Healthy is Beautiful

While reading through my daily health and fitness articles, I stumbled across this article about Brooke Hogan and her secrets for staying fit.

 She admits that "real people aren't supposed to look this way". Thanks, Brooke, for your words of encouragement. To get in shape, she worked out twice a day and was on a very strict diet. That's madness, in my humble opinion. How do you expect to enjoy life when you live every day worry whether you have gained an ounce?

People are always looking for way to get thinner and more toned in less time, with less work. I admit, I am sometimes one of those people. But fitness doesn’t come without work. And perfect bodies are practically impossible to attain (If you're feeling crappy right now, don’t worry, I am going somewhere with this).

Tuesday night, one of the biggest beauty events of the year took place-the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Every year, these models strut their skinny, toned selves down the runway wearing wearing very little clothing. And I am sure that every year, millions of girls around the world watch that show, go to the bathroom, lift up their shirts, look in the mirror, suck in their stomachs and think, How many calories should I cut or ab workouts should I do to look like that?

Well, if you’re one of those girls, STOP IT! First of all, these teensy weensy girls make up approximately 2% of the population (probably less). The average American woman is a actually a size 11-14. Second of all, before these fashion shows, not only do the models drastically cut down their calories, but they also go to fitness boot camp the month prior.

Celebrities have trainers, personal chefs, weekly spa days, you name it. To look beautiful and slim, they have anything they need at their disposal. But even with all of those luxuries, some of them still don’t have “perfect” bodies. But who’s to say what’s perfect?  You don’t have to look like Alessandra Ambrosio or Candice Swanepoel to be absolutely gorgeous.

Alessandra

Candice

Here are a few pictures of beautiful celebrities with normal, but beautiful bodies:

Penelope Cruz

Catherine Zeta Jones

Katherine Heigl

Eva Mendez

Cheryl Burke

America Ferrera

Kate Winslet

When I eat right and exercise, I always feel awesome. I am not a size 2 and I don't want to be. I think it's important to remind myself of that every day.  As long as you are making the effort to take care of your body every day, you should feel awesome about yourself. And remember, a healthy body is a beautiful body.