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The truth about being chubby.
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- Опубліковано 1 січ 2017
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COMING CLEAN YOU GUYS. This took some ladyballs to upload.
Probably the most honest I've ever been online so thanks in advance for the support and HAPPY NEW YEAR NEW US.
Let me know suggestions in the comments on the kind of things you'd like me to cover.
xxx
My video on PCOS:
LADY BEARDS | Life with PCOS • Video
Read more about PCOS:
www.nhs.uk/cond...
Favourite Body Positive Instagrammers who saved my wobbly ass:
/ bodyposipanda
/ iskra
/ barbienox
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SUBSCRIBE: bit.ly/1MdDOHp
INSTAGRAM: / leenanorms
TWATTER: / leenanorms
👋 Oi Oi! This video is a bit old now, but if you enjoyed it you might like these ones I’ve made more recently…
○ fat people don't belong in magazines: ua-cam.com/video/H6CKUF8f8s8/v-deo.html
○ How I stopped hating being chubby in summer + how u can too: ua-cam.com/video/b7xANIZ2uFE/v-deo.html
○ Being honest with my boyfriend: relationships in your twenties: ua-cam.com/video/ZA2pfyRB7as/v-deo.html
Dig my response-I’m old but I know things.
I also hate when I actually feel good about myself on a day, I pass a window or a mirror and be like "Okay, never mind"
lolllolllol I literally sniggered aloud at this - I feel you so hard x
justkissmyfrog And the annoying part of it is, it's always on the good days, where I'm like: Giiiiiirl you look faaaab! AND THEN I PASS A FREAKING WINDOW
I stop watching myself at shop windows for the very same reason
BetweenLinesAndLife yeh I avoid reflections when I'm out and about as it runs the illusion that I look like a sexy badass haha
Beckie Bookworm Wise words girl, wise words
Caitlin Moran became my 'weight loss idol' when she said she wanted to run down a hill like a little kid or a dog because if little kids and dogs are doing it she wants in. Weight loss becomes about accessing new types of joy, not depriving yourself of it.
OOO I love that phrase - Weight loss is about accessing new types of joy!
I cannot believe those comments. I cannot believe it. People rate us?? I always think that you and Hannah are some of the most attractive people I know. How and why do people indulge their single opinion and reduce us to a numerical figure
Lucy Moon this is definitely a food for thought on its own really, there's times where I wish I was as beautiful as some of my other girlies but when speaking to them about things like that, they sometimes have the same feelings towards me! Nobody can read minds and it's important not to get too lost in your own head thinking that other people are more or less "attractive" than you are, it can really get you down but we should all be celebrating each others beauty from the inside out 😘
My bf said I was an 8.4 or some shit... hrrrm I hate the numbers game, my bad for asking though im an idiot!!
@@earthandfire4840 yeah humans should not be summarised by a number. tho 8.4 isn't bad if 5 is average haha
This is literally how I feel every single time I pick up a piece of chocolate or a cookie. I think "I shouldn't eat this because it'll make me unhealthy" and then instantly think "your a feminist, love yourself, don't let body image take away sweet happy moments" and it's this echo chamber of constant battle. I've tried to talk to people about this but it's so hard to put into words (because I still haven't sorted it out in my brain) how I can love myself and also try to want to make myself better? Ay.
I love you and support you and want you to be happy 💕💕💕💕💕💕
Ariel Bissett i never succeeded in putting words in what I was feeling exactly about my body and my life, but you just perfectly did, thank you very much 😘😘bisouxxxxxx😚
Whoever told you that you are more of a feminist if you neglect your image? And whoever told you that eating cookies loaded with sugars equals loving yourself?
Ladies, please! No one, no one! should dislike the way they look. We should all aspire to love ourselves at whatever stage we may be and whatever that means to our appearance, but making a healthy effort to actually like what you see in the mirror ( whether that means wearing make up, exercising regularly or wearing nice clothes) dies not make you less of a feminist whatsoever!!!
i feel the same way
Okay SO, I am fat (like, fatFATfat) and totally body positive and a feminist.
That being said around September I just realized I wasn't happy. Not because I was fat but because I couldn't DO things. My body and I weren't working together. I've seen fat babes who do yoga and run and hike and I was getting short of breathe grocery shopping.
I think that is the difference. When being healthy and loving your body the way it is telling you it needs to be loved is the goal, I think that is completely body positive and not something that makes you a bad feminist.
So I don't weigh myself. I don't worry about inches lost or how many sizes I go down. I go by how far I can walk, how strong I feel and how easy I can breathe.
Amazing video. Really really real.
xxxx
Leena! I love you so much! My friend Jesse Cale recently got healthy and loved himself through it, he's starting a blog about the whole thing (so it will be looking back). but knowing him though it was really inspiring. He was basically like: How can I love myself best? (taking care of myself). Can't wait for the series!
I totally relate to this. And I don't know if this is just me but I feel like in the past I was like "I'm too smart to want to lose weight. I can't be that vain". It was like I didn't cared about my physical self cause I wanted to live in a sort of ethereal form(I'm not making any sense). I was all about the body positivity when it came to other people but I felt like shit when it came to my body. Every time I've tried to lose weight was for all the wrong reasons. It was always to impress someone, the way I looked, trying to not be forever alone and the compliments. Never about my health and treating my body how it deserves to be treated. And just to clarify, I'm a guy and I could never find men's body positivity videos so I got used to female plus size models.
RELATABLE
I relate so hard to this. I just feel awkward and passed over a lot because of my weight.
On another note I think conflating feminism with not losing weight is such an unhealthy notion. The response to the bikini body propaganda and unrealistic bodies is not to indulge in gluttony and eat ourselves to death under the title of feminism. It is to honour our bodies, be healthy and live our lives as though we only have one and we want it to be full of quality moments that we are healthy enough to experience. I despise the notion that to be a feminist you should be happy as you are. Nope I'm learning to live myself at any weight but I'm not happy at the weight I am because I could be healthier and my body is a direct reflection of the unhealthy choices I've made. I hope this was coherent and expressed my thoughts in a polite way. I love your videos and am excited for this series. :)
*love myself
Waiting to be skinny to live dayum that hit me hard
Not even hardly chubby but I find myself thinking this whaat
Also if anyone has any suggestions for a name for the series - TELL ME! Lean with Leena? Oh god.
justkissmyfrog Maybe something related to book titles. Like "how to build a leena", "leena: the books, the food and the new body"(?
justkissmyfrog How about "looking after leena", to include both physical and mental health? I'm not a native speaker, so I'm not sure if it fits properly... loved your video :)
Hard Times? Great Expectations?
Oh my god I kind of love that!
How about Leaner Leena...
There is nothing non-feminist about wanting to be healthy!
Aradion exactly! Feminism is just the want for equality, wanting to be healthy and happy in yourself can never be a bad thing
Emma Keetley Yeah, it is a thing I have noticed a lot as a result of the body positivity movement; that people start thinking it is no longer okay or it is somehow unfeminist to want to lose weight. I really enjoy seeing people loving their bodies in all shapes and sizes and accepting themselves, and I think that that's a great thing about the movement. But I think that wanting to (healthily) lose weight, for whatever reason, should not be regarded negatively. It creates the idea that you can't be feminist or truly happy when you lose weight, and I feel like it's making people maybe stagnate within unhealthiness just because they think it's not okay to lose weight because then they somehow don't love or accept themselves. It is possible to be body positive AND lose weight; you can lose weight BECAUSE you love yourself and want to take care of yourself. I definitely think the two can go hand in hand. The thought that taking care of yourself and wanting to be healthy (especially if it is so you can do the things you like doing) would for some (or any) reason be unfeminist is honestly beyond me, but I have seen it pop up more and more lately.
In fact, now that I think about it, it is perhaps more unfeminist to say that women MUST always be happy with their bodies and can't lose weight because then they'll somehow lose their feminist cred
AMEN TO EVERYTHING
+Aradion, the BMI with lowest mortality rate for women JKMF's age is over 30. That's actually technically obese, which she doesn't seem to be near to.
As someone who is in recovery from an eating disorder, I just want to say thank you for being so respectful and conscientious about the way you are presenting your journey! Your approach sounds incredibly thoughtful and I think you speak with an insight into the experience of those with eating disorders which is incredibly hard to achieve when you haven't had an eating disorder!
Also, I don't know if it would be useful to you, but one thing I've found really helpful recently is practicing 'body neutrality' rather than body positivity. I (try to) accept that I won't always love my body but I don't hate it either. I'm grateful for what my healthier body lets me do, e.g. have more energy, be more present in my life, spend time with friends, but I try to take the focus, whether positive or negative, off the actual physical appearance of my body as being so important and influential to my life and experience. I know that's not for everyone and for some people the body positivity movement is incredibly important and revolutionary to the way they see themselves and experience life in their body, but for me it was kind of just a new way to feel obsessed about how I look.
P.S. I'm aware I'm two years late posting this comment but felt compelled to still post my thanks for your attitude!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh I related to the " to be fat youtuber means to..." I meet people at vidcon and so many say they imagined me shorter and smaller, and I think "yea yea I know I have a tummy you can't see on camera and now you see it I think I'll go hide in my hotel room now"
I needed this video, I'm currently documenting my weight loss journey, ...sadly I'll probably only feel comfy putting it online if it's successful. Because I too, am not always the best feminist.
I'm the woman with the hot friends too. Thanks for the shout out.
what does feminism truly have to do with health? being within a healthy weight range is nothing to do with feminism. females need to be fit to live healthily, males need to be fit to live healthily, as do cats, fish and giraffes...Im in no way anti-feminist of course, but i dont think there is anything healthy in attaching feminism to your fitness. if you want your body to survive put in good things, and keep your heart pumping. i understand what you are saying but just focus on the fitness and the health. this coming from someone who has suffered an eating disorder and severe body dysmorphia, i understand the mindset your talking about. but you need to separate everything else from your health. that is always the most important. good luck with your journey. your channel is extremely inspiring!!
I think it starts to relate to feminism when the intent on losing weight things other than good health. Like wanting to look like another model, another girl etc. Wanting to be healthy is not feminist but feeling like you HAVE to lose weight in order for people to accept you, take you seriously etc is feminist issue. Atleast that's how I'm looking at it.
hanzib31 I've never linked fitness and feminism together before, but I think body image is the common factor.
Feminism includes valuing women for who they are as people and as individuals, rather than valuing them on their appearance and their use to men.
Fitness is about have a healthy body and mind and taking care of yourself. It also includes appreciating that all bodies are different and function in different ways, and look different even when they are 'equally' healthy.
Therefore, body image links these two together by ensuring that the indentify of losing weight is not to be skinny and look pretty (feminism) but rather to be happy in your body and to use your body to it's full potential (fitness). Xx
"Being big and being happy with that is such a powerful, feminist statement. Treating your body like shit and making yourself ill... isn't a feminist statement" Thank you for these words
My fitness/health journey IS inspired by zombie/other apocalypse survival! AND feeling safer as a single woman is a huge part of it. A pic I stumbled across describes it well: "I don't want to look skinny, I WANT TO LOOK LIKE I COULD KICK YOUR ASS." And yes finding clothes easier (esp second hand) and just blending in with regular society is part of it, but basically I just want to get around the place easier.
Edit: and not getting diabetes would be grand. I'm over 30 now so it's a little more of a serious issue than it was a decade ago.
I feel this video so damn bad. I'm not a chubby person. I don't think I've ever been properly chubby but I'm coming at it from the other end and having SO MANY OF THE SAME DAMN ISSUES. I used to have EDNOS, restrictive eating, overexercising and purging and so whenever I try to make myself better for me all of my alarm bells go off and yell at me that I'm doing something damaging.
So I sit on my arse and read books. And that's depressing. Because whilst I like sitting on my arse and reading books I also want to be the kind of girl who can get on her roof and clean her own damn gutters if she needs to. Or build a bookcase. Or climb a hill. Or run for a bus that isn't that far away without feeling like my lungs are full of water and I'm about five seconds away from a coronary. And I'm totally trying to be someone who can do both and learn that being able to do physical things doesn't mean I am immediately going to drop all the fat from my body or lose control of myself or undo all the good work I have done in making food a good thing that isn't scary. So I'm really excited to watch you make feminist weightloss a thing, because I want to make feminist strength and ability a thing too.
Also, just as an aside, I also have PCOS and have shitty horrid dermoid cysts that mean I only have an ovary and a quarter left so I totally feel you on that too. It's shit. From my experience, the sugar intake can affect people with PCOS more than those without but obviously every single body is different. x
I don't think I've ever seen a video that more accurately describes my exact thoughts. I think I might join you in this one x
xxxx
i've never had body confidence issues, i tend to have more issues with how my face looks. also my mum always comments on my weight so i'm too often conscious of it.
diet culture makes me so mad. i'm looking forward to this series because feminst weight loss sound like my kind of weight loss.
i love your honesty!!
oh and the hot friends thing? yeah. i've never been hit on on my life. or dated anyone. that's life i guess
I just really hate exercise?? it's so painful?? why would I inflict that on myself
I'm pretty much the same, I'm not thin but I'm healthy so why would I put myself through *hell* to be a bit slimmer. I don't have time for that, I got books to read, music to listen to and anime's to watch. maybe if I have time for (egk) dieting, later on in life I will but for now I'm just going to learn to be comfortable in my own skin. Because honestly skinning things is far to much work.
Stop wasting taxpayer money
Emma Popcorn
Feminism to me is about having the ability to make our own choices. It is your choice to change your personal health for the better good of you. That is loving your body which feminism promotes.
Yes, you are me but I'm a couple of years ahead (30) and a couple of sizes above (24/26). PCOS, body positivity is absolutely a thing, but terrified of dieting, of exercise and of failure. Oh, failure. Sooooo terrified of failure.
We need to get healthy to BE. So that in future we can make changes and be those people who lived through Trump and can show how to live mindfully and positively. We can do it, I think.
But I am still crying with the anticipation of doing it.
literarydiversions "we need to be healthy to BE" oh god yes, thank you for these words 🌱
literarydiversions yes, lose weight and you will.... the pcos excuse is just that... an excuse no if ands or butts
Last one to comment but I FEEL YOU. I have serious history of heart disease in my family on my mum's side and because of this both my mum and I have naturally high cholesterol no matter how healthy we are being (made worse by bad eating) that I know if I want to live as long and well as possible I need to consider in my lifestyle now. But then I feel like I shouldn't talk about trying to be healthier sometimes because its not 'body positive'. I am also super aware of being bigger in person than I might seem in a video or more than that even is the fact that when my weight does fluctuate there are all these people that think it is important or relevant enough for them to pass comment on from video to video and then I go back to earlier videos and compare the way I look, which does me no good. I love you
My problem with losing weight is that I feel safer when I’m chubbier (compared to my past weights). It’s like a false safety blanket. When I lost weight and became physically healthier before, my mind was also good, my joints didnt feel any pain, and my PCOS symptoms were manageable. My skin was clear. But during that time, I was also an easier target. I just wanted to be the last person anyone would hit on because I felt violated when anyone did that to me. So I’m quite at peace with being chubby now.
On the other hand, when I’m chubbier, I feel physically bad. My joints barely work, I get dessert headaches, my skin is awful/uncooperative, and I cant pursue physical hobbies. It’s really tough for me to find the right balance. One thing that helps me is that I never shame myself anymore. :) I’m chubby now but am also doing small steps to being healthy. I find that being mean to myself just gets me back down even deeper that what I started with.
If you watch practice and workshops of professional artists (musicians, theater actors, etc.), the best directors/master dancers rarely insult anyone. They just affirm what has been done correctly and give plain instructions to correct the wrong ones. There is no time and benefit that comes with embarrassing or insulting someone, including one’s self.
it's a feminist weight loss because you're trying to better yourself as a person and get healthier
amen!
Hi Leena,
Thank you. I also suffer from PCOS and have rewatched your video about it many times and it has helped me talk about the condition to others. Having just turned 32, and at a size 16 I truly need to make a change towards being more healthy. Thank you for being so honest and open and inspiring. You said so many things that I've never found the words for, particularly when it comes to feminism and health. Please do continue this series if you feel it is good for you because I will be here right along with you.
I love 100days for making exercise fun and about feeling great. It's been my absolute favourite UA-cam channel lately, I can't help but smile and want to be active when I watch their videos!
When you said that you feel like you don't live in your body, I just automatically started to tear up. ;__; I have to work on myself too and I have never thought of doing a feminist weight loss journey. I can't wait to see how you feel on your journey. ♡
ahh Leena, this is exactly what the world needs right now (re body positivity, it's not gonna solve everything, but it's so important, in my opinion at least). I always worry that some body positivity things almost praise being unhealthy, a lot of them don't, but they can look that way and I think it's important to talk about losing weight in a way that really focuses on health, not 'beauty'. I also appreciate the way in which you are going to go about this in a way that will not be triggering or make people (myself included) feel guilty about how they treat their bodies, or mislead them into having unhealthy eating/exercising habits, I know that I personally find that a lot of weight loss series's do that to me 🙃. But yeah, thanks for making this and I look forward to the series x
Hi Leena, I'm also a 27 year old with PCOS worried about being physically fit in these times, and a lot of stuff you said in this video sent chills down my spine. It all sounds so familiar. Personally, I've been working for the past couple of years on breaking some of the negative ideas I have in my head about food, exercise, weight, and weight loss and replacing them with (hopefully) healthier ones. (Who knows if these ideas will stand the test of time... I feel like a pioneer because I don't see people like me approaching this in quite the way I need to. Just making it up as I go along.) In the past few months, I've added some actual healthy habit changes to the mix and started to see amazing results in terms of energy and general health. I've also had a fucking hard time finding resources at the intersection of body positivity and physical health, so I'm thrilled that you're taking this journey and sharing it.
Definitely possible to get healthier as a feminist! My favorite book on this is called Health at Every Size. It has a bunch of science and research which I love nerding out to and actual concrete information on building healthier habits. It's not a quick lose all the weight through this diet, it's educating and informing and body positive and supportive.
OH you had me at A BOOK. Looking up now, thank you! :)
WE DO NEED THIS! Thank you for making this video and for your honesty! I've been on a body positivity quest as well and you have been someone I look to as a role model. I have come to this same point in my life. I've accepted my body and feel good in my skin but feel the desire to become more active and eat healthier because I'm tired of having a lack of energy and getting winded after jogging up a flight of stairs. If I look this way forever I'm content but this isn't how I want to feel forever. I want to try dancing, and surfing, and hiking but have felt heldback by my own lack stamina. I'm excited to tag along in this journey with you! Thanks for being vulnerable and wonderful as always!
Wishing you all the best Leena!
I relate 100 percent to everything you said. I've just spent a week away with my hot friends, all size 6-8, and they talk about weight constantly. I've had to develop a shield against the toxicness of it all but it's exhausting, and I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to lose weight because you know life will be a lot easier to navigate if you do. I find it patronising when people say things like losing weight won't solve all your problems or that skinny people struggle too.
If anything I think being a feminist makes you even more aware of all the ways being fat affects your position in society. Wanting to change that whilst acknowledging the injustice of it is completely fine and doesn't make you less of a feminist. I really appreciate that you're checking yourself and making the effort not to reinforce the way we're made to feel about fat bodies. I'm looking forward to watching your journey.
leena, you are incredible. body positivity is all about accepting, loving and respecting your body - at whatever shape and size you might be. and wanting to get healthier/lose weight still keeps you dry under that umbrella. if you have found a place where you love your body (and lord have i spent the last year wholeheartedly trying to do the same) then wherever you go from here, you still have that. i am so excited to see you share this journey with us. i can't wait to see how you do. that self-love is the most important thing, if you're doing it for yourself, then you are absolutely doing it for the right reasons.
I feel like every video you've uploaded thus far has been so relatable. But this one was crucially honest, beyond relatable; I'm very appreciative of it.
I loved this video, and ... even though we have different body types I have been thinking of my weight and my body lately, and have tried gathering the courage to do an honest video about it. That may just have been the extra push I needed!
Anyway, I can't watch this video and not mention veganism. Because it helps with health, with losing weight, with eating a lot while eating well, with feeling A LOT more energetic, and ... it's 2017 as you said, it's time we check on ourselves and become better for others, the environment and veganism is such a key thing. good luck with everything! i'm sending you good vibes!x (and btw you're not a 4!)
Oh my god. I'm a size 18-22 and I am you.
What you feel is how I feel and this has made me feel less of the alien and thank you!
This year, I want to get sweaty and energised and healthy.
I've only just found you, and subscribed. Please continue videos related.
No doubt you'll hear more from me.
Thankyou again
LETS DO THIS.
Leena, So I have only gotten about 7 minutes into this video but I need you to know that is has saved me. I can already tell that it is saving me. I have always been uncomfortable with my chubby body. I will cry and not go out and I HATE SUMMER because I'm chubby. I don't want people to know I don't like my body either so I stay inside. But watching this, hearing you talk (someone who I have always admired and will listen to with my ears perked) has struck a chord in some way that other "body positivity" stuff hasn't done for me. Thank you.
This was like watching my own life in 20 minutes (minus the PCOS). I was just saying 'yes' at the screen the entire time. The "hot friends" bit is such truth..
thank you for talking about your genuine feelings Leena :) it's important to be genuinely vulnerable about topics that affect so many.
xxxx
Girl, THANK YOU for this video!! I feel you, and I see no disconnect between loving my body as a feminist and also recognizing that my body has needs... that I'm a lil behind on. HEALTH is feminist! It sounds like your end goal isn't exactly a slimmer body/lighter weight, but more precisely a healthier body (that will probs be slimmer/lighter as a result of eating well and working out). I've got similar goals for 2017- I'm a size 16/18 who wants to be able to dance my heart out w/o stopping at a friend's wedding in a few months (and who also doesn't want to inherit the diabetes and heart problems of my grandparents). Excited to watch your future videos on this!
70lbsoflife is a great channel! Also, part of feminism is about loving yourself, and loving yourself means looking after yourself. Not that self indulgent self care where eating an entire pack of biscuits is self care, but the self care that tells you you are valuable and worth the hard work to be healthy and who you are capable of being. I am in EXACTLY the same place atm, so I'm learning to listen to my body when it needs something, learning to love my body in the process, and learning to honour my body by doing what it needs!
Well that was the quickest i've clicked on a video this year
lolz and not even clickbait! :)
justkissmyfrog Haha :) Loved how honest this video was & look up to you a lot.
My goal, as a 29 year old, is to be at 30 hopefully the healthiest and fittest I've been since High School. So lately I've been eating way healthier, finding exercise that I enjoy (walking to work, joined a soccer team etc.) and generally trying to be mentally, physically and emotionally better. As a result I have lost weight but I've only seen this as positive because as it has happened I've realised how much free-er I feel, how much more I feel like I can achieve now that I'm fitter. I don't fall asleep anymore in the afternoon cos I've eaten way too much. It's so liberating!
P.s. love your honesty. As someone who has had such a terrible relationship with food this was a really good video. I've had to spend the whole last year recalibrating my relationship with food - treating it as nourishment for my body rather than just shit I put into my face. I don't know if that helps!
Thank you so much for your honesty ☺️. I can relate to feeling conflicted about wanting to lose weight whilst trying to embrace self love - on the face of things it seems contradictory. But when I thought about it more I realised that exercising and nourishing our bodies properly is a form of self love. It comes from realising that we are worthy of living in a body that is optimally healthy and working to give ourselves that!xx
About halfway in you talk about the duality of 'I want to lose weight' having to coexist with 'I like myself the way I am and I shouldn't have to change'. In some ways, isn't this just the same as aiming for other forms of self improvement (eg this year I'm going to work on not taking my anger out on those around me) whilst still being able to accept and love myself for who I am? I don't think those ideas are at all contradictory. Accepting or loving yourself (or another person) doesn't have to mean believing you are perfect and should never change.
Anyeay I wish you all the best for this year... May you become the healthiest version of yourself ;)
You can absolutely have a feminist weight loss - all you have to do is know in your head and heart that you're doing it for you and ONLY you!
You should check out Mo Mo O'Brien's video "The Dork Diet" :)
I relate to this so much I could cry. Thank you for posting this Leena
Emily S xxxx
I have never related more to someone! I follow many many instagram accounts and see many youtube videos about body positivity, and it has really helped me. BUT when you read out those quotes, I cringed, because I think all off those things about myself. I Hate feeling like I delay things in my life (like getting a tattoo on my upper arm...) because I don't feel comfortable with my body. It is just so stupid, but at the same time I think that it is amazing that you talk about those feelings! I love you Leena!!!
I found this (and find you, in general) very inspiring. Although I am thin, I really identified with your remark at 8:44: "I just want to be in my body more. I feel like because I'm a reader and because I'm the 'clever one', I'm always in my head, philosophizing, or doing clever stuff with my brain at work, and I'm never in my body."
This is something I've felt, and I've felt it more and more urgently in the past year or so. I have always been a very intellectual person. I don't have a "body image" issue so much as a "body" issue; i.e., the whole concept of having a body baffles me sometimes. I'm so lazy and sedentary in my habits; I would much rather read a book than go for a run. And while my metabolism and nutrition have, so far, spared me from the negative consequences such a lifestyle might have, I know that won't always be the case. I'm 27; like you, I'm starting to feel my body telling me that "young adulthood" is on its way out.
I've started going to the gym in the past month, not so much with a goal to lose weight or to build muscle or anything except to just work out and sweat more. Like you, I've had a hard time establishing a routine. We'll see if I can stick to it.
Anyway, I just wanted to say that this video can be helpful even to people who are not fat or are struggling with different body issues, and I appreciate you making it. :)
I don't understand how you think losing weight cannot be a feminist thing. Feminism is about loving and respecting yourself and other women, you respect their choice to live in their own bodies and not change them and you should respect your own choices, your own body, what it wants and need. Love your body enough that you want to treat it the best you can, that includes eating what you want - yes, eating what you want can be fruit and veg as well as chocolate.
I'm 19, I am overweight, and I also have an "undiagnosed" eating disorder, I'm in treatment without a name to it basically, so I'm maybe not gonna completely follow this journey, or only when I'm in a time when I don't think it would damage me, but I think you need to be careful with your casual remarks. Saying "I cheated and had some chocolate" or labelling food as "good" and "bad" anything that implies that you are doing something wrong by eating certain foods or not exercising , that is damaging. Those are the things that really get to me in videos like that. Also, I find it worse when people only show a fraction of what they eat because it gives an idea that that is all they eat whereas when people show the full amount they eat it's like...see look, eating some cheese isn't more food than you should be eating in a day. Other than that the obvious thing of no calories should be used if you don't wanna trigger people. Personally, people sharing their weight doesn't bother me as long as they're not like "oh my god I weigh x that is way too much"
This is obviously only my opinion and other people may find other content triggering but...since you mentioned it I thought I'd share my issues with weight loss videos.
I feel this on a deep level. I have Turner Syndrome which is also a condition that affects your hormones and makes it so hard to loose weight. I have always always always,since I was a little girl, been "chubby". TS also adds other things that make me hate my body. I hate all the things that are said about food and such for weight loss because they don't work. I will say that veganism is the best thing that I've ever done for my health. I obviously did it for the animals but it's also been great for my body. With minimal effort I've quickly dropped a lot of weight and I feel better than ever. I eat the same amount and almost the same things as before but I've been steadily loosing weight.
I love this. Please keep doing it. January is always hard for these type of thoughts for me too. If you're self conscious it can be hard to start exercise, so I started doing yoga at home (Yoga with Adriene - although it's hard to look at someone so fit, she is really kind and gentle and positive). I know you said you don't like routine but maybe for other people reading I'd definitely recommend doing a little every day and build up from there. For me, all I aim to do is roll my mat out and my daily goal is achieved. No pressure. Just start, and if you have to stop because you hurt then that's ok. Being kind to yourself is the thing. Good luck Leena.
I haven't even finished this video, but I'm telling you, I fell EXACTLY the way you feel. I'm constantly torn between the feminist/body positivity movement and wanting to lose weight. It's more than a daily struggle - it's an hourly struggle for me. I dealt with anorexia when I was 14 and ever since I've been gaining weight and haven't exercised one bit because I am too afraid I will go back to that horrible place. But I'm here with you. There's a fabulous book I read awhile ago called "Big Girl" by Kelsey Miller and it's about her struggle and triumph over her unhealthy relationship with food - and it's helped me out a lot. Just know that I'm right there with you and will be cheering you on regardless of what you choose!
Have never related to a video so much. This series will be really helpful, thank you Leena
I think sport and a good diet equal self care. And self care equals feminism. :)
Oh and I tried yoga and it really makes you feel good with your body no matter how you look.
Shout out to my boyfriend btw. He is super-sporty and always tells me: I like you the way you are, I think you are sexy. But secretly I want to be as fit as him and that motivated me to work out with him. :)
AND I hope you can accept my compliment if I say: You are incredibly sexy because of your personality and your thoughts and the confidence you portray in your videos no matter how much you weigh.
This was so inspiring to watch Leena- I can definitely identify with what you've talked about. Thank you so much for uploading this video. It might not seem like much to you but it always makes me feel happy when I see your video in my subscription box- this video in particular resonated with me deeply. When I was younger I was a lot thinner than I am now. I remember in one of her videos, Hannah mentioned that we grow up with the myth that our bodies stay the same size and when she said that I realised that I had accepted this myth subconsciously. As I entered my twenties, my body was going through natural changes and I was developing curves (which is normal), but my mind was telling me that I was gaining weight and that I looked 'different'. For me, that is the mental barrier that I need to break through- I need to accept that my body is evolving and changing like the rest of me.
Anyway, I look forward to your updates Leena, best of luck x
I can completely relate to your comments on the complexity between food, diet culture, exercise and body positivity and health. So much about being raised a girl, in my humble experience, made this so complex. Now I try to focus on enjoying movement and listening to what my body wants, rather than how it might change my body but it’s taking ongoing work. If my body changes as a result, I try to remain body positive with my new and old self. Again, quite tough but I consider working at. For me, it depends what’s driving your behaviour, diet culture or self care. Thank you for being so vulnerable!
Just a fellow fat person here occasionally pausing your vid to type things. I've only had an ideal weight twice. Both times were circumstances during which I wasn't eating nearly as much as I should, and I wasn't even trying to lose weight. I don't think I have anything diagnosable (like with a name and everything like PCOS), but I definitely have those conservative, save-every-calorie genes. During one job which included a room, 3 good meals a day (I previously only had enough money for two very small, very cheap meals a day), and strenuous labor, I gained 25 pounds in 6 weeks. After that job, I went back to not quite starving poverty and lost the weight.
"I'm gonna have a feminist weight loss year. Even when I say that aloud that sounds impossible..." Yup, partly because weight loss isn't exactly the goal. Being healthy is the goal. You might do everything right, actually become more healthy, and still not lose much weight, which might discourage you from doing those healthy things again. It might be better to say, "I'm gonna have an excellent blood test year."
"I love trying new things." Do you cook? Try new recipes. You can tell by looking at the ingredients whether or not a recipe will suit your purposes (it's a bit harder to tell if you'll like it). Oh, it's a big "No" on food prepping and diet planning. Me too :) Here's a compromise: spend some time collecting recipes that look healthy and you might like to eat someday, and make a list of them. That sounds like the part you don't like, so just do it and get it out of the way. Then, when it's time to eat, look at the list as if it were a restaurant menu and pick out what you want. After trying it, if you don't like it, cross it off the list. If the list gets too short, go find more things to add to it. Eventually, you'll have tons of healthy things you like to eat. By all means, put pizza on that list (restaurant or home made). If you don't occasionally have something that's a bit sinful, you could wind up on a binge, and the occasional pizza won't negate everything you've done for yourself up to that point. (Also, sometimes you just don't have the time or anything at home that just needs a little heating up.) Side note: If you're often short on time, find recipes that freeze (and reheat) well, make huge batches (once you've determined that you like them), and freeze them in meal-sized containers. Soups are high on my list for that. I'm still fat, but I've lost 50 pounds and saved a lot of money doing this over the years (yup, years, which is probably better because people who lose weight fast usually gain it back), and I still eat what I like and as much as I want of it.
Promoting women's health (in this case, your own) sounds pretty feminist to me. Don't even think of it as losing weight. Weight's just a single indicator, and it's not always reliable. There are a lot of unhealthy skinny (healthy looking) people. Also, muscle is a lot heavier than fat, so it's fairly possible that you'll gain weight and go _down_ a dress size at the same time.
I'm sure I've said a few things that are obvious to you, but one of my problems is knowing what's obvious and what isn't, so people sometimes think I'm talking down to them when I have something important to say. Don't even think about the Trump Apocalypse (Trumpocalypse!!). It makes me think I better put on weight now while food's still available :P
This video is a 10 and so are you :) I definitely think you can lose weight as a feminist. Feminism gives you the choice to have your body be however you want it to be
Feminist perspectives on weight loss are so so so important and underrepresented- thank you so much for making this series! As someone who has recovered from an eating disorder, I think something you can do to make sure potential videos aren't triggering is to avoid saying why you're NOT eating certain foods. For example, try to avoid saying something like "I'm avoiding _____ because it has a lot of ______ which can make you gain weight" because for people with EDs, this might create an obsession around restricting that type of food at all costs. Instead, focusing on what you are eating and why its beneficial to your health overall (not just weight) would have a much more positive impact. I hope this makes sense- good luck on this journey and I can't wait to see this series!
Leena I lovd your honesty in this. I feel the same way about becoming fit-it always spirals into losing weight and it becomes super unhealthy. There's a history of diabetes in my family and I'm terrified I'm going to get it. But I also get being scared of exercise. Like I've always told people that I don't like sports, but it's more that I'm scared of being judged for doing them bc a bigger girl can't play sports, but that's dumb. Anyone can play sports; it's just my brain that's stopping me. I think this series will be really interesting to watch and to kinda do alongside you bc I'm scared that by trying to get fit I'm going against my feminist "you should love your body" stance and i hope there's a way to be a feminist and get fit. Thank you for making this video; it's really made me think about weight and fitness and what feminism is to me. Love you
Honestly-needed this. Relate TOO MUCH. I'm going to challenge myself to try it with you.
I appreciate this video so much. I have one planned on a similar topic but it's messing me up just thinking about filming it so thank you.
Leena, you're a gift to UA-cam and your viewers! I definitely relate to this video. Something I've found helpful in framing health and fitness through a feminist lens for myself has been to get really clear on which of my reasons for wanting to get fitter are my personal choices for my own body and which are holdovers from what I've been conditioned to think about my own body from external sources. It's been tough to continually untangle and I'm always reminding myself, but it's been effective in squaring my feminism with my health goals and helping me to focus on metrics that align with my own reasons (energy levels, mental health, learning a new skill, etc. vs number on a scale, dress size, looking a certain way, etc.).
I SO relate to your struggles!
Two years ago, I regularly forced myself to exercise and go jogging (which I absolutely loathed) and eat "healthy" (meaning I deprived myself of many foods that I love to eat and basically just ate the same stuff all the time).
After a while I stopped that, ate everything I wanted (often in unhealthy quantities) and never exercised while telling myself that this was okay because I should love myself no matter what I look like. It made me feel super exhausted and sluggish most of the time.
I think now I've finally found a good balance between self-love and taking care of my body's needs. I've realized that I hate jogging and cardio training, but really love walking, hiking and cycling. It might not burn as many calories, but it keeps me active and energised and most importantly, it makes me happy. I'm also at a point where I eat very intuitively and try a lot of new stuff all the time. I don't force myself to eat healthy anymore, but I've discovered that there are so many healthy meals that I really love, like oatmeal for breakfast, fruits and veggies for snacks or many vegan meat/dairy alternatives.
I feel much more at peace with my body since I don't restrict myself anymore and don't force myself to do any exercises I don't enjoy. Deleting all social media has also really helped me to stop comparing my body to other people's bodies.
totally with you on this. sending you all the positive vibes on your health journey :)
I absolutely loved this video 🙌🏿❤️ Thank you
All I can yes to everything in this video. I've always thought of you as being gorgeous and I say this not to try and make you feel better about yourself or anything but because I've always been ashamed of my dress size and sort of kid myself about it, so to hear the same size from someone so beautiful shows me how again how I don't need to let it define me. I've just bought a swimming costume, and when it arrives, it will be the first time I've owned a swimming costume in 5 years. I just really hope I can gain the confidence to use it as I do not exercise at all accept my walk to school, and I have begun to become really worried about heart conditions and diabetes etc. but I hate exercise, am incredibly lazy, and have an incredibly unhealthy relationship with food. Not an eating disorder, but just an unhealthy outlook and I make unhealthy choices.
Please continue this series. It's nice to see and honest talk about these experiences, and I love the importance you're putting on it being a feminist issue. The line from the book "to be fat is to be told by women friends that men aren't where it's at even before you've had the chance to know" is literally my life. My healthy, hot friends just really struggle to empathise.
Oh my god, thank you so much for this. I too struggle with wanting to do something to eat healthier and exercise more, but find that any sort of rules or counting or plan seems to put me back in this pre-disordered eating mental space. In addition, I can't deny that health is really a minor reason for wanting to exercise more. No matter how much I try to make health the reason for changing my routine, the real reason is that I just like the way I look and feel when I'm thinner, and I know other people will treat me better when I'm thinner. Which makes me feel like a TERRIBLE feminist. All this has kept me from moving forward with a new routine because it's all too confusing and fraught. So I'm very happy you're doing this!
Props to your ladyballs Leena! Well said and good luck xx
oh I LOVE you leena I LOVE you
aaaaaaaaa this is video SO BRILLIANT! i appreciate the honesty so much!!!
i also need to start exercising for my health's sake and have had this debate with myself: "am i a feminist if i want to lose weight FOR MYSELF?" and (to me) the answer is yes! of course it is! if i'm doing it in search of a healthier lifestyle so i can tackle more activities without being completely out of breath and exhausted, then i think it's definitely a feminist thing to do.
i'm currently a size 16/18, 5'2"/159cm (i think) and i'm 18y/o. i'm going to start exercising on a daily basis despite my chronic pain and illnesses because i want my body to FEEL better for MYSELF! it's gonna be hard and i'll probably cry a lot before i get used to it, but i think it's gonna be worth it.
i believe in you, leena! much love! xxx
ps: i wanna apologize if this is a lil hard to understand; i've just woken up and my brain is still mush lmao
Leena, your honesty and openness inspire me more than I can explain. It is so freeing to hear you speak about these issues of weight and feminism and wanting and struggling. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Know that you are the only youtuber whose videos I *always* watch.
"Is it possible to be losing weight as a feminist?" Um, well, if we're speaking in feminist buzzwords, many would consider taking care of your body and becoming healthier as 'self-love'. There is nothing empowering about hating yourself but refusing to change anything because feminism teaches self-acceptance. Screw what feminism says, screw what other people think of you, and just become healthier for yourself.
I love that you're doing this as a feminist!
This. All of it. Every word. This is how I have felt, as a (uk) size 18, for years but never quite been able to put into words. Thank you for your bravery in uploading this video. Big love to you.
I don't really get why losing weight corresponds with feminism? if someone could explain, that'd be great :)
Well i feel like it depends on the motive for losing weight. Girls especially are told what the ideal way is to look. This ideal body is an aim for so many women when losing weight and it starts to become not for the person losing weight but for other people/society. Making people comfortable that you're not fat. At least that's my mindset around the issue. This all loops back to women fighting the voices in their head when losing weight that they know is rooted in patriarchy and the way in which men/society see them. Maybe? lol
Feminism is, in part, a rejection of the idea that women have to look and act in certain ways that society deems 'feminine' and a rejection of the idea that your self-worth should be tied up with how you look. Obviously the desire to get fit and feel better through exercise is not anti-feminist, but often weight loss can get caught up with body image issues and wanting to look a certain way to be more attractive to others
As someone who's always been overweight, losing weight was never sold to me as being about being healthy (which it should have been), it was sold as a way to become attractive so men will like me. It's so hard to reframe it in your head as you get older and teach yourself that you're not doing this to fit society's expectations of what a woman should look like, you're doing this so you can be healthy.
You were close to a 1/1. If you were to remove "especially" and "This all loops back to women fighting the voices in their head when losing weight that they know is rooted in patriarchy and the way in which men/society see them.", which was obviously just thrown in to associate weight loss with feminism even though it was in no way correct.
Bookahollyic, it isn't really. There are people who attempt to relate every negative thing in their life that they are too lazy to change with the "patriarchy" and oppression.
marinashutup the fact that you are supporting this buffonery is sad....
So much resonance. I'm going to be 27 next month too, and am on the border between overweight and obese. I hide it fairly well but I have health concerns and I want to feel better about myself. I love your channel and your wit, and I also want to be fit! I can relate to "not being in your body" too, I am a thinner and I would rather get lost in my head than face the mirror most days. I look forward to seeing your updates! I recently started seeing a dietician and since then I have twice lost 2-3 pounds and gained it back. I know the holidays are the worst time to start a weight loss journey, but it is still frustrating! I hope to make progress, and I hope you reach your goals as well :)
much love
Paige aka heapsmadgirl
ps real talk on that trump comment. Scary isnt it
This video is totally how I feel! Like you articulated all my thoughts that have been just tumbling around in my brain. I don't have any resources, other thab my accompaniment. One tip I've found helpful is: "do ____ more, and do _____ less". I don't have hard and fast rules but if presented with a healthier option versus a unhealthy one, I've promised myself to choose the healthier one more. just as I deserve to have a place at the table, to take up space, I (and my body) also deserves to move and lift and push and pull. I want to live longer, feel better consistently, and there's a ton of self confidence that comes from working out. Much love! 😘
❤️❤️❤️
xxx
justkissmyfrog I just watched the video a second time, I can relate so much to so many of your points! Thank you for having the courage to speak about all this so openly and just generally being an amazing person!! It really helps knowing that I am not alone in my struggles. Let's get ourselves to the point where we can escape trumps apocalypse (healthily) :)
Loved this video and please do a series!! I think losing weight definitely does NOT make you "anti-feminist", feminism is all about owning your body and not being afraid or feeling like you have to justify the choices you making regarding it. Do what YOU gotta do to feel fantastic in your own skin. As Tyra said, we are all rooting for you xx
I am so, so, SO happy you're making this Leena. I've definitely felt that apparent conflict loads of times and think I have probably put on weight as a result of making such an effort to be happy with my body as-is. My main struggle is how to work towards change (physical, that is) without inherently feeling like that means I'm not 'enough' in the here and now. So any thoughts you have on how to overcome that (especially from a practical perspective) would be great! Thank you so much for putting yourself out there and being honest about this real real thing. So grateful for brave female voices!
So proud of you for wanting to go on this journey and sharing it publicly! I've had many of the same issues of knowing my thought processes around fitness are negative, and I struggle to separate the good and the bad. I find I need to be very strict on myself in not accepting any negative thoughts into my consciousness - I try have a mental bodyguard who can notice them arriving and refuse them entry.
also i read lots of stuff about the interaction of the body and the mind (in a scientific way, altho it relates to the whole spiritual way of looking at things) - I want to respect my body and mind as parts of a whole - ie me!
I totally feel that duality you said about loving your body as a feminist while trying to change it, and I think the key is to love it for what it is now and for what is can phisically do for you, but also developing this feeling that eating healthy and excersising is an act of love towards yourself. It tends to help me to separate the concept of myself from the concept of my body and take care of it like it's a child or a friend, because it takes away the punishing and self deprecating factor.
I have been chubby all my life and never had a truly healthy life, but then I started sharing a flat with a girl who is studying to be a nutritionist and another girl who is an athlete, and it has helped me massively in changing habits and mindset. So I'll say this, "no goal goes unassisted". Support is one the most crucial things, along with patience with yourself and looking for excersise you can have FUN with. Take care x
I have PCOS and just started a desk job so I'm a bit worried about my health. But I don't really eat unhealthy, I just avoid excercise. I feel like joining a gym to help me with that but I'm super conscious of people looking at me and judging. Maybe starting with walking is a good idea, and once I feel confident enough then I can go to the gym. And I also need to start taking metformin again! I've been so lazy with that.
This video really did hit home and I'm really hoping for some updates in your journey because that would be super beneficial for our community. I wish you luck and I hope you know that you're definitely not alone with your feelings!
I just found your channel today through a video from Dottie James. I don't really know a lot about you but I loved your video so much!!
Back in March last year, I felt in a similar position and I decided to change my diet by giving up red meat for a while. My body felt so much cleaner and energetic that I ended up becoming a vegetarian and then vegan. I'm aware my diet is not necessarily the healthiest for everyone and that every body is different but I personally felt like a whole new person. I started doing it for my personal well being and ended up losing weight without expecting it. It's probably the best choices I've ever made because of how it made me feel, especially when combined with exercise (I didn't exercise too much honestly).
I've always felt really anxious when starting diets or meals plans, which I now believe I should have never started. They actually made me eat more, feel more insecure and gain more weight. And although I've never had weight or body issues other than my own insecurities, I've had a bad relationship with food for a long time.
I don't intend to promote veganism in your awesome video but it did surprised me how my relationship with myself has changed and how much better I feel physically.
So yeah, maybe it could be worth a try?
Anyway, sorry for the long comment and have an awesome year!!
I relate to this so much, and this year I'm trying to do the same, loose weight without hating my body. It's so important to make sure that's it's coming from a place of self love and NEVER and I mean NEVER make it about numbers or calories, and I find for me the less I focus on it or make it a big deal the easier I find it. And I'm the same with the whole ''dont get too obsessed, you best have another piece to make sure you don't have a problem with food' but that little voice is the problem because it feels safer to stay where you are but you've got to really look at yourself and think I'm a bad ass feminist and I deserve to physically and mentally feel the best I can and my body is an amazing, beautiful creation and I deserve to love and respect it! I'm wishing you loads of luck with it and if it doesn't go quite to plan don't beat yourself up just keep trying! Xx
Thank you so much for putting into words everything I've been thinking in the last couple of months, I am in a very similar situation to you and I really appreciate someone acknowledging that wanting to be healthy isn't the same as wanting to be slim. You are amazing xxx
Thank you so so much for this. I totally relate to everything you said and your courage in posting this is honestly making me well up because I really feel it and it means a great deal to know I'm not alone. I haven't seen anyone talk about most of these things before and I'm so grateful too that you're being mindful of the way you talk about things in consideration of others etc. Fat-shaming is so ingrained in our culture it's hard to get away from and I often get triggered (even admitting this I feel it sounds stupid but fat people are so dehumanised, demonised, ridiculed etc. sometimes it can get to me to be reminded over and over how I'm expected to change or I'm not a complete human) so to see someone acknowledging this and making an effort to make things better is so so encouraging.
I look forward to taking this journey with you as I have similar goals in that I've got to a point where I feel pretty OK in how I look (like you said, growing up with the "bikini body" expectations but over the last few years seeing body positivity online so slowly feeling more accepting of how we look and that we aren't all meant to look the same), but I just want to be healthy, feel good in my body and able to do things. I have chronic fatigue syndrome and binge eating disorder and I just turned 25 on Monday lol so I'm determined to put all the things I've learned over the last few years to use, and love myself enough to not treat myself like shit! That's the feminist takeaway: self love. Women are taught to hate ourselves so loving ourselves in whatever capacity we can is a revolutionary act. We're not dieting to fit into some arbitrary mould society's told us is "the ideal", we're making healthier choices for our minds, bodies, spirits (lol) so we can shed all this hate we've been taught and be the happiest, healthiest revolutionaries we can be!
There are many famous female bodybuilders with PCOS. They were motivated by the fact that diet, exercise and weight loss significantly reduces the impacts of pcos. They are among the strongest, fittest and most attractive women on this planet and they have the self-confidence to take part in a sport that amounts to posing in a bikini on stage.
This video was so enlightening to me as an almost 20 y/o with PCOS. As someone with a naturally slim build, I'm not as likely to get diabetes etc- however since about aged 16 my weight has always fluctuated within about 10kgs over a year. To maintain my health I've found that don't diet or follow a ridiculous plan, and it doesn't matter what exercise you do- just find something you enjoy and be consistent. Also try and exercise for fun and health only, not for a weight or size or "goal" etc. Also to conclude, I was the complete opposite as a child- I was the person who got called "anorexic" despite being fine and healthy- which is a completely different type of 'body bashing' but luckily I was confident enough to ignore it. I hope some of this is helpful- and as you pointed out, your health and happiness is priority!!! Oooh and I almost forgot- I love your videos because you're so enlightening and informative and speak about real things which need to be said! GOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING! 💕💕💕💕
I feel so similar, thanks for making such a relatable video. I feel that size is independent of your worth, but not your health. I think that for me, freedom is about being empowered to make the best choices and not to be a slave to anything, whether that is sugar or the patriarchy! I hate that the weight loss industry is so focused on image, when it could be so positive and freeing. Having also experienced real compulsive eating and worse, weight is such a scary thing.
I'm close to the beginning of my journey of weight loss due to pcos too and am so glad that others are there too.
I totally feel you. I've had an awful relationship with food for my entire life. I've bounced back and forth between binge eating, starving, and purging. For me personally, restricting and rules made me feel awful, and they never worked. I'm still in the process of healing from some of that. I'm definitely still in the process of learning how to treat my body with love and respect. But I really am proud of myself for how far I've come. The best thing that I can say has been helpinh me, is to stop saying, I can't have that, or labeling certain foods as bad. Food isn't a moral thing. Chips aren't evil. Eating a pizza doesn't make me a bad person. So what I've been doing is just eating more of the things that make my body feel energized and happy. Smoothies are so yummy and afterwards they leave me feeling all dancy-like! So I eat more of stuff like that, rather than worrying about counting calories and cutting out the cookie butter. And yoga! It's amazing! It's so nice because yoga isn't really the sort of activity that one would normally do for a "weight loss" kind of thing, which is exactly why it's so wonderful and works for me. I've noticed that where I am right now, the crazy high intensity "fat burning" kinda stuff just isn't healthy, because I have difficulties with taking things to extremes and eventually either using them to punish myself, or I hate them so much that I quit. I love the fact that yoga can help you feel stronger and more flexible, which is fun, but more importantly, it's been SO good for my mental health. It's all about mindfulness and being present and being gentle, and loving with yourself. In the past few months of doing it, I've noticed a significant difference in how I treat myself and, weirdly enough, others. It's about finding what feels good. And it does! It's all about celebrating the amazing things that your bod can do!
Leena I think you are gorgeous! Not only for your physical appearance but aso because of your personality and brains. People shouldn't compare you to Hannah and Lucy because they are their own people and there shouldn't be any comparison :) have a nice day!
So much truth in your video. Honestly, I feel you. About the hot friends, about the trying to be fitter and healthier turning into a weight question. I always try to start exercising because I want to be healthier. But then somehow I always get mad if I don't end up having an incredible body in a few weeks. It's unrealistic, and ridiculous. I'm really grateful to hear your talk about it all, because this honesty is not only needed, but I think makes a lot of us realize that we're not alone in this :)
These videos are extremely important for everyone to see. I'm on the other end of the spectrum where I can't gain weight which isn't a problem in itself because my body works but it's the negative thinking. The way media (especially Instagram for some reason) portray "the ideal body" is obtainable for some people but not for others. I'm thankful and glad for the people such as yourself who show this side of weight loss and body image.