Oh the infamous selfie. You see them everywhere: Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest, basically every social media outlet we can think of in today’s society. It is insane how much the “selfie” has impacted our world. This is not something experienced in just the U.S. but in every country. The “selfie” has globally connected us in ways I never knew to be possible.
Usually, I would go on and on about how self-centered and egotistical people are who take selfies, but I have had the opportunity to see just how much selfies can impact someone’s life.
I will use myself as an example.
I have been working out my entire life. First I was a gymnast, then I transitioned into resistance training. Several years have passed since I began this journey and now the way you track progress is a lot better. I can use “selfies” to see changes in my body from week to week in order to determine how my nutrition is impacting my body as well as areas I need to develop more in the gym. The “selfie” has forever benefited and changed my life for the better.
If we look back before camera phones were invented, then we would find other way ways of obtaining objective information to judge progress with our bodies. These ways included: circumference measurements, waist to hip ratio, bioelectrical impedance, weight scale, BMI calculations, etc. The progression of technology and the creation of the “selfie” has developed another way for us to track progress. Using a “selfie” along with the other types of tracking mechanisms, can truly show how our bodies are changing as a whole.
I encourage others to embrace in taking a “shameless selfie” for themselves in order to see physical changes in a photo and compare them from weeks and months prior to starting a weight lifting program or a nutrition plan. The changes that you see will be more impactful and rewarding than looking at yourself in the mirror on a daily basis. If you rely on glancing in a mirror every day, then you will be left with the subjective opinion of what you are "feeling" that day. And you know your feelings change like wind direction. Only a “selfie” can capture your progression in the mirror.
My clients always tell me that they regret not taking selfies while they were in the midst of their journey of losing body fat. I urge you to lose that fear of the unknown. The “selfie” can boost your confidence even when your body might not look exactly the way you want it to at that very moment.
The shameless selfie can be considered as motivation to see how far you have come in your fitness and health journey.
KEEP THE SELFIES COMING! BE TRUE AND BE YOU!