Looking the Part

I'm sure many of you have seen the following picture

And I'm sure it wasn't meant to offend me, but the more I see it, the more it pisses me off.

The more I think about as to 'WHY' it pisses me off, I have to self evaluate.
Coming from a female who once didn't care AT ALL what she looked like, to someone who become scale obsessed. Our society tells woman especially that they're worthless if they don't have a flat stomach, big boobs, and butt. I didn't even have a flat stomach at 134 pounds & now sitting at 160 I'm not surprised by the fact that I don't have abs either! I think the reason this picture irritates me is because it passes judgement on men and woman of whether they look at certain part or not.

I wouldn't ever say somebody couldn't do their job or be effective at their job by how they look. I can't determine that. Many times we judge people before we take the time to get to know them, get to know their journey, hear their experience, or listen to their advice.

I saw this powerful picture the other day and my heart ached. At the age of 27 I still can relate. We look at pictures of women that are more pleasing to the eye, most whos pictures have been touched up, but we beat ourselves up. On top of just being a female, I'm a  Personal Trainer. God forbid- I DON'T HAVE ABS! I'm sure people walk into the gym every single day who don't know me and wonder how the hell I'm training?! Only the people who have taken the time to get to know me, my journey, and my struggles understand. To be perfectly honest, I almost never became a trainer because I didn't have abs. I used to think that having abs meant being a damn good trainer! 

Here's what I've learned, a persons body can look absolutely amazing and do every exercise in the gym incorrectly. There are trainers who give out some really crappy advice and know nothing about science, the body, and metabolisms and can lead people to a great body... OR a horrible body! Somebody can eat like absolute crap and have abs. WE ALL HAVE BEEN GIVEN DIFFERENT GENES! I see people who STARVE themselves every single day because they think they'll lose weight if they just don't eat. There's so many scenarios! If I walk by a candy bar, I'll gain 20 lbs! My body is different than the next persons.

As for myself, I will ALWAYS have to monitor my eating! I accept that. And I spend more time eating veggies and protein than I do "living it up in the bars" or enjoying eating out. My body just can't do it. One week of not logging my food equals undoing all my hard work. Some people will never understand the discipline I personally have to have... or the person in similar shoes as myself.

So for the person that made the meme, I'm sure you're a genetic freak, my hats off to you. As for the rest of us that are working out asses off just to fit into our skinny jeans... keep working hard- You're the individuals that push me to work harder each week.