Maybe she’s born with it… Maybe it’s genetics?

It’s easy to look at each other and say, “Wow, I wish I had a bootie like Julie” or “I wish I had abs like Allen”. It wasn’t until this week that I realized how much I find myself making these comparisons.  My friend and I finished working out and she turned to me and asked, “What did you do to get abs? Or is it just genetic?”. At first, I thought she was trying to say I didn’t earn my stomach. Like maybe God looked down on me and said, “This Malone girl will have wild ginger hair,  blonde eyebrows and let’s at least give her some abs to make it through puberty”. I knew my friend didn’t mean it like that. She genuinely wanted to know if abs were something that I had to work at or if it was simply genetics. 

The truth is, I did the same damn thing. I even asked her if her perfect peach bootie was from heavy lifting or eating a certain way. She laughed, “No, no, it all just goes to my bootie”. Little did she know, I couldn’t stop thinking about these comparisons for the next few days. 

I’m 6’1” with a naturally semi-thin frame. I never was considered skinny or athletically built. Growing up, I never had abs, my fat went straight to my thighs and not even messing with you, my calves, but I never carried weight in my stomach. It doesn’t take much ab exercises or healthy eating for my abs to “pop”. For my friend, I know she doesn’t have to lift a bunch of weights to get an instagram model ass, naturally she’s gifted. However, for me, it will take a shit load of squats and protein to have half the amount of bootie my friend has. That’s not an exaggeration that’s just the truth.

Everyone’s body is different and everyone carries fat in different locations. That’s the harm when we start to compare ourselves. We sometimes build a false idea of what it takes to achieve certain goals from exercising and dieting. We conjure up ideas in our head of what our “dream” body will look like instead of just focusing on being stronger and healthier versions of ourselves. For some people, having a six pack might take getting your body fat percentage down to 15% before you ever see any formation. It also might not be sustainable in the long run. Does that mean you shouldn’t work out? Hell nah. It just means it might take extra work and YEARS before you get that Peach Bootie and Trey Songz worthy abs. The importance is in the small changes you make everyday to be a healthier version of you. Those skinnyme teas, and body wraps aren’t going to make a difference in the long run. Making comparisons to your friends and instagram models who have it easier or sometimes harder than you isn’t healthy. What’s healthy is falling in love with the “problem areas” because they’re really not problem areas at all. They’re the place that your body likes to store your favorite late night taco bell run with your drunk best friends and post pregnancy baby weight. You have to love the good with the chubby before you can truly be healthy. I promise you, if don’t learn this process, your entire life will be spent nit picking your body and constantly making comparisons on what your body should look like. 

Love yourself, overweight calf muscles (Please make jeans with stretchier leg material, mama’s calves need to breathe) and all,

That tall redhead.