We set goals for ourselves, some of great aspirations others more mundane. A common goal set by people, especially at the beginning of the year, is to lose weight. Poor self-image is a big issue in the world, a lot of which appears to stem from the perception of being too heavy. For some people this may be a legitimate concern depending on their body type. Thus every year on January first countless people resolve to lose weight.
I am not one of those people.
I have never been heavy. Instead I am one of those perpetually, irritatingly so, skinny people. In general I have always eaten whatever I wanted without much concern to my figure, and despite my best efforts to get fat with double bacon burgers and beer I never breached one seventy on my scale. To top that off I am over six feet tall and nearly thirty. The term human spider monkey has been used more than once to describe me.
People like myself, the enduringly skinny, probably infuriate more than one of you reading this, but I am not telling you this to brag, far from it. Yes I am skinny, but one of the greatest myths in society is that being skinny equals being healthy, let alone in shape. It really doesn’t. I have been skinny all my life and I can tell you with absolute honesty that there have been large swaths of time where I have not been healthy at all.
Skinny but not healthy
I would struggle to catch my breath after going up a few flights of stares. When lifting something heavy left me winded and aching. I wasn’t just physically weak, but also lethargic and starting to develop squishy regions all over my body. So while I am not fat I am not happy with my body.
Oh I think I am plenty handsome, and I am immensely proud of my accomplishments. However when I take off my shirt I am just disappointed at how I have neglected my physique. I use to be a competitive swimmer, and before that I was really into Karate for many years. All that hard work slipped away from me when I had the freedom to be a lump on my couch rather than go for a run.
Now I don’t want you to think I am whining, because whining is when no solution is proposed. I have a solution to my body image woes. Get off my lazy butt and get to the gym every day. My first millstone goal is to gain ten pounds of lean muscle.
So far my first week at the gym has bee quite painful. But we all know the old saying… no I am not saying it here, you already know it.
What are your health goals? Do you want to lose some of that squish around the middle, add some muscle, or do you just want to feel more confident. Share your goals and strategies in the comments below.
And remember my fellow Rogues, body image is all about you and what you want, no one else.
So get out there and go ROGUE.
With love,
The Rogue Gentleman.
Rogue Life Media 