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Hey, to each their own, but as you get a little bit older, it gets much more important to take care of yourself and it should be a priority.
And, although there are definitely a lot of issues and concerns about how body images and body types are portrayed in the media and online, being fit should be a goal that most people strive for.
I’m not saying you have to look like a supermodel or a bodybuilder, but being somewhat healthy is not unrealistic.
People were presented with the statement, “Being fit is NOT an unrealistic body type.”
AskReddit users shared their answers. Let’s take a look.
1. It takes dedication.
“I understand people who have plastic surgery or use steroids can have unrealistic bodies, but it seems like we label anyone with a nice body as having an ”unrealistic body type”.
This doesn’t make sense because these bodies are perfectly achievable by the average Joe it just takes dedication. It’s like we try to demonize people who are fit now just because they make some people feel insecure.
A 6 pack and pecks isn’t unrealistic, it’s just hard to get there.”
2. The role of influencers.
“I think it’s more of, people like the Kardashians or other instagram influencers try to act like people will look like them if they buy the appetite-suppressing lollipops or those diet teas that basically just make people sh*t themselves instead of just saying they got their bodies through exercise, dieting, and surgery.
It’s extremely disingenuous to try and sell people products they didn’t even use instead of just admitting that they work out for x amount of hours every week. These body types are “unrealistic” to most because the average person has no idea how they were actually obtained, and likely doesn’t have the resources or time to obtain them either.
I never see anyone demonizing people just because they’re fit and work out. Most of the time those people just look like “normal” people anyway.”
3. You can still look good.
“The reason the unrealistic body types discussion pop up is because there are many people who will look at, say, Hugh Jackman in the Wolverine movies and say “I want that.”
Then when they put all their effort into being like that and still don’t achieve it, they may become discouraged and give up being healthy entirely. It’s more about understanding just how much dedication and commitment goes into some of the bodies we see in movies.
And understanding that you can still look good with putting in half or even a quarter of that effort.”
4. Unrealistic.
“It’s unrealistic to have such a thick booty and huge boobs while also having abs and a super flat belly. That’s just not how a body looks even if you work out a lot.
You either lose weight and get abs and lose your booty or gain a booty and say goodbye to your abs.”
5. Frustrating.
“To me, it’s frustrating when people who don’t lift or participate in physical activity envy people’s whose body type is physically impossible to attain without cosmetic enhancement or in rare cases, extremely good genetics.
Social media’s prototype of girls who workout who have tiny waists and huge glutes and men who workout that are shredded with crazy muscle definition have set this unrealistic expectation for people, but this has been an issue for years now.”
6. Unhealthy.
“It’s only unrealistic to people because it’s normal now to be overweight.
I saw a photo of my grandfather and his friends back when they were in their twenties.
First thought is, holy hell they’re all so skinny.”
7. A sad reality.
“Such a sad reality, to be honest.
So many people are fat and overweight now because society keeps saying “don’t worry about being healthy, just love yourself” which only leads to grossly unhealthy people.”
8. Overdoing it.
“My circle of friends get together regularly for dinners.
I constantly hear about how I “can eat whatever I want to” and “wouldn’t understand” about losing weight by people who always have an overloaded plate, who regularly go back for seconds, never pass on desert and wash it all down with 2 or 3 sodas or beers.
While I do none of those things, stop for my daily mile walk on the way home, hit the weights 3x a week, and do abs on the off days.”
9. Moving the goal posts.
“If you pay attention to fashion trends that have slowly changed to be more subtle and flattering to out of shape people in recent years.
Higher waisted jeans, pants, swim suits, longer and more “flowy” shirts that don’t cling and show the real shape of your body, stretchy compression pants to hold it all in. It’s normal to be overweight so we changed our fashion to accommodate and adjust beauty standards.
You’re not going to sell low rise jeans tight tops to that many women these days. Being healthy and being attractive aren’t the same thing, but they are pretty close to each other.
Not trying to shake anyone here, just acknowledging the points made. We may have had unrealistic beauty standards in some ways, but we’ve certainly moved the goal posts on “healthy, attractive” bodies.”
10. Toxic views.
“It’s possible for most people to lose some weight, but I think we still do have a problem with people going for unrealistic body types.
A lot of these people we see in media work on their bodies as a literal full time job, actors and models spending upwards to 10 hours a day at the gym.
People should be realistic about what dieting and exercise can do for them. They should count their calories, cut back on sugary drinks, do some light exercise; all that is good, but they will be severely disappointed if they think they’re going to get a super chiseled 6 pack, or (for women) get a huge b*tt and a pencil thin waist.
It’s not going to happen, the people you see with those types of abs spend hours a day doing hyper targeted work outs to grow little tiny muscles, and have insane body fat % of like 5 – 8 % to get them to show, and even then, a lot of what you see is lighting and photo editing.
A woman’s b*tt isn’t even muscle, if she loses fat in her waist, she will lose fat in her b*tt too. Most women you see in media are getting surgeries, and have their photos edited.
I work out a lot, I run 2 miles every other night, and even I don’t have much of a 6 pack. It shows, but barely, and my diet and exercise is already more than most people.
People should work out and eat healthier, it will make them feel better in general, but we shouldn’t forget that there actually is a very toxic view of health and weight in the west.”
11. Don’t compare yourself.
“Being healthy and looking “good” are two different things, and of course health takes priority, but you should still try to look your best.
Also bonus: you may already know this, but most bodybuilders and Gymshark athletes are enhanced, so their bodies actually are unrealistic, at least naturally.
That’s why you gotta focus on making yourself better, and not comparing yourself to others.”
12. Truth.
“Having a fit body is realistic, true.
Having the exact same body as someone else is unrealistic. Having the exact same curves, width, and height of person x is unrealistic. Everyone is built different and no matter how hard they try they may not be able to get down to x size or measurements.
I think usually when people say that they are referring to extremely fit or skinny people or specific measurements, which some people cant reach no matter how hard they try.”
13. A nebulous term.
“Being fit is not unrealistic.
But “fit” is a nebulous term. Do you mean “fit” as in healthy, or do you mean “fit” as in Gymshark model? Because the bodies we associate with “fit” are pretty limited, but there are a lot of different ways people look when they’re fit.
My husband is very much not living a fit life at the moment but he has broad shoulders and a fast metabolism so he looks great, even muscly. I’m skinnier than a lot of the women I do yoga with but my endurance and strength is maybe half of theirs.
And I honestly think it’s a “duh” thing to say that bodybuilders’ bodies are unrealistic for most people. That’s their job, and that training is time intensive and effects every facet of their life.
Thinking anyone could have that body is frankly kind of undermining their work.”
Okay, friends, now we want to hear from all of you out there.
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