I have been writing some for the local paper...here is my latest.
100 Pounds
That is how much weight I want to lose. No, not really, but that is what the stupid BMI charts think I should lose.
For all the talk of the obesity crisis in America, hardly anyone talks about how that feels. And even worse, the truth is, I rarely think of myself as obese until a doctor points it out to me. I'm 5'4". If you feel the need to get out the calculators to figure out how much I weigh, feel free. It‘s a number that I rather not think about.
I promised myself while I was pregnant that I wouldn't ever diet again. I was happy and my body was working diligently at growing a sweet new baby. I'd hoped that eating healthily and breast feeding, with exercise, would help to get me started on the weight loss path. And it did, for a while. Then life got in the way.
I now weigh about 20 lbs more than I did a year ago.
I have two young daughters. More than anything I want them to escape the agony poor body image brings. When my first daughter was born, I knew that I needed to change my relationship with my body. I didn’t and don't want to be yet another one of the voices that my girls are going to hear that tell her that she could be different (i.e. skinner, more toned, bigger tatas). We all have different shapes and I don’t want her to think her body sucks, and that she is ugly and fat. Because no matter what her number is on the scale, she will be an American woman and she will hate her body. I don't want her to witness me hating my body as well. If I am healthy and strong and focus on overall health, maybe we can avoid some, just a little of that pain at our house.
I have been dieting, off and on, since I was 12. And the result? I'm fatter than ever. That is so messed up!
2009 has to be the year. I want these issues to be resolved so I can have an honest relationship with my body. Not only for me, but also for the girls. I signed up for Weight Watchers the first of the year and things are going well. I am “working the program”. I have been taking the kids with me, because that is what works for us. The kids call it my “healthy meeting”. It is important to me that they think of it in those terms, and not that mommy is trying to get skinny or diet. There are so many reasons for a new healthful lifestyle.
That is how much weight I want to lose. No, not really, but that is what the stupid BMI charts think I should lose.
For all the talk of the obesity crisis in America, hardly anyone talks about how that feels. And even worse, the truth is, I rarely think of myself as obese until a doctor points it out to me. I'm 5'4". If you feel the need to get out the calculators to figure out how much I weigh, feel free. It‘s a number that I rather not think about.
I promised myself while I was pregnant that I wouldn't ever diet again. I was happy and my body was working diligently at growing a sweet new baby. I'd hoped that eating healthily and breast feeding, with exercise, would help to get me started on the weight loss path. And it did, for a while. Then life got in the way.
I now weigh about 20 lbs more than I did a year ago.
I have two young daughters. More than anything I want them to escape the agony poor body image brings. When my first daughter was born, I knew that I needed to change my relationship with my body. I didn’t and don't want to be yet another one of the voices that my girls are going to hear that tell her that she could be different (i.e. skinner, more toned, bigger tatas). We all have different shapes and I don’t want her to think her body sucks, and that she is ugly and fat. Because no matter what her number is on the scale, she will be an American woman and she will hate her body. I don't want her to witness me hating my body as well. If I am healthy and strong and focus on overall health, maybe we can avoid some, just a little of that pain at our house.
I have been dieting, off and on, since I was 12. And the result? I'm fatter than ever. That is so messed up!
2009 has to be the year. I want these issues to be resolved so I can have an honest relationship with my body. Not only for me, but also for the girls. I signed up for Weight Watchers the first of the year and things are going well. I am “working the program”. I have been taking the kids with me, because that is what works for us. The kids call it my “healthy meeting”. It is important to me that they think of it in those terms, and not that mommy is trying to get skinny or diet. There are so many reasons for a new healthful lifestyle.
For 2009, I will let “me and the girls” be mine.
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