Thick, 
Big, 
Massive, 
Muscular, 
Solid, 
Strong, 
and most recently, 
Lethal in the Legs
All are words that have been used by others to describe my legs, to me, they are compliments.
I am proud of my muscular legs, and thankful for all that they do to support my body.
My thighs touch, they have for as long as I can remember, and their lack of a space has never been a big deal to me.  They stick together in the summertime, glide by one another while I run, and make me order the next size up in jeans, cause a size two just won't do, with legs as thick as mine.

So at first, I was confused with the whole "thigh gap" term.  The running joke between my friends and I is that I "live underneath a rock" when it comes to all things that deal with pop culture, social media, and trends.  Well, clearly, my thighs and I were out of the loop on this "thigh gap" phenomenon.  While I've been at the gym doing squats and looking in the mirror excitedly at my leg gains, other girls have been trying to eliminate theirs....

A "thigh gap" is when you stand with your feet together, there is a gap between your thighs.

WELL, as you can see in the photo,
when I stand with my feet together, 
there isn't a gap between the two until my knees, 
in which there is a small spec of space, 
and my legs continue to touch all the way to my feet.

I must be part mermaid, or part awesome, maybe both  
Ariel always was my favorite Disney movie.

I stood in front of the mirror and tried again, this time with my feet shoulder width apart, still no gap.

It wasn't until I stood with my feet past my shoulders that an "if you squint your eyes and look hard enough" space was created, but even still, right below that space my thighs touch.

I was unphased by my lack of space.  Instead I was impressed by how my legs still touched despite the growing distance between my feet. 

Greatist is one of my favorites, a feel good and scientific fact based website on health, fitness & happiness.  Found this on their website, and knew that I just had to share it with you all, because 
this is a mentality I try to embody on a daily basis! 
Print this out, fill it in and remember, it's about being healthy AND happy 

Did you read through and fill in the blanks?  Here's what I put:

FOOD is delicious, I had too many to choose from, so I just figured food would cover it all.
(my options were: peanut butter, chocolate,and carbs even though it's plural)

I'm happiest when I feel good about myself and life choices, whether it's from laughing with loved ones, looking in the mirror and feeling awesome, taking time to remember to relax, or post workout rush of endorphins.

The internet has a vast amount of images circulating, being pinned to pinterest boards, facebook pages, saved to desktops and even printed out as motivation for women to work out and be healthy.  The problem with these images is that they are promoting a negative mindset and relationship with food and exercise.  These images hold a negative connotation.  They plaster phrases that are supposed to be motivational across pictures of women with perfectly toned and tan bodies, six pack abs and read things like:
          - "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" 
             Being skinny should not be a goal.  This image/quote promotes eating disorder tendencies and a negative relationship with food.  Food is fuel.  Food is not the enemy.
                or 
           "Sweat is fat crying."  
             I hate the word fat, it is so ugly and hurtful.  I almost cringe when I say it now, because I know how detrimental this word can be to others' self-esteem.  When you're exercising, sweat should be a sign of your hard work pouring out of your body, an indicator of your effort, not a mark of your fat coming through your pores.

Body size and shape is not an indicator of being healthy or your fitness ability level.
These images and phrases are creating an unrealistic depiction of that a healthy or an in shape woman is only a certain size or looks a certain way.  Fitness and health come in all different shapes and sizes with all different ability levels.  The definition of healthy or being physically fit does not equate to having a flat stomach or perfectly chiseled muscles.  Fitness and health are SO much more than aesthetic qualities!  I consider myself extremely healthy and physically fit, but guess what, I do NOT have a six pack and I do not look like the women in these "fitspo" photos.  

Does this mean I am not healthy or in shape? ABSOLUTELY NOT!  I determine my health and fitness based on my goals and my body.  We are all born with different genetic makeups that will influence our body size, shape, and how quickly or slowly we put on muscle or get rid of fat.  In addition to our genetic makeup, we all live different lives with different schedules, stressors, medical ailments/conditions that play a factor into our health and fitness as well.  


So then I got to thinking that these "fitspiration" images could use some correcting, and it just so happened that I found a Buzzfeed post with some of these images, corrected.Unfortunately these images on Buzzfeed were not work or child apropriate, seeing as some of the images contained expletives.  So I took it upon myself to re create some of these photos with a more positive message.


Be the best, healthiest, fittest version of YOU, not some unrealistic image!

The below image is not mine, it is from the original Buzzfeed post that inspired this entry.

Interested in reading more, check out: http://stopfitspiration.com/