Just starting out, it's tempting to put numbers on where I want to go. And I did. I did it because I know I must get healthier, and to do that I must get rid of this abdominal fat.
Yesterday Metamorphose left me a comment linking me to this post of hers in response to a comment I left on her page. She's one smart cookie. She owned up to the fact that she was gaining, and she's doing something to stop it. (Oh, how I wish I'd been as wise and good.)
Nevertheless, reading her post made me feel a little sad about how we accept and defend overweight so much in this country that she felt she would need to defend herself for wanting (or even needing) to lose weight. She's a beautiful gal, mind you, just go look at her photos and you'll see (although you probably already know that since it's not unlikely that you got here from there). I would never ever look at her and think, "Now that's someone who should lay off dessert." But 'looking good already' doesn't equal 'optimal weight as far as health is concerned.'
Honestly, I think if I could have seen pictures of a size-10 me when I was in high school or even college, I would have thought I looked fat. And I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. Now, I do have those kinds of photos, and I currently think I look great in them. I lust after that size and all that. But my high-school self had a different frame of reference. People in general were thinner back then. And healthier too. I think in our quest to be accepting and pc and stuff, we lost sight of what extra weight does to our bodies.
It's well known that abdominal fat is directly related to the development of chronic disease. Women with waist circumferences over 35 inches (me!) are at very high risk for developing heart disease, diabetes, and more. Does that mean at a 34.9 inch waist I'll be safe again? I don't think so. The epidemiologists and doctors doing these studies have to pick a most appropriate cut-off number so that they can run their statistics, but in reality, this effect is probably seen on a continuum. And it's probably related to height. In fact, it is. I've seen that somewhere, but I just don't know where that is right now. So if you're 5 feet tall, maybe 35 inches is well into your high risk zone while a 5' 11" woman might be okay with a 35 inch waist.
The same goes for BMI. A BMI of 25 or more is overweight. And it's proven to be unhealthy. A BMI of 30 or more is obese, and people like me that are in that category are even more likely to get one or more of those blasted diseases. I don't think that getting down to 24.9 is enough. Just because that one-tenth of a point makes it normal on a chart doesn't mean it's the healthiest for me.
I guess my point is that these numbers are good only as guidelines. I did choose a goal: 145 because it puts me in the normal category based on those guidelines. Plus, that's a weight where I can start liking the way I look. I don't think that's an ideal weight, though. I think for that I need to look past all these numbers that are based on generalizations and look at how much fat I have on my body. Can I pinch more than an inch on my waist? Well, obviously I can grab whole handfuls right now, but I hope to someday get to a point where I can't and then pinching will be my guideline. Old-fashioned as it is, I think it's more telling than any BMI or waist circumference or weight measurement because the interpretation of those are all relative. It depends on how much muscle you have or how tall you are or your frame size or whether you're a square or an hourglass or a triangle.
I know I'll give a big sigh a relief when I pass those benchmarks, but I'll really feel optimistic if I persevere and get to where I can only pinch an inch (which would be well below my current goal) because then I'll know I'm doing all I can to prevent heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer (I'd have to also be getting lots of fruits and veggies in for that last one). With all the damage I've already done, it's all I can hope for to lessen my risks as much as possible so that whether I make it to 43 or 83 I'll be as healthy and as not-falling-apart-y as possible. And I won't feel bad that I wanted to shave off as much weight as possible, even if my only motivation were appearance, because I know that's one of the steps to getting there.
And go you, Metamorphose, for not accepting a weight or size that you feel is not right for you either!
A few notes:
Now don't go thinking that I don't like fat people -- I am one, how could I not like them? I have plenty of overweight friends. And I think there are a lot of overweight women who are very attractive. I just think that people do a disservice if they say there's nothing wrong with it. I like myself and I'm pretty happy, but it's not okay to be this fat. And it's not okay for you to be either if you are, even if you don't have any health problems rightnow. Our bodies don't like it; it makes it so they can't function optimally.
Also, I'm all new at this, as you see, so I don't know a thing about blog etiquette. Is it okay to talk about Metamorphose even though I don't really know her (yet!). If it's not, I'll feel really bad and send her flowers (but no chocolates!) and delete all that stuff STAT.
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1 comment:
Haha. You can talk about me all you want! ;)
Yeah it's a tricky thing -with the whole "fat acceptance" movements and whatnot.
I think discriminating someone due to their weight is wrong, and I also think if someone happens to be obese that does NOT make them ugly.
Even though I probably don't understand it, I realize obese people have been treated like crap sometimes, all due to their weight. But I think going in the opposite direction of, "the fatter the better" or whatnot can be pretty unhealthy in a lot of ways.
Anyway, just because someone wants to be healthy and wants to lose weight does not mean that they are not into "accepting" fat people.
It's a tricky subject. But thanks for giving me props! I definitely have had a hard time when people have told me I didn't NEED to lose weight.
(And I have to also say, I usually got this from people who probably weigh more than I do. I think they didn't like the fact that I felt like I needed to lose weight because that might reflect badly somehow on them...which is silly. I'm not trying to be fit just to win some, "I'm skinnier than you" type contest. We compare ourselves too much to others. It never does us any good.)
I think everyone has their own journey and we all need to respect that. I'm glad you feel the same.
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