This is not going to be a typical first
blog post. You know those, that have a whole introduction about the
blogger and what they want to accomplish, yada yada yada. I'll do one
of those eventually, but I wanted to start off this blog strong, and
I finally have something strong to write about, so that's what this
post is about.
If you've known me for any length of
time, you'll know that I don't wear shorts a lot. If you've known me
for a very long time, you'll know that I've never worn shorts a lot.
It makes sense if you knew me when I was overweight, but not from
before then. When I was in high school I was very skinny...my prom
dress was a size 2, and I didn't fill out at all until I was 19 and
in University. But even when I was teeny tiny I still hated wearing
shorts. Eventually knee length shorts became popular and I took to
wearing those. I didn't like them a lot; they made me feel older than
I was and I thought they shortened my body and didn't flatter me. I'm
mostly leg with a short torso, so cutting myself off at the knee is
never really a good idea.
The reason I never wore anything above
my knee was because I HATED my legs. Really badly. I was 11 when I
began dancing (which is why I was so skinny during my teens), my legs
gained muscle mass quickly and since it was before my hips expanded
due to hormones, I ended up being covered in stretch marks. They're
all faded now, but you can see them if you look hard enough. My hips
and thighs and part of my belly are all covered in them. So I covered
up my legs for a long long time. I also thought my thighs were huge,
and since I was so tiny, I don't really know where I got that from.
My thighs were not huge. My thighs are large now, but I've got hips
and a booty and muscle to explain that. But I hated my thighs with a
passion and suffered in jeans and long skirts for years because of
it.
Anyways....now to the real point of
this post. Finally! I'm living in Georgia now, and so I've kind of
prepared myself with the knowledge that there's no way I'm going to
be able to avoid wearing shorts, because I will literally boil in my
own skin if I don't suck it up and do it this summer. I've developed
blinders for when I assume people are judging me about my looks in
any positive or negative way. So I just thought I'd put those on and
truck on. But when I put on a pair of shorts the other day...I liked
it. I looked at my thighs when I was in spin class (because I had my
head down and was trying not to die) and thought, “Wow, those are
skinny thighs.” So I decided to wear the shorts, and I looked so
good in them! I couldn't get over it. I told Daric when he came home
and he said they looked great too (well, of course he did :).
The important part is that I think my
legs look good in shorts. I love my legs now! Look at those muscles!
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But what has brought on this shift from
negativity that I've had so long about my legs?
Well, working out of course! That's the
point of this blog! I've had people ask for my advice on weight
loss/fitness. I've had people tell me that I inspire them to do
better in their fitness journey and that's so awesome to me! I love
that!
I don't really know what anyone thinks
of my fitness journey and efforts. I don't know if they think I'm
doing it just to look good or to be healthy or what. I will go into
the reasons behind my fitness in a future post, I promise, but one of
the reasons I will give now is what I wrote above...to have
confidence in myself. All those times I refused to wear shorts, it's
because I thought I looked bad. It's not because anyone ever told me
I looked bad or fat in them. It's because I thought I did. And now I
don't. And my life is better and I think better of myself, and I
believe in myself because I can make positive changes in my life that
make me happier and have less worries. That's one of the most
important parts of my journey.
I hope that you'll follow along with me
on my journey!
If there's anything you'd like to see
on my health/fitness blog, let me know, and I'll do my best to
incorporate it. I need help getting this off the ground!
<3
Amanda
