Jennifer,
I totally understand. Weight loss can be so overwhelming. I know I was so confused and overwhelmed when I fist started exercising and dieting.
I’d say – just focus on eating healthy foods.
I was constantly obsessing with numbers and counting calories, and eating less, when all I had to do was eat the right foods, and that’s it.
If you are still not sure, make sure to check out my meal plan: https://fitgirlsdiary.com/my-meal-plan/

Thanks so much!
Comments like this just make my day, so thanks you from the bottom of my heart! <3
xo

Stacey,
I’m so glad to hear you find my blog helpful.
If you ever need help with anything at all, please feel free to contact me – I’m more than happy to help.
Love <3

Laurie,
I’m so sorry if I have offended you in any way, demotivated you, and made you feel the way you do.
That’s not my goal.
I don’t tend to motivate one group of girls over other, trust me my only goal is to help people get healthy, fit and change their lives, no matter their size.
As you can see in my recent articles, I started taking photos of me instead of just randomly adding photos of other girls I find online.
All of the photos I add are my photographs now, or my closest friend’s, since I want it to be my work – all of it.
I even have a few posts with my not so fit nor skinny girlfriends, here’s one example: https://fitgirlsdiary.com/2016/10/13/diamond-legs-and-brazilian-butt-lift-workout-30-lower-body-workouts-for-your-butt-and-legs/
I can’t change what I was doing in the past, when I was just a beginner to blogging and fitness, but I can definitely change what I’ll post in the future.
I try to improve myself as time goes by and I really hope you girls can see that, since I really do it for all of you.
For me, it’s not your body that matters, it’s the mindset.
If you want to be healthy and change your life, that’s more than enough for me.
Thank you for your comments and hope you’ll keep reading my blog.
Love,
Monica

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.

Tina,
I’m SO happy to hear you like my blog and find it inspiring – it means the world to me!
I’ll keep sharing everything I know with all of you, my only goal is to promote health and fitness.
Hugz, girl <3