Healthy-Skinny vs. Healthy-Fit

I have a new addiction. Pinterest. If you don’t know what it is, in short: a virtual pinboard for your ideas, motivations, recipes, anything under the sun. But that’s not what this blog’s about. This is about what I found on Pinterest, a blog by an inspiring woman who went from “Healthy-Skinny” to “College, Beer, & Pizza Junkie” to “Healthy Fit.” This is not her description of herself, but mine based on the photos of her and how she described her transformation. The blog, Muffin Top-Less, has a crazy amount of information and inspiration. It’s very well organized too, so you don’t have to search for anything. It’s all on top of the page in white. Seriously, there is SO much on this site: ways to eat healthy, how to beat those binge cravings, ways to beat self-bashing, meal plans, workouts, etc., but I digress…
I have always aspired to be skinny, thin, slim, & trim. I’ve loaded up on cardio, a smidgen of weight training, more cardio, health food diets, a bit more cardio, and cutting WAY back on my food intake. Please note: I have never, EVER starved myself. (I have this obsession with food, but that’s for another day.) I don’t want to be Healthy-Skinny anymore. I want to be Healthy-Fit.

The difference? Here are MY definitions:

Healthy Skinny – When the body is functioning fine. It’s not overweight or underweight. It’s somewhere in between. The body isn’t starved either. There’s no real muscle definition. Has a body fat percentage of 25-30% (for women) Thank you, Wikipedia, for the average HEALTHY info.

Healthy Fit – When the body is tight, toned, and has obvious muscle definition. Again, the body isn’t starved (there’s nothing healthy about starving). Body fat percentage is 14-24% (for women) An Athlete to an avid gym goer.

Savannah (the girl from the blog) is Healthy-FIT. She had enough of her frumpy college lifestyle and starting following a body building regimen. She is not FIT like those scary women body-builders that you can only tell if they’re a woman from the front (google images). She’s FIT as in physically strong and mentally powerful, while maintaining a beautiful feminine physique. I want to be that kind of healthy. I want to be STRONG, not strong for a girl. I want to be CONFIDENT, not occasionally confident. I want a DEFINITIVE BODY, not a girlish figure. I decided to try her MTLC Workout.

The first week was painful, amazing, and motivational. It hurt. My legs felt like Jello after the first Superset on the first day, but I did it. After a week of it, I must say it always seemed like the second full day after a great workout that I would feel the most pain. It’s the type of hurt that lets me know I DID SOMETHING RIGHT, not the kind that makes me think I tore something. A thorough workout is all about form. That’s what I concentrated on this past week. Once you break form you’re ruining a great workout.

My confession: I am very week in my arms and the 5 billion people in the weight section at the gym looked at me like I was a fish out of water. So I did a few things at home. I wanted to have great form and still do the amount of reps she said to do. I couldn’t use the heavy weights we had at home. My arms were not quite ready. So, I used… don't laugh... vegetable cans. Ok, go ahead, laugh. But I had to start somewhere right? I used the biggest ones I could find in the cabinet. I did use the regular weights for some of the workouts. On some I found myself losing form and literally unable to move my arms to finish the second set. Some weight is better than no weight. I just have to keep moving-working-pushing myself until I get the HEALTHY-FIT body I want and deserve. Week 2 started yesterday. So far, I’m still pushing myself and loving it. I'll keep you posted with photos as I progress. This is me now. Pudgy-I know...