Monica, this is a wonderful site with lots of great info and inspiration. I appreciate the supportive, nurturing, best friend tone you take in your posts, but I pretty much agree, Jessica about the pictures you feature. They don’t motivate me because they all feature skinny, toned, “perfect” young women, many of whom seem quite bony.

I’m thinking your target audience for this blog is probably women in your own general age range, but I wanted to let you know that I really enjoy it, and I’m a 47-year-old divorced mom of teenagers who is overweight, and just had ACL reconstruction about 5 weeks ago. Oh! And I’ve smoked for over 30 years! (Yeah, that’s a habit I’m breaking very soon, so don’t harp on me. LOL)

Exhaustive research since my surgery has led me to (finally!) take steps to get myself into better shape so that I don’t just steadily fall apart as I age. I have no interest in a gym membership I’ll eventually get bored with using, so I purchased a good exercise mat (the thick gymnastic type rather than the flimsy yoga type, because fat chicks just need more padding under them when exercising!), a Swiss ball with a stability ring that it can set inside of, a mini ball, some resistance loops in varying strengths, and some ankle weights that you can adjust the weight of (from 1 lb. to 5 lb. in .5 lb. increments). These items were a one-time expense (as opposed to an ongoing gym membership), and let me cram in any bit of exercise I can during a busy day, bad weather, nothing clean to wear to the gym, whenever.

I have focused on short full-body workouts that often involve high intensity interval training, and I’d like to note that if you’re NOT in great shape (or, yeah, a smoker… shhhhh), you CAN, in fact, break a sweat in a discouragingly short amount of time.) The actual intensity of HIIT will vary greatly from individual to individual, and it takes very little exercise for someone starting out in a health “ghetto” to become fatigued, and actually see results. Some day, I might be in a nearby neighborhood of YOUR level of fitness, but not anytime soon. But ya gotta start somewhere, right?

Anyway, I wanted to both thank you for your blog and your encouragement, AND point out that we’re not all where you are–nor will some of us ever be. Some of your assertions (e.g. “you can’t break a sweat in a 15-minute workout when the first 5-10 minutes is warm-up”) just aren’t true for all people. As for the photos, I, personally, would be much more motivated seeing healthy women of all ages, who don’t look like they’ve been air-brushed to be on the cover of Cosmo. (Does Matt choose the photos you feature? LOL) I appreciate the look of a naked, hard-earned body as much as the next person, but the photos just seem like gratuitous filler since they often have nothing to do with the topic. I mean, your great low-budget grocery list (a super useful, yet pretty unsexy topic) contained mostly shots of skimpily-clad models with their hands in their hair or their shirts pulled up. Even the one photo that featured what I think is a bowl of fruit, had said bowl provocatively perched on a bony hip, between a bare midriff and lace-clad crotch. …Really? Even when I was a LOT younger, thinner, and in decent shape, I never looked like the pictures in your articles–I’m just not built that way. How about just using photos of the topics themselves, like a clothed healthy woman in a grocery aisle, or an artful shot of some healthy produce and spices? Maybe even have an area where readers can post before-and-after shots of their journeys to health and physical fitness. Some of those readers may indeed be Cosmo-worthy, but I’m betting a lot of them will be more realistic-looking, yet just as healthy, lean, and fit.

Sorry for the verbal spewage. LOL I dunno… Obviously the photos that put off people like Jessica and me DO motivate others… How about a better mix of sexy, bony, slim-hipped bodies mixed in with photos that actually illustrate the featured topic, and showcase some imperfect yet healthily toned women, like say someone with a flat stomach AND big hips, for example.

Just food for thought. In any case, thanks very much for sharing your journey and your knowledge, and for being a source of encouragement to those who need more of it in their lives.