Hi all!
I think that in our quest for health, we have an "ideal" body that we would like to have. And for most of us, it involves being strong and healthy. And for most of us, we have a visual of what being strong and healthy IS -- insert Oxygen fitness model body here.
BUT, I found this online where Olympic athletes have been photographed and placed side by side. I found this interesting AND motivating, because it shows that diet and exercise and being an Olympic-caliber athlete will produce a HUGE variety of body types and shapes!
Which inspires me to the best ME that I can be, and that what I achieve will be unique to my body type...kind of inspiring, no? Sure takes the pressure off of being "perfect" (insert Oxygen fitness model photo here)...
SO great! I think it's really interesting how, if you covered the weights of the various athletes, leaving the heights, it is difficult to guess how much each weighs. All you see is how strong and healthy they are.
Thanks, this has helped me understand what a healthy, athletic woman's legs look like, particularly her upper thighs & the area where the muscle meets the knee.
I think for too long I've misguidedly idealized extremely thin thighs that don't taper much or have very much of a quadriceps muscle.
It's good for me to have a reality check. My old ideas of "thin" are taking a long time to die. They are too attenuated & fragile & stylized, more like a fashion illustration than an everyday anatomical reality. I really need to replace "thin" with "athletic" and "healthy" and "strong."
One of them (Dallas Friday) is around my height and my goal weight, so it's neat to see what a body can look like at that weight. (Although her web site says she's an inch taller and 10 pounds lighter than in that picture, so who knows.)
I totally agree about being the best you can be for you. I can honestly say this time I'm not a slave to some far-fetched magazine image.
I want a healthy and trim weight for me and to look good in bra and panties! After being this big, I swear a smidge extra here and there is not going to stop me from enjoying my body like it did when I was younger!
Reality Check when it comes to an "ideal body"
