I was super, SUPER inspired while reading Melissa Hartwig's post yesterday. In case you're unfamiliar, she is the creator of "The Whole 30" diet. BUT, she is also a nutritionist and life-coach who is SUPER honest with her own struggles and hardships. I really, really loved what she said on IG yesterday, regarding the saying "We all have the same 24 hours in a day." Read what she wrote below.....I APPLAUD her on her honesty and THANK her for acknowledging life and it's emotional hardships.....and just because you're not "in the gym" one night it DOESN'T mean you're not working hard. Read below! (Her full, original post is on her IG post, also below.)
"A few years ago, my 24-hours looked like me working my ass off just trying not to fall apart, as my marriage was crumbling, my business was up in the air, and I was single-parenting my young son. Those 24 hours look NOTHING like the 24 hours I have now. I worked just as hard then. I wasn't lazy or unmotivated. I even went to the gym, occasionally. But I was certainly nowhere near as fit as I am today, and looked nothing like I look now. I was working just as hard as you, but you'd never have known it.•Occasionally, I'd complain that I felt out of balance and missed the gym. And had someone dared to say to me then, "You know, we all have the same 24 hours," I would have borrowed your hands to flip them off four times.
Life stress, marital stress, financial stress; responsibilities to a job, a child, a sick loved one; your own health challenges, physical and mental... all of these shape our 24-hours. We don't all have the same days, and suggesting someone does ALSO suggests that the issue is THEM; they're not committed, hard-working, or making the effort. Which perhaps comes from a place of motivation (honestly, I question that, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt), but really only serves to pile more guilt and shame onto an already burdened mental and emotional state.
So, fitness influencers and trainers, instead of saying, "We all have the same 24 hours," try supporting your community by sharing fitness strategies that actually WORKED for you. How did you find time as a busy working parent? How did you stay motivated when life was kicking your ass? What did you do when you didn't have money to join a gym? By offering REAL tips from your personal perspective, you can make an authentic impression in a space littered with image crafting, have the feel-good experience of actually making an impact in someone's life, AND help us all shake off the shame that is so often disguised as "fitspiration."
CAN I GET AN AMEN??? Wow, I love this so much.
- Sandy (@SandyStec on IG, FB and Twitter)