Macro who?

Over this last year, I’ve been fortunate enough to get away to the sum a few times. Each time I’ve had an amazing time, sampled ridiculously delicious food and enjoyed being out in the sun and pools with my little family. However, I wonder, is there ever a time a woman feels more vulnerable than when she’s in her bikini? (Thinking she is) Under the scrutiny of watchful eyes and catching glimpses of herself in any reflection? As a result of these holidays, I made a conscious decision to try and ‘get lean’ (for the record, though, I bloody hate this phrase). I altered my diet and, like thousands of others around the world, jumped on the Joe Wicks bandwagon and loosely adopted some of the principles he highlights: HITT sessions would commence when the baby sleeps and, despite questioning how 20 minutes of work would be enough, I do feel better once it’s done (bit cliche?).

It’s easy to see how it can get addictive, I often get that feeling of guilt if I haven’t managed to squeeze a workout in, even if sometimes I really can’t be bothered… But, for all these early morning ‘fasted’ work outs and watching what you eat, do women, or men ever achieve their ‘perfect beach body’? I think the trouble is, it’s all just so blumin’ confusing! What do I eat? When do I eat? What exercise is good and what is actually a waste of time? I really have no idea…

Confusion no1- so what food is good and what food is bad?

I think the reason I started following Joe Wicks was because he, at least in some parts, makes this fitness malarkey relatively straightforward. Eat carbs after exercising and healthy foods at all other times. That was until somebody sent me an example of one of his plans (tailored to your specific needs)… It’s loaded with words like macro and micro nutrients and, to be honest, I have no idea what a macro is or how to eat them all for that matter. Macro, for me, is a wholesaler that sold huge boxes of sweets, but I’m pretty sure these aren’t the same thing. What’s worse, I have no idea where to source the majority of the ingredients in these beautifully made meals that feature on countless ‘clean eating’ guru’s pages.

Take the good old, ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ slogan, according to some nutrition savvy types, this is now redundant- fruit is full of sugar and should be eaten in moderation (so now an apple is a treat?) whilst others suggest that actually, no, it’s good to eat your 5 portions of fruit and veg per day. ‘Carbs’ is another confusing one- Don’t eat carbs EVER or at least not late at night- seems to have been drummed into us through these numerous diets that are pushed on all forms of media- but WAIT… Now that’s not strictly accurate, either? Now we also have the new, ‘fat doesn’t make you fat’ news. Of course, I’m aware that all of this doesn’t mean slathering inch thick layers of butter on doorstep white bread but, whipping up some full fat cream and spooning it down your throat is ok? I think even I know this isn’t the case, but you get my drift- its mind boggling! The trouble is that there’s just so much conflicting information and, in all honesty, the mind can’t cope with it all. But, it’s really obvious that for those that know what they’re doing, eating ‘clean'(ly) takes huge dedication, planning and some impressive willpower.

Confusion 2- exercise.

For me, exercise has to be a quick, no hassle session in order for me to fit it in. As a result of his job, Rhys going to the gym takes priority over me, and so my workouts take place whenever the boys are otherwise engaged and normally takes the form of online exercise videos or a session on the machine in our garage. But I’m told exercise should be a fasted affair in order to burn that pesky fat. Does this mean that if I do t get it done on an empty stomach, there’s no point doing it? and then, believe it or not, I get told that actually, in order to burn fat, women SHOULDN’t do fasted workout… (shall I just give up?) Furthermore, I read more and more that hours of cardio is not worthwhile in order to get that ‘perfect body’ but getting stuck into a weight session is. Trouble is, I would honestly be lost if I were to be picked up and lowered into a weights section of a gym and I’d definitely end up doing myself some damage! I’d also be worried about becoming ‘hench’ if I went down that route, despite being reliably informed that this wouldn’t be the case (unconvinced).

It’s crazy, it’s confusing and it’s hard bloody work before you’ve even set foot into your new bright pink trainers…(all the gear and all that). Still,  people everywhere are striving to achieve something (perfection?) and it really isn’t easy…

Confusion no3- pressures of getting that body..

Is it any wonder then, that in a quest for that perfect body, people feel pressured to get that perfect look at any cost? For example, my best friend and I regularly scroll through the Australian model and business woman Natasha Oakley’s Instagram page, questioning how we missed the boat on getting a life like hers (she is basically paid to holiday and wrote about her beautiful outfits and bikinis, whilst sampling the foods on offer in these idyllic surroundings). She highlights how she exercises a few times a week and eats all food she fancies in moderation. She’s beautiful and has, what I would describe, as the perfect body. She doesn’t overdo it, nor does she go to the gym three times a day to achieve her look.  So, imagine my surprise when a Daily Mail article recently emerged showing pictures of Natasha emerging from the sea looking a lot less sculpted than the instagrammed version, which, by all accounts, are filtered and tweeked to perfection before being posted to her followers.

Now, I definitely don’t agree with the woman who took the time to highlight Natasha’s slight wobbly bits; it’s disgusting that a woman should have to worry about such scrutiny. I do, however, have an issue with the fact that women and men are so concerned with presenting the perfect image that they will, essentially, completely alter an image to present something that is unattainable, at least doing as little as they say they do. I wonder now whether this was just me being completely naiive, though. Have pretty much all the ‘perfect’ pictures on social media succumbed to the same ideals and airbrushing presented in magazines? Either way, just scrolling through social media it’s clear that we are all obsessed with ‘eating clean’ and posting before and after pictures of the body you’ve worked hard to achieve. I have no doubt that not all of these success stories have used a bit of tweeking in order to show how well they’ve done. But, for those that have, should we be wagging our fingers and shouting, ‘shame on you’? Or, should we empathise- competition on Instagram is stiff, people want as many likes was they can, hey, it’s how they make their living! If altering photos of themselves helps them achieve these likes, then who are we to be critical of them?

So, if what I’m aiming for when exercising and eating well is an image that is actually computerised, what exactly do I aim for? I think that calling for a blanket ban on photoshopping is somewhat unrealistic, however, I definitely feel that, like me, it’s important to realise that most of the perfectly sculpted, tanned and toned images that are presented on social media have been changed: more muscles, less fat, none of the annoying imperfections that we all have.

‘Perfection’ is not something you’ll find on your phone or computer screen- and here’s for the cheesy bit- it really doesn’t matter about the early morning workouts, the hunger pangs or depriving yourself of that portion of chips you reeeeealllly want if you’re unhappy.  Let’s be honest, there’ll be new guidelines, they’ll change their mind about what constitutes a good diet and what exercise you should do- so, for now, Eat the chips, get some exercise in when you can and know that you look fantastic!