First thing first: All bodies are beautiful. The score you receive in Lifestyle & Fitness has no actual bearing on your status. The only person that can judge your lifestyle and fitness on a personal level is you. Your doctor can give some insight, but in the end it is you and you alone that decides the status of your body image. Not the number on the scale. Not the number on the score card.

Too often when we hear about preparing for the Lifestyle and Fitness with diet and exercise. You are, after all, going on stage in a bikini. So many contestants talk about losing weight, and how great they feel when they lose those pounds. But what is the first thing every contestant does the night of the pageant? She goes out to eat. How can we argue the stereotype that pageant girls don’t eat when every new titleholder mentions greasy food in her post-crowning interview?

Thankfully, slowly but effectively, a new trend is coming into style: Healthy. Girls with curve, girls with muscles, and girls with self respect. Point blank: Healthy is the new skinny.

Skinny bodies are skinny. But healthy bodies from healthy lifestyles have so many benefits, such as…

1. A Feminine Body. When you eat a restrictive diet and work out with the sole purpose of losing fat, that’s exactly what you do. You lose fat. But there is no such thing as spot reducing, meaning you lose fat everywhere, including your lady lumps. Sometimes just a little fat on your body is enough to pull you from an athletic boy status to an elegant woman. That’s the body that looks good in a gown.
2. Thick Luxurious Hair. Do you ever wonder why pageant girls wear extensions? Even if their hair isn’t that short, they need the added hair to add volume. That’s because a poor diet without enough fat or folic acid prevents the growth of hair and nails. Some try supplements like biotin to improve their hair and nails, but if you aren’t getting enough nutrients from your food these supplementary nutrients are going to go to daily requirements instead.
3. Food Freedom. This doesn’t mean you can eat whatever you want. A healthy diet is 365. But, when a person is on a highly restrictive diet a single cheat meal or even one “bad” item could destroy their entire system. Sodium could suddenly cause her to retain water, and dairy could suddenly cause the runs. Who wants that? By eating healthy, not restrictive, during the entire year your body will not react with knee jerk responses. If you want that cookie or bowl of ice cream or plate of cheese fries- go for it.
4. Bright and Shiny Skin. One of the benefits of beauty sleep is the regeneration of collagen in your skin, but this can also be improved with a healthy diet. Staying hydrated will help to prevent wrinkles and give a natural glow to what was a faded and grey skin tone. Adding healthy fats to your diet can do the same thing!

Obviously no one wants to gain weight with the goal of being overweight. The point is not to gain weight to exceed the healthy range for your height and body type. But remember that everyone’s body is different and its important to focus on the benefits of being healthy, not skinny.