Why Skinny Is Not the Goal

For many the goal is simply knowing how to get skinny, but is that really the right goal? Your body is your unique vessel. It should be nurtured, maintained and most importantly appreciated. However, if you are thinking along the lines of just how to get skinny, then it’s quite possible that you are punishing your body and not appreciating its ability to look good AND achieve amazing health. There are so many reasons that the question of how to get skinny should NOT be your goal, but here we’ve highlighted 5 of the most important, as well as better alternatives for you to try!

1.Skinny doesn’t equal healthy

There is a striking health problem facing those who look skinny but don’t live healthily. We call this being ‘skinny fat’. Being skinny may make you appear to be a healthy weight, but you might in fact be ‘fat on the inside’. That is, you have a high percentage of body fat, low muscle mass and the metabolic profile of an obese person. Therein lies the problem.

People who are skinny fat (or metabolically obese normal weight) are at risk of lifestyle diseases, such as diabetes – just the same as someone who is more obviously fat. Skinny does not equal healthy! Let us say that again – skinny does not equal healthy! Are you not sure whether you fit into this category? Think for a moment…do you look skinny but are you soft and flabby under your clothes? Read more about the risks, dangers and how to overcome being skinny fat in the blog ‘ How to Fix being Skinny Fat’.

Your solution

Incorporate regular resistance training to improve your muscle tone. Use your body weight in everyday activities. For example, do some squats or pushups at your desk, or lunges as you do jobs around your home.

2. Is skinny your version of attractive or someone else’s?

We all want to look our best, right? To be attractive to a mate is often the reasoning behind ‘looking’ a certain way. It’s possibly a reason you’re telling yourself about why you need to be skinny. If you’re aiming to be skinny for someone else, you’re just as likely not eating right or exercising the right way for YOU! You cannot control how others see you, but you can certainly control how you feel about yourself. Studies have found that those who adopt healthy behaviours – eating to nourish their body, exercising to energise their body and using positive self-talk to empower themselves – exude self-confidence. And this is considered highly desirable in attracting a mate.

Your solution

Concentrate on what you can control – how you look AND how you feel about yourself, not someone else’s view. Shift your perspective of attractive from being focused on skinny to focused on healthy and self-confident. It will likely increase your attractiveness in any case!

3. Focusing on how to get skinny can have serious impacts on your body image

There’s so much to say about this, but let’s begin by saying that whilst many of us seem okay on the outside, on the inside many of us struggle with our body image. We’re unhappy with our appearance and that can lead to depression and anxiety, low self-esteem, reduced quality of life and harmful dieting and eating disorders (including misguided relationships with ‘health’ food).

We have so much focus on our body weight and being skinny, but it comes at a price. That price is our body image as much as our body weight.

Your solution

Avoid restrictive diets. They’re proven to be ineffective in long term weight loss and health goals. You will find more success in gradually exchanging poor eating habits for good ones and building new health habits that are sustainable for your lifetime. Active8me’s delicious and healthy dietician approved meal plans and recipes will help you here. Plus, here’s a Cheat Sheet to help you learn how much to eat.

4. Being healthy, lean, fit and toned feels better than constantly searching for how to get skinny

There are obvious health benefits to being fit and lean compared to just skinny. Some of these health benefits are less obvious though – and that is simply how you feel on a daily basis. You will find that being skinny may see you constantly battling cravings and guilt, versus feeling hungry but craving healthy food as you nourish your body with the right food.

When aiming to be skinny you may feel fatigued and struggle to get through workouts, versus being energized, pushing harder and further than before when you’re fit. Finally, exercise and eating well can have a direct effect on the quality of sleep you have. Sleep is an important factor in weight loss and can often suffer if you are in starvation mode with aiming to be skinny.

Your solution

Add a HIIT workout to your routine. Set your alarm now to exercise first thing in the morning and set the rest of your day up for success. You wont just feel better, you’ll feel better about yourself!

5. Skinny is harder to maintain than healthy

Becoming and maintaining ‘skinny’ is about constantly being in calorie deficit. This means, you are taking in less calories than you burn. This equation is absolutely necessary to achieve any weight loss goal, BUT there is a good way and a wrong way to do that. Having a balanced diet, where you enjoy an adequate proportion of carbohydrates, protein and fats is far more beneficial for your health than limiting one of these macronutrients. Plus, if you incorporate consistent nutritious, balanced eating into your life, you are then able to have treats without ruining your efforts. This is difficult to justify if you are on a restrictive diet, which is generally the most common approach someone follows to get skinny. The side effect of these diets can include nutrition deficiencies, lack of energy, fatigue, foggy feelings and inability to concentrate properly.

Your solution

Find 3 new recipes that you can add to your weekly ‘to-do’ list (we have loads of amazing Asian recipes you can attempt in our 21 Day FREE Trial). Shop and prepare for them in one day, so you know ahead of time what you will be nourishing your body with for dinner each evening.

Simply put…ask how you can be healthy NOT how to get skinny! Being skinny is not the goal. Being fit, healthy, active, confident, energetic and healthy is. They’re very different things.