It’s a way for everyone to connect, share, and educate.
Until you read small 140 character blurps that can be misinterpreted.
It’s like broken telephone. What you want to say ends up being shortened with no real “meat” to it.
After our trek to Lawrencetown Beach today to watch the waves and hike along the cliff to get some cool “post-Gonzalo” wave pics:
My Greg and I were catching up on news/events through our social media as we are geeks and it’s a great way to get a quick snapshot of what’s going on. We both had friends running marathons, so it’s great to keep up on the event.
While we were chatting, he came across a tweet that said something to the effect of: if you eat small meals your stomach will stay small and you will be able to see “your abs”. Now I am hoping that this was not now it was intended to be read. But the written word can be misinterpreted.
THIS is why irked me:
Your stomach is located here:
The intestines, below. “Abs” are the muscles. Not your stomach.
Fat surrounds muscles, body organs, etc. It gets everywhere. You need to eat clean and exercise to burn the fat and create lean muscle. Burning the fat allows the lean muscles to “show through”.
Yes, the stomach does stretch, but it also contracts. Unless you are eating GIGANTIC meals at every sit down, it won’t be an issue. [Once you continue to stretch out your stomach by overeating on a regular basis [like every day] the switch that sends the signals your stomach sends to your brain, indicating fullness and hunger, starts to get gummed up. After a while your stomach only says, “I’m full,” after its severely stretched out. And then it may start to go “HEY! Feed me!,” when its still half-full.]
Small meals? Yes, eating every 2-3 hours throughout the day is good – because your metabolism stays fired up, and working out builds your lean muscles, which in turn make them fat burning machines. The whole wording of that tweet just irked me to no end.
If you are still reading…..A bigger reason why it irked me:
In a time where we are trying to empower our young women (and men) to be HEALTHY – not skinny, I am so afraid that there are young men and women out there reading the 140 character snippets or FB posts and misinterpreting the meaning behind it. They will not dig to find out what is BEHIND the tweet, or FB post, or any other social media blurb. They read it and believe it.
This is a part of the reason I am proud to be an Ambassador for Sweat Pink (Fit Approach) , Girls Gone Sporty and My Soxy Feet. These are communities that support EVERYONE and we share information that has “meat” to it. We ask questions. We read. We investigate. We blog and share our experiences with the public.
It is also why I love my Twitter running fam. We share our information on what has worked for us during weekly chats.
What we have to remember is: every person will have their own special formula that works for them, because WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT.
We are so much more that 140 characters, a Facebook post, an Ello post, or a forum comment.
Keep asking questions. Don’t limit your knowledge to a tweet, a post, or a picture.
I’ll end with this:
My advice: Ask an expert. A doctor, a nutritionist, sports specialist. Get information for YOU.
Best advice: Love yourself for who you are. Get healthy because you WANT to. For YOU. Healthy comes in many sizes. Don’t think you need to look a certain way to be healthy.
Keep. Asking. Questions.
#crazymamaruns
The Midlife Reframe 