It has come to my attention recently that there are many people who are not happy with their body image. Yes, I know, shocking. What I would like to talk about today is somewhat of a serious topic to me, because I believe this is a mental “disease” that inflicts every single gym-goer is some way, shape, or form. In a nut shell, this mental health disease is simply body shaming yourself.

Here’s how most of our journeys go: you are either a skinny person who wants to put on muscle, or you are an overweight person who wants to lose body fat. Typically speaking, for guys and gals, our story starts with one of those.

For simplicity purposes, I am going to use my own story as an example. So, I am the skinny guy who wants to put on muscle. Step one: I get to the gym. At first, I am still the small, skinny guy who can barely pick up any weight. Over the years, I gained muscle and started having something to be proud of. After a while I started noticing a trend: no matter where I was at in my journey, I was never strong enough. I never had enough muscle, never had big enough arms, or a big enough chest. I went from mentally competing with other skinny guys to now mentally competing with big, strong guys. Essentially, all that happened was I moved into a second tier of athleticism.

Despite the fact that I had built up muscle and gained weight like I wanted, I had forgotten where I started and where I was at on the path, and now I was never happy with myself. What I’m trying to say is: it takes a lot of work to be proud of where you are at. No matter who you are, reader, I guarantee that you have come a long ways since you first started your fitness journey, whether that was to gain muscle or lose body fat.

There is so much pressure in society to look a certain way! Men have to have a six pack huge arms! Women are required to have a slim waist and toned arms! What I am telling you, reader, is to say to hell with what the world tells you to look like, and focus on where YOU are at. You have done amazing things and should always be reflective of where you are at in your journey.

By: Tanner Porter