I love a good motivational quote to get me in the mood for a workout. However, there has been plenty of discussion about the damaging effects of ‘fitspo’ (Fitspo meaning fitness inspiration) What should be a positive movement encouraging people to become healthier is being used in some cases to set unrealistic body standards and send out unhealthy messages.
Here are some fitspo quotes that I think we should all ignore…
“Don’t stop when it hurts, stop when you’re done.” – What do they mean by ‘when it hurts?’ There is a difference between pushing through a workout when you are finding it hard and pushing yourself through a workout when you are injured. Injuries shouldn’t be ignored otherwise they will just get worse. Listen to your body and be attentive to any unusual pain you’ve not felt before.
“Are you sure you want that cookie?” (Accompanied by a photo of a toned, bikini-clad woman) – Yes, yes I am. Being fit does not mean never having a cookie again or going on a super strict diet!
“Skinny girls look good in clothes. Fit girls look good naked.” – Erm, actually all girls can look good in clothes and all girls can look good naked! Also what’s with this obsession of pigeonholing girls as either ‘skinny,’ ‘fit’ or ‘fat?’
“You’ll get a lot more compliments for working out than you will for sleeping in.” – I’m sorry I didn’t hear you I fell asleep. This quote suggests we should be working out to impress others rather than for ourselves. WRONG.
“Turn heads for the right reasons.” – And what are the wrong reasons I wonder? Is looking a certain way wrong? The aim of this quote is to force us into action for fear of what other people might think.
“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” – Do the people who write this stuff hate food or what?! Another misleading quote that suggests we need to starve ourselves to lose weight.
“Train insane or remain the same.” – You do not have to go ‘insane’ to see changes! You have to build your fitness up first. It’s really just about moving more and trying your best when you do exercise. As you get fitter you will find you are more able to put more into your workouts. This is usually a natural process. Of course as you do progress you may need to up the ante depending on your goals but this should always be done in a safe manner. You don’t need to train 24/7.
“What you eat in private, you wear in public.” – Hmm well I guess there was that one time Lady Gaga wore that meat dress. Eating is talked about here as if it’s a shameful activity. There is no need to be embarrassed or worried because you ate a bun – you won’t be able to immediately see it sticking out of your stomach!
“Squat because nobody ever wrote a song about a small ass.” – Small bums are nice too! Squats are a great exercise and bootylicious bums are gorgeous but you don’t have to have a big bum to be considered sexy! Remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
“Someone who is busier than you right now is running.” – But I don’t like running! Don’t be guilt-tripped into doing a type of exercise you don’t enjoy because somebody says you should. Forget about what’s most effective, the most important thing is if you enjoy it or not. Also how do we define how busy someone is? We shouldn’t be comparing ourselves to anyone else.
“Your stomach isn’t growling, it’s applauding.” – If it’s growling then that means you’re hungry so you should eat something! Quotes like this are extremely unhealthy and damaging. Ignore at all costs.
“Only you can help you. Get off your ass and do something about it.” – Why are some of these ‘motivational’ quotes so angry?! Yes of course it’s ultimately down to you to make a change but you certainly don’t have to go it alone. Support and encouragement is the key to succeeding.
