves her curves, I think that’s wonderful.
My inner "thin = good equation" applies only to me. I hope everybody loves their body—cellulite, stretch marks, and all. But if you’re one of the girls who still feels inferior no matter how many body-positivity articles you read, I want you to know you’re not alone.
When I see article after article about how important it is to love yourself and your body, it makes me feel like I’m not only failing at being thin but also failing at being the right kind of fat person.
Though I don’t love my body and its various stretch marks and globs of cellulite, I am trying. I go to therapy and try to practice self-love meditation. These tools don’t necessarily help me love my actual corporeal form, but they help me stop negative thought patterns.
Since I would never, ever tell another person "Good Lord, you look like a gross, fat mess," I shouldn’t tell myself that, either. By changing my inner narrative to a more positive and accepting one, it helps me generally be less critical. I can more easily focus on all the things I like about myself, rather than obsessing over the things I hate.
Hopefully one day I’ll truly love my body, but until that day comes, I’m not going to waste any more energy hating it. I’m going to move on and focus on what really matters to me. The little devil of body-shaming may always sit on my shoulder, but he doesn’t have to overtake my life.
Amber Petty is a freelance writer in Los Angeles who writes for Bustle, Elite Daily, Thrillist, and a lot of other random sites. If you like easy crafts and Simpsons gifs, check out her blog Half-Assed Crafts.
from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2wu4mpa
This Strength Workout Is Perfect for Beginners Who Aren't Sure Where to Start
If you're just starting to work out, you've probably heard you should strength train. Or was it resistance train? Or lift weights? Ack. It's all a little confusing, but it's easy to get started with a beginner home workout like this one.
You might also like READIn this 25-minute class, you'll perform beginner strength exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once. The result? A more effective strength-building workout that requires less time. Plus, the instructor will explain why strength training is important for bone density, body composition, metabolism, and overall health. So it's kind of like a workout and a 101 class that explains the basics all wrapped up in one. Hand weights are optional for this class. Just press play to get started.
To recap: Hand weights are optional for this video. If you don't have weights at home, you can use soup cans or water bottles to add resistance.
Warm-Up:
Leg Swing, Both Sides
Squat With Tap Back
Side Leg Lift
Chest Opener
Arm Pull-Down
Reverse Lunge
Workout:
Standing Overhead Crunch
Chop Down
Standing Side Crunch With Curl
Reverse Fly
Lunge With Press
Deadlift
Sumo Squat Hammer Curl and Press
Lateral Raise
Single Heel Tap
Plank
Cool-Down:
Hip Stretch
Chest Opener
Back Opener
Overhead Stretch
Quad Stretch
IT Band Stretch
Looking for more short and effective at-home workouts? Grokker has thousands of routines, so you’ll never get bored. Bonus: For a limited time, Greatist readers get 40 percent off Grokker Premium (just $9 per month) and their first 14 days free. Sign up now!
from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2wtIUAh
Unravel The Truth of Popular Myths About Hydration
from Health and Fitness Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2gwGJYN
A Small Change to Help With Losing Weight
from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2wu5PLO
Health Benefits of Oregano Oil, the King of Essential Oils
from Health and Fitness Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2woHDw0
5 Tips To Grow Your Beard Faster
from Health and Fitness:Beauty Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2woOXHY
Guys, This "New" Hadza Diet Has Actually Been Around Forever
The gut health-conscious among us are buzzing about the Hadza tribe, a small group of hunter-gatherers in Tanzania. For the most part, the Hazda eat only food they find in the forest, and because of their diet, they have remarkably healthy microbiomes, which means they have remarkably healthy guts. Seasonal cycling in the gut microbiome of the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania. Smits SA, Leach J, Sonnenburg ED. Science (New York, N.Y.), 2017, Aug.;357(6353):1095-9203. So all that buzz might actually be for good reason.
But let's back up. What even is a microbiome? Basically, it's the collection of bacteria in our gut that's vital to digestive and metabolic health and the key to a strong immune system. Unfortunately, the low-fiber, high-sugar Western diet has changed our microbiomes so much, we don't have as wide a variety of gut bacteria—meaning our bodies are more susceptible to things such as irritable bowel syndrome, food intolerances, metabolic syndrome, gallstones, diabetes, and even chronic depression. The human microbiome: at the interface of health and disease. Cho I, Blaser MJ. Nature reviews. Genetics, 2012, Mar.;13(4):1471-0064.
But not all hope is lost. A recent study looking at the Hadza people showed their microbiomes actually change over time, depending on what they're eating. In the dry season when they snack on things such as berries and honey, their gut bacteria is more diverse, but in the wet season when they eat a lot more meat, their micobiomes look strangely similar to ours. Why? Researchers think fiber might be the key.
We repeat: FIBER. Yep, the same stuff your grandma mixes into water. And this isn't anything new. There's a ton of evidence that fiber has a major impact on gut health, probably more so than kombucha or kimchi (or that probiotic you're taking). Microbes feed on fiber, producing short-chain fatty acids, which have been tied to myriad health benefits, such as reduced inflammation and protection against heart disease. Cardiovascular benefits of dietary fiber. Satija A, Hu FB. Current atherosclerosis reports, 2013, May.;14(6):1534-6242. Bonus: Increasing your fiber intake is way easier (and way cheaper) than flooding your body with fancy probiotics.
Americans consume only about 15 grams of fiber per day. Fiber Intake of the U.S Population. Hoy MK, Goldman JD. Fiber intake of the U.S. population: What We Eat in America, NHANES 2009- 2010. Food Surveys Research Group Dietary Data Brief No. 12. September 2014. Dietary guidelines recommend 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men, while Hadza people average 100 to 150, which means we need to seriously step up our game. This doesn't mean we have to begin hunting and gathering; we can start by reducing the amount of processed food we eat and adding things such as pulses, whole grains, berries, fiber-rich veggies to our diet.
from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2wLQZDn
How Lipsense Helped My Dry Lips
from Health and Fitness:Beauty Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2vETZgY
Why Online Stores Are Helpful For Procurement Of Medical Equipment
from Health and Fitness Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2x4HLSb
Understanding Different Types of Hair Removal Lasers
from Health and Fitness:Beauty Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2vJoEZO
Want To Quit Soda & Cola? Tips & Tricks to Mix & Match For Success
from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2gorPEb
This Is Why You Hate the Word "Moist" So Much
The word moist is pretty unpopular: Almost one in five people say they're averse to it. A Moist Crevice for Word Aversion: In Semantics Not Sounds
Thibodeau PH (2016) A Moist Crevice for Word Aversion: In Semantics Not Sounds. PLOS ONE 11(4): e0153686. http://ift.tt/2xKlUwj But why? We don't mind the words foist or hoist, which means it's probably not the sound of the word. Most of us are fine describing a slice of cake as moist, so it likely has something to do with the other ways we use the word—and the things we associate it with (for example, gross bodily functions). Or, as this video from Mashable suggests, we might just hate moist because everyone hates moist. We'll let them explain.
from Greatist RSS http://ift.tt/2wH7bFX
Health Literacy Is for the Healthy
from Health and Fitness Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2wP8Kls
How Can High Cholesterol Affect The Body?
from Health and Fitness Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2vAPh3R
Treating The Common Viral Infections In Children
from Health and Fitness Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2x0pGor
Weight Loss - What You Need To Know About the Process of Reverse Dieting
from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2wZ7YSc
Avoiding 21st Century Medical Conditions
from Health and Fitness Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2wj3UK0
How to Get in Shape and Stay in Shape
from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2wbMQaG
Check The Best 11 Tips For Effective Weight Loss
from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2wVLG3O
When My Good Companion Became Bad
from Health and Fitness Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2xGnMXf
Type 2 Diabetes and Healthy Living - Part 2 of Measuring Your Current Lifestyle
from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2vkpOiT
Scarf Fashion Tips
from Health and Fitness:Beauty Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2wK6awS
Type 2 Diabetes and Healthy Living - Part 1 of Measuring Your Current Lifestyle
from Health and Fitness:Weight Loss Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2wSek5K