Meghan Trainor: bubbly, wife of a Spy Kid, mom to adorable munchkins, seems all around cool, successful musician, and a huge advocate for being yourself. All around, from what I’ve seen on social media, she seems like a pretty cool person. I enjoy the majority of her music. I enjoy her sound being something that my grandparents enjoyed; I think she’s described her music style as “doo wop.” And overall the lyrics are positive and not trashy. (Parent discretion may still be advised for some songs, but overall, don’t need radio-safe versions vs explicit versions.)
Why am I writing about a musician on a health and fitness site?
Because she has switched from hours of cardio to strength training. Because her motivation for switching and being all around healthier was wanting to be able to chase her kiddos around and do her job without being out of breath.
Those are two FANTASTIC “whys” for switching up her workout and being healthier.
Great. But still, why are you writing about this? Well, because her videos pop up in facebook every so often, and I read the comments, and my blood pressure rises…
People are jerks.
This woman was NOT “morbidly obese” or even remotely close to being in the bariatric category prior to switching to strength training. While looking up a few things to write this article, I came across a before and after photo of her – cardio vs strength – and felt my blood pressure start to rise again.
Strength training does not make you bulky unless you purposefully train to add bulk muscle to your body. Cardio does not automatically make you healthy.
Ms. Trainor switched to strength training with a purpose (not body building) and went down a few clothing sizes as her body composition adjusted.
She:
* assessed her life and health
* set some goals (keep up with her young children, not get winded at work which involves a LOT of movement while singing)
* figured out that what she was doing wasn’t working for her
* made adjustments to what she was doing
* crushed it
I have not been able to find any interviews or videos where she said her goal was to lose a certain amount of weight or change clothing sizes. Yes, she did lose weight. She was pregnant, had a c-section, went through some emotional and mental health stuff with that, and ultimately lost 60 pounds from that point to now.
But she is also keeping up with her kids as much as anyone can keep up with toddlers and has been doing show after show without difficulty.
So why has my bp been rising? Because people are blasting her for getting stronger and healthier. They’re saying she is on some pill (the frequent comment is ozempic) and it’s just so sad she felt the need to change and get skinny and now she can’t be an advocate for being healthy or for being comfortable in your body. I see comments calling her a hypocrite for losing weight when her first hit song was “All About That Bass.”
How sad that people are insulting, mocking, and blasting someone who wanted to be able to play with her kids? Someone who wanted to do her job to the best of her ability and raise the bar on what that best is? Someone who in fact did not take any pills or try to do any of “miracle overnight fixes” to be healthier and actually made a habit adjustment to be healthier? Someone who is setting a positive example for men, women, teens, and pre-teens on how you can be comfortable in who you are but still raise that bar and raise it the safe, healthy way.
To me, a lot of her music is relatable and enjoyable. As a health and fitness professional, I applaud her approach and dedication and positive example. As someone who loves lifting weights and despises strict cardio workouts, I’m cheering for her.
To everybody who is projecting their own insecurities and putting her down because of your own insecurities: send me a message. Let’s see if we can work on your confidence level and health at the same time, the right way, without any pills or other “quick fixes.”
Here are two of the interview links of the several articles I read prior to writing this myself:
Music Times (And, check out the before and after photos…not just the clothing or skin color, but you can see the body composition is what changed. She’s physically stronger in the current photo.)
NPR (This interview includes post-baby-body and c-section talk for anyone who has struggled with self-confidence or self-esteem or body image during/after pregnancy.)
Legacy Health & Fitness 
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