I would have said the same thing

I came across this today and I have to say I would tell them to take a flying leap.  Be proud of your accomplishments.  Don't let anyone diminish your success!  Here is the link :)

Shape Magazine Refused To Let This Woman Wear A Bikini On Its Site

Brooke Birmingham says the fitness mag is hiding what weight loss really looks like by asking her to cover up. Update: Shape responds and blames freelancer for “misunderstanding.”posted on May 6, 2014 at 3:24pm EDT

Julie GersteinBuzzFeed Staff

Meet Brooke Birmingham.

Facebook: brooke.a.birmingham

She’s the 28-year-old, Quad Cities, Ill., blogger behind the site Brooke: Not on a Diet, where she chronicles her incredible weight-loss progress.

Over the past four years, she’s managed to lose more than 170 pounds.

brookenotonadiet.com

And she’s kept it off for the past year too.

That’s pretty impressive and inspiring!

Shape magazine thought so too, which is why it contacted her to be a part of its “Success Stories” series.

shape.com

shape.com

“Success Stories” chronicles inspiring stories of real people who have lost weight and changed their lives.

But when Brooke submitted this “after” photo of herself in a bikini, Shape insisted she send in another of herself in a tee.

When Brooke asked why they wanted a different photo, she was told it was “policy” to show “Success Stories” in tees.

shape.com

“lt’s just their editorial to be fully clothed, simple as that,” the writer explained.

But a quick glance at Shape’s site and other “Success Stories” quickly proves that’s not true. There are several women, including the woman above, who are shown in bikinis on the site.

Not surprisingly, Brooke felt singled out. “I felt like my body wasn’t good enough to be featured on their website,” she told BuzzFeed. “When you log onto their website, the first thing that pops up is a woman in workout pants and a sports bra. There have been other success stories with women in bikinis.”

After going back and forth with Shape, Brooke eventually decided not to allow them to use her story.

brookenotonadiet.com

“If I couldn’t have the picture of me in my bikini to go along with my story, then it wasn’t MY story,” she wrote on her blog. “The story I wanted to tell and shout out to the world, not their ideal story. So, if I couldn’t tell it my way, then they weren’t going to be able to tell it at all.”

“It all boils down to, I want people to know they shouldn’t feel ashamed of how they look,” she told BuzzFeed. “They should love their body no matter what. I wear a bikini because it makes me feel good. Just because you don’t have what the media portrays as the ideal body, you’re still beautiful.”

As for what she hopes others will take from her experience, Brooke says that she wants to open up a dialogue about what bodies really look like after extreme weight loss. “I get that they’re a business. I get that America is judging on appearance, but at the same time, some of us need to see the real thing.”

A spokesperson from Shape said this has all been a terrible misunderstanding:

shape.com

“This is a result of a misunderstanding with a freelance writer. This does not represent Shape’s editorial values and the comments made about Shape’s ‘editorial policy’ are absolutely untrue. Shape prides itself on empowering and celebrating women like Brooke, and any indication that we would not run the piece with the photo provided was wrong, as we would have been proud to share her inspirational story.​”

When BuzzFeed reached out to the freelancer handling the story, Jessica Girdwain, all she would say was, “I totally support what [Shape] says.” Girdwain is not currently under contract with Shape.

Misunderstanding or not, since Brooke posted about her Shape experience on her blog last week, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The response has been, ‘I needed to see a picture of this. I needed to know that my body is OK like this,’” she told BuzzFeed. “Yes, there’s been negative people, but I didn’t do this for those people. I did this for people to know that they are not alone in these issues.”

Getting healthy is a process

So, in my last real post I talked about feeling like EVERYTHING I did revolved around my weight loss.  I have found that I have regained some semblance of sanity now that I don't log everything I do in 5 different places.  I still religiously log my food and exercise in MFP.  I do not blog as often.  I still check in on my DietBet that is in progress.  Other than that, I have chilled.

I think that people forget that this is a lifetime journey.  Once you hit that goal you're done.  I don't think it works that way.  I have known many people that get with 10 pounds of their goal or even reach it and then turn around and put all 100+ pounds right back on.  How frustrating is that?  More importantly, wouldn't it be easier to just check in to ensure that you stay on the right track?

That being said, there is no reason to eat a salad for lunch every day for the rest of your life.  I believe the key is moderation.  Many people talk about the 80/20 rule.  Eat healthy 80% of the time and give yourself a break the other 20%.  I am leaning more toward the 90/10 side of things only because there is NO WAY I am gaining all of this back!  Granted, I am not to the maintenance phase yet but I will be soon.

People focus so much on what they CAN'T eat or CAN'T do.  Why?  I can eat whatever I want.  Can I eat it all day every day?  Sure.  If I want to ruin what I have accomplished.  But that doesn't mean that I have to say no to every slice of birthday cake or worry about what I am going to eat at a dinner party.  Moderation.  I have to be able to live life without constantly worrying about it.

On that note, I also see a lot of people beat themselves up over the scale.  1 pound and their life is going to end.  Obviously, weight fluctuates.  They talk about "falling off the wagon" or "cheating".  I don't believe in those things.  I believe in building certain things into your program so that you can be successful.  Are there days that I want to eat everything in sight?  Of course.  I wouldn't be human if I didn't have those days.  Give yourself some room to breathe.  If you find that you are 200 mg over in sodium after you make dinner, then what?  Oh well.  1 day, 1 meal will not change your life.

Variety is good for the body.  It keeps it guessing.  I believe that's why I am having good success with carb cycling.  My food is constantly switching and then I have a day where I can eat whatever I want.  I am aware that it could be damaging but it's not.  Moderation.  I give myself an extra 1,000 calories to have my way with and I'm happy.

Bottom line:  Getting healthy is a process.  It's not always easy but it's definitely worth it.

Perspective on Perfect

A reblog from Heidi Powell that really hit home for me :)

I am (still) Perfect…

POSTED ON APRIL 23, 2014

In speaking to a group of new friends, I had the opportunity to share my thoughts on “perfection”. It made me think of this post, one of the earliest posts I ever wrote for my blog, that really hit home with so many people when I shared it. Enjoy!

Thank goodness for makeup artists!

I am Perfect.
Perfectly imperfect, that is.
I use the word “ perfect ” a lot, and oftentimes had people remind me that nothing is perfect. I totally disagree. I believe that everyone and every thing is perfect and beautiful in its imperfect state of being. Think about that for one second – imagine that just maybe your imperfections actually make you perfect. Don’t you just love the freedom that thought gives you? Well, time to realize the reality of the thought and let go of our self-judgments and negative self-talk. It’s time to embrace our imperfections.
Now I’m not saying to throw caution to the wind and go indulge in a gallon of super chunky triple chocolate fudgy goo. I’m saying that it’s okay to mess up, and it’s okay to have faults. For those of you that don’t, I’m sorry. These faults, trials, imperfections and stumbles are our some of our greatest blessings – they’re our ‘springboards’ to becoming the strongest person we can possibly be!

Hair piece! A necessary evil for me!

So why do we so often find ourselves ‘masking up’ for the day before we go out in public? Why do we all feel the need to pretend to be something we are not? Why are we so scared of who we really are? Every time we put on that mask we feel beautiful and invincible. We put on a show of perfection for our friends, family, co-workers, and acquaintances…everyone. We’re not true to them, but most importantly we are not true to ourselves. We are a fraud.
Ever feel that way? I sure have, and I still find myself there at times. I have to remind myself of a lesson I learned from my late father: true beauty comes from being honest and authentic.
You’re scared. I hear you. It’s not easy to peek out from behind that mask and share our difficulties and challenges with the world. But trust me, it’s worth it! The freedom that comes with being vulnerable, open, and real is unlike anything else. It’s the most liberating thing I’ve ever experienced, and without a doubt it has become one of the most powerful tools in my arsenal.
“Heidi, this is easy for you to say. You don’t have imperfections like I do.” FALSE! The camera is deceiving and shallow.

My perfectly imperfect feet – bunions and all!

Behold, a Top 10 list of only some of my many imperfections:

1. I have bunions.
2. My nostrils flare to the size of a nickel when I laugh (those of you who know me know EXACTLY what I’m talking about!)
3. My hair might be beautiful…but only because I clip in extensions (and that’s not the only enhanced part of me).
4. I am a control freak (I’m working on it – so darn hard though, and not sure I’m making much improvement).
5. I have food issues too.
6. One of my eyes is lazy when I smile and I am SO self-conscious about it.
7. Chris is my soul mate and best friend, and so often we post pictures of when things are fun and rosy, but we, like every other couple, have challenges and differences that we’re always working on.
8. I am tempted 99.9% of the time to cheat during my workouts.
9. No matter how hard I work on my abs, I will always have a belly button that could be mistaken for a nose.
10. I don’t wake up looking camera-ready.  Thank goodness for hair and makeup artists!

Waking Up Au Natural!

So many more, but there’s not enough room in this blog.
So, how do you find this place of peace with yourself as you are?
Rule 62 – DON’T TAKE YOURSELF SO DAMN SERIOUSLY (thanks again, Dad).
Don’t be scared or embarrassed. You’re in a safe place and it’s time for a heart to heart conversation with the most important person in your life – YOU! Dig deep and allow yourself to see those imperfections. Try seeing the beauty in your flaws (yes, that bump on your nose makes you YOU!). Realize the lessons and strength that your imperfections have given you. And most importantly, don’t worry about what other people think. One of my favorite sayings is, “Those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”
Now go be your perfectly imperfect self  :-).

Time Management to Reduce Stress

I am a nonstop, workaholic, go from sun up to sun down and beyond kind of girl.  That being said...everyone needs a break eventually.  That's how I roll.  I go really hard for a long time and then I'm done.  I can't make myself do anything.  My body (especially my brain) needs a break.  I wonder if other people feel like this as well?  I'm sure I'm not the only one.  

Right now, I am really struggling with time management and it's causing me a LOT of stress.  I feel completely overwhelmed and I am trying to find a way to sort it all out.  Everyone is busy with (insert your activities here).  For me, I work 40 hours training for one job (soon I will be on my own and will have more flexibility), commute 1/2 hour each way to do that, own my own separate business with my DH (which is time and space consuming) and am in the middle of a healthy lifestyle overhaul (also very time consuming with my obsessive nature).  That being said I love my life. I have a wonderful partner with the patience of a saint who would do anything to support me.  I am successful in business.  I have a great family.  So, I guess my point with that is that I am blessed and I know it.  That doesn't change the fact that I am beside myself with trying to balance all of my endeavors and maintain some semblance of sanity.

It just feels like there are not enough hours in the day.  We are taking steps to streamline some of these things because I am in lock up.  I can't function well under this level of constant stress and I take it out on the one I love the most.  That just isn't fair and is completely unacceptable to me.  So we adjust.

I used to smoke.  I've mentioned this before.  It was my stress reliever.  Considering I no longer have vices, I really need to come up with a better way to deal with stress.  I think the only way around this is to have a plan.  The first step in my plan is to eliminate and consolidate.  That goes in all areas of my life.

The relevant piece here is how it relates to my healthy lifestyle.  I have taken that WAY beyond what is necessary and it's time to cut back.  I feel like I am CONSTANTLY doing something related to my weight loss/health improvement program. Between tracking, planning, logging, measuring, eating, avoiding eating, working out, blogging, reviewing forums and networking -- I don't feel like there is any time to do anything else. I'm not saying that this level of intensity hasn't been beneficial but I am at a point where I need to scale it down a bit. I still have another 60 - 70 pounds to go so I have to maintain some of it but I need to cut back.  So, I eliminated 1 of my 3 blogs.  All it had was a recap of all the other blogs and tracking that I do.  I have most everything in My Fitness Pal.  I also am not going to update my Daily Burn Tracker.  I have plenty of trackers as it is.  

Another part of this is my workouts.  Typically, I get up early in the morning so that I can get my workout in before my work day starts.  There are times when I simply don't.  Those are the days that are especially difficult since I then have to take time away from my DH and our business to get my workout in.  He knows and I know that it's important to achieve these goals but it feels like such a burden.  I guess if it were easy then everyone would do it.  With the obesity level today, that's clearly not the case.

I am hoping that I can streamline some more things in my life so that I can spend less time stressing and more time enjoying.  That's a hard one but...I'm still fighting.

The 3 Keys to my success this year

I was thinking about what has led to my success this year.  I broke it down to 3 things.

1) Keaira LaShae - I have mentioned her before but honestly - I couldn't do it without her.  I am constantly challenged, encouraged and motivated to better myself.

2) Diet Bet - I am competitive by nature and this only fuels it!  Not to mention that there is a social aspect that just makes it fun.  I won my first Diet Bet (Chris Powell Challenge) and am working on a 6 month transformer challenge now.

3) My Fitness Pal - I have used other trackers before and loved them.  MFP is built to cover all of the variables.  It also has a social component that is highly enjoyable and motivational.  I like to help people and this gives me a chance to share what I have learned as well.

Every person is different...from motivation to calories to workouts.  You absolutely need to do what works for you.  1 of the lessons that I learned this year was that I need to feed my body.  I was trying to eat 1,200 calories with a 200+ pound body.  That wasn't enough.  I am now consistently eating 1,600 and still dropping the same amount of weight.  I was introduced to Carb Cycling this year as well.  It has made a huge difference in my relationship with food.  I also learned the value of limiting sodium.  I feel better.  The only way to find out what works for you and what doesn't is by tracking.  I really cannot stress that enough.

I will admit that doing all of these things can be time consuming and is not always the easiest thing to maintain.  We are all busy.  Our responsibilities may be different, but we all have things that we need to focus on outside of ourselves.  On the flip side, I have to take care of me or there won't be anyone to do what I do.  It's a choice.  I choose to get healthy.  I have struggled my whole life with my weight and I will continue to be aware of it forever.  I have achieved significant results and am confident that I have a handle on my goals.  I am not saying it's easy - because it's not.  But it's certainly a lot more manageable if you have a plan.  Keep that in mind as you continue on your journey and achieve your goals.