Fit Fettle

When did we start adhering to an ideology of perfection? Women and men carrying the burden of an ideal-self, which they can never accomplish if they are looking up to airbrushed beauties; those people don't exsist. To be content you must be confident. Striving to strengthen health is what working out should be about. So you want to lose weight, okay, why? You need to know why and be truthful with yourself. For me--I have a heart condition and I want to make sure I am healthy for when I start getting a little older and being active may start to be more difficult or even more time consuming. Plus it wouldn't hurt to have a more tone core. Why do you want change? I hope that this blog helps you accept your own beauty and motivates you to be active--it is so important. I also hope that I can shed light to healthy, but delicious eating. As well as, possibly unviel some food secrets that will make you think twice about what we are being given acsess to eat.

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Enjoy A Few Moments Of Messed-Up Messages, Created And Shared By The Beauty Industry. Here It Comes.

Upworthy always has something great to share. This has been in circulation for six years. Happy to say it was totally worth the time!

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9 shocking food facts

Think you know the rules about healthy foods and can pick the best-for-you fruit from the produce section? These facts might surprise you. More than half of Americans say they give a lot of thought to the healthfulness of foods and beverages they consume.

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Jennifer Lawrence says it perfectly every time she speaks about body image. STOP judging or changing for other people. First be comfortable with yourself and THEN decide what YOU want.  If it is to change, then go ahead, do it naturally and slowly.

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A Healthier You:

We have all heard about brain games, but have you really given thought to why you should play them?

If you are content with your intelligence, how about considering your future health.

Neurobics; A Workout for Your Mind.

Think about what you can do to help the future you. Something as simple as brushing your teeth a couple times a week with your less dominant hand can help the brain become stronger, in turn reducing brain deterioration that comes with age.

People with mental agility tend to have lower rates of Alzheimer's disease and age-related mental decline...

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Today's Fundamental Workout Tip?

Make sure you wear the right gym shoe! Want to find out what the right fit is? Read more from Real Simple!

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Everyone can appreciate a healthy woman with some washboard abs!

Motivation Station!

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Follow for health, fitness, & motivation! :)

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Catabolic foods...learn the wonders of foods that burn calories for you!

Keep them handy for when you get hungry or need a mid-day snack! They provide such a healthy impact on your every day!

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Feeling hungry? Have a major craving?

If you aren't hungry enough to eat an apple, then you aren't hungry. 

If you are having a craving but know that it isn't good, like let's say ice cream? Beat the craving! Don't succumb, grab a bottle of water and eat an apple! You will feel satisfied and your body will thank you.

Later on in the week plan a night where you can go out and enjoy that ice cream cone, just do it on YOUR terms, not because of a craving!

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And this is my workout for this week (add some run too) 

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Clair Danes is depicted in a quick online blurb (link provided below) in the negative light that women who don't have medium to large breasts and are of more petite builds are usually portrayed in. 

Clair, who has a similar build to my best friend, is quite skinny. However, as I can clearly deduce from these pictures Clair is fit and healthy. Most people have a tendency to over glorify women with similar builds to Clair or to completely tear them down. We as a culture need to accept that not all women who are this small are suffering from eating disorders or NEED to gain weight.

Yes, of course, some women force themselves to become very small size because of media portrayals like Victoria Secret models who must maintain a very, very small shape. Others, but others come by this body type naturally and their is no reason to poke fun at them or anyone because of their size or shape.

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Michelle Trachtenberg is a woman who started her career as a teeny thing and then as she matured became a bit curvier and dealt with the media backlash. 

Oh how painstakingly stupid it is that media has any right to comment on who is or is not "fat"-- a word that should not be thrown around as a determination of ugly.

Discussions of her legs have been had as they are for some too thick for Hollywood.

As I entered my freshman year of College in 2009 my hips came with me and so did my breasts. Everything got bigger and all the years before I had already thought I had been blessed with a curvy body-- I had no idea. 

I am by no means bigger than the average 22 year old woman but between the years of 19-21 I had a definite internal struggle of understanding that even though I was changing it didn't mean that I needed to fight to remain "high-school skinny."

I am VERY happy to say that I fell in love with my curves and once I finally accepted how I changed and that yes I had to buy a bigger jean size I found that I really was glowing. 

Michelle loves her curves, she posed for Maxim in 2011 and it was a beautiful spread. Ladies, embrace who you are.

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There are so many types of beautiful people, especially the different shapes, shades, and characters that make women particularly, intensely-irresistible. The media plasters their own idea of what beautiful should be however, we as a society should be admiring not just ONE type of beauty but all of it; from the small to the voluptuous. 

My fitness idol would be Jennifer Lawrence, she has a body that I feel represents what mine would look like if I could be just a bit more tone. Not to mention her absolutely adorable face.

Now, who would have thought Hollywood would have been so heartless and brash about her weight? Well, yeah I guess we all would have, because it's Hollywood and let's be honest, they are pretty crooked.

To me she is an extremely healthy and still compared to most average women (myself included) Jennifer is in peak physical shape. I absolutely love her curves and I just think she is great. She is someone who helps motivate me when I don't feel like my two mile run.

Yet, she had her struggles dealing with people telling her to diet. If you haven't heard, Jennifer wants to give a big "Fuck You" to any one that feels that she "needs" to lose any weight--or change herself to further her career.

Which I completely agree with and to that fact I don't think anyone should EVER change their body because they think they should look like anyone else. The only time you should want to change is to make yourself more comfortable or if there is a health reason. Plenty of women will either lose or gain weight for health reasons.

You must always remember the importance of feeling beautiful as you are, there is no problem with postive change but never try to become something else because you feel like you aren't good enough. That is a reoccuring theme with women today and it is something that must be stomped out.

This is a very good reason if you are  a woman who wants to lose OR gain weight to decide why you want ot make the change before you start your journey.

If you would like to find out more about Jennifer and her body image story she recently was interviewed in Bazaar Magazine and shed some light on what pressures women in Hollywood deal with.

As you look at Jennifer and think of how these judgmental minds viewed her, don't let that be something that trickles into your perception of yourself.

Take a look at women you would REALISTICALLY would like to have a similar shape to. I chose Jennifer because we have similar builds but I couldn't nor would I want my body to be as small as say, Eva Longoria. Take a look at some of the other women featured this week. They are each so different but all equally beautiful.

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Huffington Post- 5 Stretches You Shouldn't Live Without

For those out there who feel like they don't have the time or the guidance for stretching, the Huffington Post highlights 5 simple and important stretches you need to incorporate.

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Want to be a runner?

So you want to start running? If you are a new runner you should start slow. Used to run? Still, kick off at a slow pace because muscle memory will kick in and you will be running longer and harder soon enough.

Newbies:

Start slow, it may seem too slow or it may seem difficult depending on your usual physical activity. Attached, is a link with a design for brand new runners. 

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Michigan's finest grocery with fresh produce, fruits and vegetables, grass fed meat, and fresh seafood. Just click the picture to learn more!

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The Lunch Box Save Money, Eat Well!

At 22 I feel like I am finally developing a routine and most importantly realizing how much it positively impacts my everyday, especially my physical and mental stability.

In the past two months I have become a commuting student, intern and a part-time retail employee. Previously, I have been guilty of making the excuse that I do not have enough time to make my lunches and will spend 10 dollars or more on my lunches, per day. To break my habit, I made myself excited about becoming a frugal sandwich artisan.

Meijer or Kroger are usually the two stores I frequent because of location, however, I am on the hunt for a new and better deli in my area. I would recommend the Meijer deli over a Kroger if those are stores in your area, though Kroger does have a nice multi-grain bread though their Private Selection brand that offers 19g of grains for $2.99.

To break down how simple and inexpensive buying your week’s worth of sandwich material is, I will give you insight on my own sanwhich list from earlier this week (prices rounded but no less than what I paid for each):

1/4 pound of Golden Legacy Honey Turkey (a good choice for you Michigan Shoppers) $2.50

10 slices of thin Pepperoni $.60

5 Slices of Baby Swiss $1.90

Tomato $1.50

Onion $1.00

Romain Lettuce $4.00

24g Multi-Grain Bread $4.00

Instead of using mayo on my sandwiches I use a dijon or try new sandwich spreads. Right now I am using Mezzetta’s Chimichurri. If you are interested in the nutritional facts follow the link to the Calorie Counter website. They usually run for $3.00 a peice.

The lettuce, which I sometimes substitute for spinach, is the most expensive produce and comes with all too much for one person. I use it for salads through out the week and usually offer what I know I won’t use to a friend. If you get spinach you can also mix it in with eggs or add it to smoothies for breakfast.

Buy what you NEED, that is the best advice to take from this post. I almost always over buy and cook too much, I was raised with a big family, but learning to cook for just myself or one other has helped me save a great deal of my money and cut down on waste.