The Hangry Diaries: How the selfie helps you lose weight

#TransformationTuesday

This hashtag seems to have blown up our Tuesdays on Instagram. However, you're probably seeing a lot of people posting a picture of themselves when they were 5 years old and then one of them in the present day. We don't need another #ThrowbackThursday, people. Transformation Tuesday originated as a fitness hashtag, as an opportunity for people to show the progress they have made.

Social media has become one of the biggest, and most helpful, ways of accountability when we work out and set fitness goals. It's not like this is anything new. Remember Weight Watchers meetings? I remember in the 90s when all the moms from elementary school used to pick us up at the end of the day and say to the other moms, "See ya at Weight Watchers later!" Having a social circle and sharing your fitness goals helps you stay accountable, honest, and motivated.

As for me? I'm part of the Tone It Up community. We have an online forum and a lot of us create our own Tone It Up Instagram accounts. I have my personal Instagram account, and then my TIU account, that way I'm not plaguing all my friends with pictures of food and fitness they don't want to see. My TIU account is strictly for me, my community, and whoever else wants to stay motivated and accountable.

Even if you don't want to share your photos with friends or on Instagram, whether you're shy or just not a big social media user, it's ok! Take pictures for yourself. By snapping pics along the way of your fitness journey, you are seeing your progress in action. On days when I'm feeling down and picking at one thing in particular on my body, like my triceps or lower abs, I'll snap a progress photo and put it next to an old photo. I don't necessarily upload it to my TIU account either. Sometimes, I just do it for myself, to remind myself of how far I've come since I started.

Now I've gotten before from people, "You look skinny in both pictures!" and "Am I supposed to think you look bad in the first picture?" That's not what I'm going for. I'm petite. I can't change that about my body. To pretty much, well, everyone, I've been called "skinny" all my life. You're wrong. I'm petite. And my goal isn't "skinny," it's FIT. I'm working on toning, and becoming stronger, and actually... I'm trying to gain weight in muscle. Over the past year I lost 20 lb. and gained about 5 lb. back... IN MUSCLE! When I'm snapping a transformation picture, I'm not trying to get people to think, "Oh my goodness! Look how much weight Gabby lost!" Because... I didn't really lose a lot of weight, and that's not my goal. I'm trying to become stronger. And by snapping these pics along my journey, I am actually seeing the small changes in my muscles and my body.

And if you're worried about the mean people... screw them. They don't matter! Also, they're probably jealous. There's good people out there... like me ;) ... who are proud of you and the progress you've made. No matter how big or small. You're working hard to get where you want to be!

So go on. Take a selfie ;)

A collection of my past selfies...

My first 6 weeks of Tone It Up (above)

This lighting is terrible! Take one in better lighting! One year difference. September 2012 and September 2013. In the first photo, I was feeling very out of shape. I got out of breath going up a flight of stairs!