Something I’ve noticed that might be of interest to girls who want the thigh gap or are focused on being thin/skinny and not focusing on being fit:

I’ve had a thigh gap*. I’ve never really noticed the thigh gap, but I realized after seeing it on Tumblr that I had it. 

I’ve been exercising my legs for only two weeks and the thigh gap has closed. This doesn’t mean that I’ve gained unhealthy weight or that my legs look any worse. In fact, I’d argue that they look better than they have since my muscles are tightening, things are lifting, and spaces are “filling in” because the muscle over those spaces is finally being exercised. Overall, my legs are starting to look more streamlined, along with the rest of my body that I’ve been exercising, and I’m 100% positive that I’d be incredibly hard-pressed to find someone that would argue that I should stop exercising and get the thigh gap back.

Just remember that focusing on things you want for yourself that may not be healthy is not the best way to feel beautiful or empower yourself. So my legs aren’t as skinny in some places as they’ve been for years? That’s okay. That’s all muscle and healthy food and water that I’m putting into them and my shoulders and biceps and triceps and all of the muscles I haven’t really thought about for the past few years because I’ve been skinny and didn’t think I needed to be fit as well. But it’s possible and actually pretty necessary to be thin and fit.

I’m starting to look more proportionate, I can see the beginnings of rounded and lean muscles in my arms when I reach for things, and I can already tell that my back and butt are going to look damn fine. The best part about knowing that I’m going to look better than I have been looking is that I’m going to look that way and be healthy. I won’t feel tired all the time anymore. I won’t worry about strenuous activity anymore. If people tell me that I’m tiny, I’ll know it’s a tiny I actively worked for and a tiny that will pack a powerful punch. 

Wanting to feel good about yourself is not a bad thing. But remember that there are ways to feel good about yourself and also feel good.

*I should note that although I do not have an eating disorder, various bouts of possible depression, social anxiety and the like have contributed to me getting a great deal fewer calories per day than I should have been, since I live in the dorms and I actually have to leave my room to eat. I kind of realized this was bad news bears when my legs started feeling weird at night, my circulation seemed poor and I got really tired after hardly doing anything at all.