“Strong is the new sexy.” “Confidence is the new skinny.” We’ve all heard these mottos floating around, but do you ever feel like the “new” #goals are just as impossible to reach as the old ones?
Author, mother, fashion model and fitness guru Gabrielle Reece took to her blog recently to share an important, and rather backward, conversation that took place between her and her daughter about this growing trend, and what it means for all women.
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In her video post, Gabby openly shares her height (6’3) and weight (175) with viewers. She then goes on to talk about how she recently had knee surgery and as a result has lost 15 pounds because her lack of training ability has caused her to lose muscle.
Working up the motivation to actually get to the gym, let alone complete an effective workout, is a daily struggle for me. So when I heard that Gabby lost 15 pounds with hardly exercising, I definitely felt a spark of jealousy. Losing weight without exercising could possibly be one of the greatest things on the planet. But Gabby reassures viewers that her weight loss is just the opposite.
She introduces her daughter, Reece, and together they have a conversation about their numbers. Where Gabby is 6’3 and weighs 160 pounds, her 12-year-old daughter is 5’10 and weighs 162 pounds.
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As they were talking about their numbers, I immediately had flashbacks to the dozens of times I’ve been at the gym with friends, and we’ve gotten on the scale together. I think about the anxiety that I’ve experienced while the numbers flop around and start to land on a final answer. Then I think about the many times that I’ve been relieved when my scale number is smaller than the girl next to me.
But why? If I weigh 120 pounds and my friend weighs 135, what does that mean to me? To her? Yes, my number is lower, but what does a lower number equate to when it comes to me as a person? If we’re being honest, even if my weight turns out to be lower than the girl next to me, I don’t feel victorious, or even confident. I immediately jump to the number goal that I hope to be, or size up the body features that my friend has that I wish I could have.
Gabby and Reece go on to talk about how proud Reece was to weigh more than her mom after she stepped on the scale—not the reaction I was expecting.
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Their viral message has now been viewed over 2 million times.
Conversation we were having in our house, which always reminds me to be focused on being healthy and on your individual health. . . Never mind the scale!
Posted by Gabrielle Reece on Wednesday, June 15, 2016
The mother-daughter duo have an important message for all women: “We give so much to the scale when really we should be focused on: How do we feel, are we giving it our own personal best, and not worry about comparing or worrying about the scale.” It’s empowering to see a mom build her daughter up in an area that society continues to knock us down.
Their encouragement to women made me reflect on my own self-image, and that of so many girls who can relate. I hope you will give more weight to how you move, to your strengths and to your value than you do to what you think you should look like or weigh.
