Darla G. Denton | Author Platform Coach

Time and time again as we go through our lives we are told that in order to be healthy you must be skinny.

A skinny person equals a healthy person.

A fat person equals an unhealthy person.

Right?

Wrong!

You can be skinny and unhealthy and you can be fat and healthy.

But that’s not what we are here to talk about today.

Today, let’s chat about being fat and exercising for your health, not for weight loss.

You might be thinking, “If you exercise you will loose weight no matter what.”

Sometimes, yes.

But muscle weighs more then fat, it just takes up less space in your body. So, technically you can gain weight but loose inches. It just depends on what your body does with the calories your put into it. (By the way a calorie is not a calorie! Click HERE to learn what Dr. Lustig has to say about it.)

Honestly, you should never measure your health against what the scale says. When you step on that thing you are not only weighing your fat but everything else in your body (organs, blood, bones, etc…).

Instead, measure your health against how you feel inside.

• Are you short of breath when you walk around?
• Do your joints hurt just getting up or going up and down the stairs?
• Do you have chest pains, stomach pains?
• Do you constantly feel tired, sluggish, depressed?

These are just some of the signs that your body is trying to tell you it needs help.

Just because you’re fat doesn’t mean you can’t be healthy.

AND

Just because you are OK with being fat does not mean you shouldn’t exercise.

Instead of chasing the elusive perfect weight and waist size, chase what your body really needs.

So, how do we do this?

We exercise regularly and choose good food more then junk food. ( Notice I said “choose good food MORE then junk food” because if we try to eliminate “junk” food forever in our lives we are setting ourselves up for failure and needless stress)

When it comes to exercising, you don’t have to chain yourself to an extreme workout or even enter a gym. Anything that gets you up and moving around is a form of exercise. You can go for walks, swim, dance, jog, hike, climb, etc…. Whatever strikes your fancy. It doesn’t need to be something specifically for plus size people either. Just choose something that you enjoy and something that you feel comfortable doing.

If you want to focus more on building up muscle strength but don’t have access to a gym try these moves:

To help you change gears from calorie counting and daily weigh-ins check out this great article by Tiffani from Feel Great in 8 called: 8 Ways To Focus on Healthy, Not Skinny.

For those of you “wanna-be gym rats” who love to try new things check out this video by Marcy Guevara on Plus Size Workout Ideas.

If Yoga is more your style check out Curvy Yoga!

When it comes to choosing good food I am not talking about low fat, fat free, or sugar free pre-packaged stuff. Those are not healthy for you….at all. They are loaded with extra sodium, sugar and artificial sweeteners to make up for the fat they took out.

Instead of reaching for those and wasting your $

stick to your produce isle more then the isles in the middle of the grocery store.

Choose fresh over frozen.

The shorter the shelf life the item has the healthier it is for your body.

I’m not saying become a vegetarian. All I’m saying is cook your favorite foods with as few processed or packaged items as possible and don’t eat at fast food joints every day of the week.

If you feel like you can’t think of any recipes that fit the bill check Pinterest out. It is a great site to discover yummy recipes that use un-processed meats, fruits and veggies among other things. Just do a search for WHOLE FOODS or check out one of my boards called: Healthy Food That Doesn’t Suck!

Just remember, diets and diet foods are not the answer. Getting and staying active and choosing healthy foods more often then junk food is the key to a healthy and happy body.

Before we end the discussion I wanted to share an inspiring video I came across a few years ago. It just goes to show, no matter how out of shape or damaged your body is, as long as you are determined and try as best as you can, you can accomplish the unimaginable!

Monday @ 9am “19 Fiction and Romance Writing Contests for 2015”

Wednesday @ 9am “51 Romance Books I Can’t Wait to Read in 2015”

• How do you feel about exercising for health vs exercising to get skinny?
• What are some of your experiences with diets and exercises while being plus size?
• What ways do you like to be active?
• Do you have any yummy healthy recipes to share?