Name/Tumblr url: Dziko (Silentdeee)

Height/Size: 5’11”; US 22/24

How did you discover HAES? Through various tumblogs

What does living a healthy life entail for you? A balanced combination of a healthy diet and consistent exercising. Its taken me many years to find what works for me. I have been a pescatarian (a vegetarian who still incorporates fish in their diet) since April of 2009 and it has definitely encouraged me to make healthier eating choices. Ive learned to love going to the gym (when I can, unfortunately) and doing cardio for about 30-45 mins as well as weight lifting. 

What are some of your favorite foods? My favorite food to eat is pasta and fruit. I could eat fruit practically all day if I could!

What are your favorite ways to be active? I love to either be outside or do active activities where I dont realize Im exercising lol like Zumba, for example. I fell in love with it over the summer, even though the first couple of classes kicked my butt! My favorite machines to get on at the gym is a tie between the elliptical and the bikes. I feel wonderful afterwards on either of them.

What makes you feel strong?  When I can follow through with a goal that I set out to do. Its wonderful to have people telling you they have noticed a positive difference in you and being able to get them motivated to do the same. It definitely fuels me to keep up the progress.

Emotional health matters too! What do you do to center/care for yourself emotionally? I have definitely found encouraging messages throughout tumblr to basically love yourself no matter what. I have a wonderful network of family and friends who enable me to comfortable with the way I am. I’ve learned over the past couple of years how to appreciate having alone time to continue to learn and understand myself and to carefully choose who I keep close to me. I find that just being around good company who understands my crazy is a very vital part of my emotional health and they keep me level headed.

Describe a moment when you felt less than great about your body: I didnt always have the motivation to dress up and I would always feel so self-conscious because I thought since I was fat, I didnt have the nerve to dress pretty. But I have learned that I feel better about myself when I pay closer attention to how I dress and present myself and I can walk around with a lot more confidence because I know that I look good. :)

What was a moment when you felt particularly empowered/body positive? When I learned that I didnt have to lose weight to feel beautiful. I have my moments from time to time, but being able to admit to yourself that you are beautiful, and mean it, is a very liberating thing. Ive wasted time hating and loathing myself because people, in more or less subtle ways, constantly told me I would be so much more beautiful if just lost weight. I may never lose 100 lbs, so why do I need to waste time sabotaging my self-worth to be beautiful for someone else? 

Any advice? Focus on how awesome you are! Dont worry about the next person who thinks they know your life and how you need to live it. Hello? its your life! Learn things about yourself that are conducive to your mental, physical and emotional health. No one knows what that is exactly better than yourself! I feel that taking time to know what the right foods to eat and the proper physical activity that is best for you is so worth while. Its an ongoing process but it makes the journey to a better you much more fulfilling. I may never be able to lose the amount of weight that I want but I have adapted a healhier way of living that I believe has enhanced my quality of life. =)

Thanks, Dziko! I recently fell in love with Zumba, too. It is the most fun I’ve had in while!

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Hey guys:

• I have a Healthy Babe of the Day for you guys, and she’s a beauty (like all of them!) so stay tuned.
• I just learned how to make a downloadable playlist, so I’m gonna give you my favorite songs to work out/dance to. 
• I would love it if you guys would tell me what’s on your workout playlist so I can have some diversified tunes on here. And hey, more free music!
• There’s a small recipe (hopefully coming your way today as well.

Stay happy and hydrated!

M

Hello there!

It’s been quite a while since this blog has been active, for many reasons. Submissions ran dry, I got busy, and some crazy crap was going down in my life. But I’m going to try my best to have at least a couple of posts a day for you guys. A few things:

• Help me keep the blog alive and feature your beautiful self by submitting to become a Healthy Babe of the Day! All genders welcome!
• Talk to me! Let me know what music you move to, ask questions about food or fitness, or just say hi :)

Eat yummy things, and drink lots of water!

-M

Name/Tumblr url:  Maja/alt0151.tumblr.com

(I blog pseudonymously and prefer not to associate my photo with my tumblr account!)

 Height/Size: 5”4, 170ish lbs. XLs and 14s, generally.

How did you discover HAES? A couple of years back, I started reading Kate Harding’s blog and shouting “YES YES YES” at my screen. I think I’ve always had the sense that our culture handles health/size/food/weight in a perverse way, and here was someone writing about exactly how that plays out in a sensible and engaging way. I never looked back!

What does living a healthy life entail for you? I’m 27, and I’ve had type 1 diabetes for almost 20 years. Living a healthy life takes some doing, but of course the effort is worth it. I manage my blood sugar and insulin intake, eat food with an eye towards keeping my blood sugar happy, and try not to stress (which has been 2011’s big project,  and it’s going pretty well!). I’d like to exercise more than I do, so I’m aiming to add more of that. Oh, and getting enough sleep! It’s so key, and I always forget until I am good and cranky.

What are some of your favorite foods? I snack on kettlecorn, celery, and string cheese. I love rice-based dishes and am pining after a shmancy rice-cooker. I put too much ginger and lime in everything. And I genuinely like salads, as long as they’re interesting and substantial.

What are your favorite ways to be active? I just got a new bike and am thrilled; it’s about half the weight of my old bike, so I’m much faster now, and less clumsy. I can’t wait for spring and the months and months of riding that will herald. In the meantime, I’ve been curious about yoga… and there’s always long walks (or, SIGH, trudges through the snow).

What makes you feel strong? Great question! Keeping up with my boyfriend when we’re biking (he’s a million feet tall and has an advantage!). Having a day of good blood sugars — no major highs or lows. Making the right call on something health-related (or anything at all, really). Being able to help others. Singing.

Emotional health matters too! What do you do to center/care for yourself emotionally? I’m a talker — I call my mom, my close friends, my boyfriend, and I talk out what’s bugging me. (But not so much that I get stuck in it!) I see a therapist, and I’m on a low dose of an anti-anxiety med, which was super-helpful for me once I realized that I needed it. Most of all, I try to be aware of when I’m feeling overwhelmed so that I can give myself some chill-out time. And sleep. Did I mention sleep? If I don’t get enough sleep, I become a fire-breathing troll-ogre hybrid who eats you for breakfast.

Describe a moment when you felt less than great about your body: Oh man, this. My mom and I have a great relationship, but of course we don’t see eye to eye on everything, including what the significance of size is. I put on a bit of weight in the last year and was feeling pretty good about what I was doing to accept that change in size… until, on a visit home, my mom gave me a tough-love talk about how I needed “to love myself enough to lose the weight” and that my weight gain “just isn’t healthy.” We hashed it out (and yes, there was some crying and some shouting), and I know that she’s on board with the way I’m managing my health, if not HAES as a complete concept. But her comments stuck with me, and now I’m all icky-concerned about what to wear to Thanksgiving, and whether she’s going to criticize my body or my choices of clothes/food. I am… not delighted about that. But she loves me, and my body is just fine, paunch and all. We will deal — and enjoy ourselves, even.

What was a moment when you felt particularly empowered/body positive? My brother got married last summer, on the beach, at a place with no air-conditioning — this fattie’s nightmare. It was my first major event since discovering HAES, so preparing for it was like a primer in body acceptance — feel good in your skin, dress how you want, screw the haters. I abandoned the idea of wearing shapewear — not in that heat! — discovered the anti-chafe sticks that runners use, wore three beautiful dresses throughout the weekend, swam, snorkeled, hiked, danced the night away, and felt fantastic the whole time.

Any advice? If someone tells you your body is not okay, fart on them. Silly things, like fart jokes, are an effective, if not universally effective, way to stay positive. Growth is hard! So if you’re all, “what is wrong with me — why is this so hard?”, that’s why. There’s nobody looking out for you 100% except you, so take care of yourself. This includes fart jokes.

Thanks for sharing, Maja! I think biking is a great way to work out, I’ve actually been looking into purchasing one. And mothers can definitely be difficult in this process of body peace, as I’m sure many of us know.

Submit Your Story!

Hey guys, long time no see.

I’m sorry for the extended absence. I’ll be honest with you - I’ve been having a terrible few weeks in regards loving myself and treating my body well. But my state of mind is fast recovering, and that means the blog lives on! A few things: 

• I’m looking for some new Hot Babes of the Day! 
• Hello new followers! Talk to me - I wanna know what kind of advice, recipes, and content in general you want to see
• There’ll be a new recipe or two posted today

Have a wonderful day!

M