When I saw this quote I knew I had to blog about it.  Up until about 2 years ago, I had no idea what a thigh gap was. It was actually revealed to me by a bunch of teenaged girls during one of my lessons on body positivity and the perils of social media–in a grade ten class. So for those of you that are or were living in ignorance like me, a thigh gap is a space between the upper thighs of a person standing with their legs together–typically in reference to the female body shape.

Over the past several years, “thigh gap” has become somewhat of a beauty trend and a source of heated cultural debate.

While countless advertisements and celebrity social-media feeds glorify the gap, many critics are outraged, believing that the mass marketing of thigh gaps encourages eating disorders and the pursuit of unattainable body ideals. For example, Beyonce caught tons of bad press when she was criticized for enhancing her thigh gap on one of her Instagram posts.

With all of this press, you might find yourself inspecting your own thigh gap (or lack thereof). But before you start cutting calories and heading to the gym, here are some facts about thigh gap.

A thigh gap largely has to do with your bone structure; than anything else. Although there’s nothing wrong with having a thigh gap–there is, however, something wrong with over exercising, ruthlessly dieting to the point of being malnourished, and generally making yourself mentally and physically unhealthy in effort to reach a goal that mainly deals with physical aesthetics instead of overall health and wellness.

But here’s the takeaway– for the love of all things good health, set and pursue fitness goals that improve the health of your body and your quality of live – not goals that are at best unattainable and diminishing of your wellbeing.

Push yourself towards fitness goals that make you feel strong, vibrant, happy and healthy, and I guarantee that you’re going to like the changes you see in your body and mindset.