Finding an Identity Outside of Health & Fitness: Why It's Important to Have a Life Outside

Picture disclaimer: these are blue contacts, just having some fun!! Brown-eye crew for life :)

Where to begin on this one...

Most of my blog posts are results of me noticing a trend on social media or in daily life, getting fed up with it, ranting about it to my BFF's (shoutout to J, I don't know what I'd do without ya) and then finally writing a tell-all blog post about my views.

This post is no different.

Lately I've been noticing so many young girls on social media, who, like me, are passionate about leading a health-conscious and active lifestyle. You go girls! I stand behind y'all 100%. But I believe there's an extent to being so devoted to this lifestyle, and I want to talk about that.

You see, being a healthy and active person is so important. When you're fueling your body with wholesome, nutritious foods and exercising a healthy amount, you feel good. Your body is literally thanking you for taking care of it. It's gift to you? Mental clarity, strong vitals, healthy organs. Physical endurance. Strength. Confidence. Radiant skin, sparkle in your eye, love in your heart.

Leading this lifestyle has been the greatest choice I have ever made. I love the way I live. I love eating healthfully, I love cooking, I love moving my body and lifting weights. When nearly my entire hometown discovered my Instagram, I received an influx of messages praising me for my commitment to health, how much of an "inspiration" I was for always making healthy choices, how they "wish" they had my "willpower", how they were so "jealous" of my physical strength and dedication to the gym.

I know the intention behind these compliments is pure, and I appreciate the support and love. However, my worst fear is health and fitness becoming my identity.

I have seen so many girls on Instagram recently trying so extremely hard to communicate this message that health and fitness are their entire lives. It makes me so sad to see someone post a picture of their room, decked out in decor dedicated to avocados and gym motivation and...well and that's it. I cringe when all these young women have to say to describe themselves and their passions are concepts along the lines of what they eat and how they workout. You're so young, you have a whole platform to build yourself as an individual.

WHO

ARE YOU ?????

You are more than this lifestyle. I see so many of you trying SO HARD to show everybody that you're a "health guru". It's just as bad as dedicating yourself to your ED to show people how much "willpower" you have. Here's how I see it, and I'm totally open to countering views on this. Many of us who have fought to recover from an eating disorder tend to fall into a health conscious lifestyle. However, many of these people are using health to fill the void in their identity. For so long, ED was their identity. They were their disorder. As absurd as it sounds, these people believed that others saw them as "strong" and "dedicated" for resisting food, for working out to a breaking point, for doing things others would never do. (HERE'S A THOUGHT: others wouldn't do those things not because they were weak, but because THEY ARE SO DESTRUCTIVE!!!!!!)

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is ask yourself; do you use your lifestyle as an identity? Do you buy copious amounts of "Healthy eating rules!" laptop stickers and motivational shirts and whatnot to send a message? As if to say "Hey look at me! I'm the girl that's super healthy and fit!"

I hope at this point you don't find me to be hypocritical. "Hey Angie, you're into fitness! You advocate for healthy eating! There's an avocado sticker on YOUR laptop!"

You're right. Those statements do apply to me. I do have that avocado sticker on my laptop. But that was one of the first stickers I put on. You know what it's been covered by since? Stickers representing my favorite artists. My favorite sport. My favorite TV shows and movies. Because there are other aspects of my life that work to define me.

I love to cook. I love to eat wholesome and fresh foods. I sure as hell love picking up heavy shit and putting it down.

But my identity doesn't end there, and I want to make sure everybody knows that.

I LOVE comedy. My favorite shows are The Office, Arrested Development, 30 Rock...

I'm an avid rap fan. My best friend and I pride ourselves in our passion for Drizzy (Champagne Papi ILY) and I've been a huge Eminem fan since I was 7... YES, SEVEN.

I spent many years playing high school and club volleyball, and have had some of the best times out there on the court. Being part of a team and traveling around the country to play my favorite sport is a feeling that's hard to put into words. (Shoutout to all my libero friends, back row love <3)

I'm the oldest sister to three sassy AF teenage girls. I'm super close with my parents. I visit my dad once a week on my day off and we have lunch dates in Manhattan and walk through the park and catch up.

I'm a college freshman at my dream school, and I'm dedicated to my studies. I love learning and reading and expanding my knowledge. I'm a volunteer tutor and mentor to a kickass twelve year old girl that I meet with once a week. I'm a member of several clubs at school, including Autism Speaks and Colleges Against Cancer.

You see, I have so many other dedications in my life besides the gym and food. While some may consider my lifestyle choices praise-worthy and admirable, I don't want to send the wrong message.

This post is mostly geared toward those who, simply put, try too damn hard in the health and fitness community. I follow so many awesome girls and guys who are likeminded and share the same interests as me. We all lead similar lives in terms of our choices and beliefs. BUT WHO ARE YOU?! What do you do in your free time? Do you just sit around and think about "healthy food" and your next gym venture? If you do, that's a whole other issue in itself. But if not, why do you hide those other pieces of your puzzle? I want to know WHO YOU ARE. What you eat and what you lift are NOT IDENTITIES.

Health and fitness should be A PART of your life, but not YOUR ENTIRE LIFE. You're young, you have so much to live for and so much potential to shape yourself into such an amazing person. Don't throw away all of that to simply have others praise you. Live for you, and only you.

To sum it all up, tell me...is there anything VALUABLE I can learn about YOU, as a person, from your laptop stickers???

Sending love!!