Skinny Love

Skinny Love

With our magazines filled with stick thin girls and movies featuring beautiful and thin women, it’s no question why so many girls have such strong body image issues. We compare, idolize and obsess. Some obsess so much they take drastic, deathly risks to fit in that size 0 dress. From juicing for weeks, to skipping meals daily, it seems that people will do anything to have their hip bones stick out and their thighs not touch. I feel that being sexy is about being healthy, not scrawny. The women who don’t change their eating habits to be stick skinny, but to be healthy and nutritious are the ones we should admire, and that’s exactly what this post is about.

Meet Ally

Ally Bruner, a native of Mandeville, La, is someone we should all be looking up to because of her dedication to a healthy lifestyle. Over the past 9 months, Ally has focused on eating clean and has lost 17 pounds. I sat down with Ally and asked her all about her journey and how she did it.

Interview with Ally 

Al: Why and when did you decide to change your eating habits?

Ally Bruner: I decided to change my eating habits right after Mardi Gras in February to originally hope to lose a few before Spring Break of 2013.  I wanted to change my habits because I knew I was living an unhealthy lifestyle that involved pizza, fried food, beer, etc.  I knew it was time for a change when I got home from Mardi Gras and realized how many unhealthy things I had consumed throughout the week without a care in the world.

Al: How did you do it?

AB: I did it in baby steps.  I started by slowly eating in smaller portions and creating more self-control for myself.  Whenever I found that I was having a bad food craving for something I clearly did not need, I would constantly remind myself of the end result.  I wanted my self-confidence back.  I downloaded an app called "My Fitness Pal" on my phone that helps you track your calories every day.  I followed it each day and after about two weeks, I began seeing changes in my body.  Once I started seeing results, everything became a thousand times easier.

Al: You look different! Do you feel different, too? How so?

AB: I feel so different from what I used to be/what I used to look like.  I feel so accomplished already and my journey is still not over.  I feel more confident than I have in years, and it feels amazing.

Al: Where are you at in your transformation process? What else do you plan on doing?

AB: I would say that I am now more aware than ever of what food I am consuming and how healthy it is for your body.  I do splurge every once in a while, but not at all like I used to.  I have made my body adjust to healthier foods over the process and it makes me feel healthier all together.  Even though I have come along way, I still plan on continuing to live a healthier lifestyle by eating the foods that I love, but in moderation.

Al: What is some advice to give to girls who want to lose weight, but take the starvation route?

AB: The most important thing you can do for yourself is take care of you body.  Your body needs proper nourishment in order for you to live a healthy life. When I hear of girls taking routes that involve starvation, binging, over-exercising, etc., I can't help but think how much harm is being done to them.  Most of these girls don't even have a clue because they are so determined to lose a crazy amount of weight in a short amount of time.  When you actually lose weight by eating healthy and exercising over an extended time, the weight will actually STAY off!  When women resort to starvation and/or over exercising, this actually slows down your metabolism.  This means that you may lose weight more quickly initially, but eventually your body will go into starvation mode and begin storing fat because it knows that it can't get this fat from food.  In the long run, your metabolism will slow down altogether resulting in less weight loss.  It is an extremely unhealthy route for your body that many women don't understand/care about.  Why wouldn't you want to look skinny AND healthy?