I am trying to stay hydrated in this heat. I drank a huge coconut water on Monday to try to get a jump on things and bought two 12 packs of seltzer as well as four of these:
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| Sweet Mother of Delicious Times! |
to entice me to drink even if I am not feeling it (I am not always the best at getting my water in). The recovery from the festival has been tough - I've taken three naps since I've been back and slept almost 12 hours two days in a row.
I am not a 20 year old anymore. I cannot really have a total of 12 hours of sleep for three nights. My body is rebelling. IT WAS SO WORTH IT, THOUGH! Wow - I am still reeling from the fun and great times and good people this weekend. Big smiles.
However, this weekend will be a quiet one :) Some of our friends are heading to another festival. Not me. I want some down time!!
Anyway - I've been seeing some things in blog world that have been irking me. I read a LOT of blogs (it's my downtime for the day) and I usually just read and go on my merry way. But this weird trend makes me twitch: blaming inanimate objects for your shortcomings or things you don't like about yourself.
Things I hate to read:
- I hope the scale is good to me
- I'm not getting along with the mirror
- The scale and I are having a fight
- The mirror was mean to me
I studied linguistics for a while in school (part of my anthropology degree) and I am well aware that HOW we say things really affect how we THINK about things. So these "cutesy" turns of phrases really irk me.
- I'm not getting along with the mirror
- The scale and I are having a fight
- The mirror was mean to me
I studied linguistics for a while in school (part of my anthropology degree) and I am well aware that HOW we say things really affect how we THINK about things. So these "cutesy" turns of phrases really irk me.
I hope YOU were good to YOU.
The scale and the mirror are innocent bystanders here (I shouldn't personalize them by calling them bystanders SINCE IT IS AN OBJECT WITH NO FEELINGS). It is telling you how much you really weigh in the real world.
I can understand having eating or body disorders and NOT wanting to weigh yourself. Hell, I understand not wanting to look in the mirror. I didn't look in a mirror for maybe five years straight. I had a really ritualized process to do my bathroom things so I would never accidentally glimpse myself in the mirror. I was a very disordered eater and have severe body image issues. There are legitimate reasons not to weigh yourself or gaze into the mirror out there.
I'm not trying to bash on that.
However, I am asking everyone out there to get real. Be more realistic.
It's not the mirror or the scale. It's you. You weigh what you weigh. You look how you look. You also have a decent amount of control over these things. I know it's not easy. I wouldn't have been obese for over a decade if it was easy.
But being cutesy and silly and writing blog posts about how the scale was mean to you? It takes responsibility away from you, even subconsciously.
I can understand having eating or body disorders and NOT wanting to weigh yourself. Hell, I understand not wanting to look in the mirror. I didn't look in a mirror for maybe five years straight. I had a really ritualized process to do my bathroom things so I would never accidentally glimpse myself in the mirror. I was a very disordered eater and have severe body image issues. There are legitimate reasons not to weigh yourself or gaze into the mirror out there.
I'm not trying to bash on that.
However, I am asking everyone out there to get real. Be more realistic.
It's not the mirror or the scale. It's you. You weigh what you weigh. You look how you look. You also have a decent amount of control over these things. I know it's not easy. I wouldn't have been obese for over a decade if it was easy.
But being cutesy and silly and writing blog posts about how the scale was mean to you? It takes responsibility away from you, even subconsciously.
It's not a super legitimate reason not to get on the scale because you "are mad at it" (translation: you gained weight and don't want to face it).
Own your reasons. Own your behavior.
I want the best for myself. I want the best for all of you.
I didn't lose weight till I got REALLY FREAKING REAL. I got on that scale every day, even when I knew it was going to say something that would make me cringe - but it made me cringe because I knew *I* was the one responsible for that number. The scale is a tool. So is the mirror. So is the fit of your pants.
It's important to get your mind right in this process.
So let's get real, let's get honest, and let's freaking ROCK this life :)
Namaste!
I want the best for myself. I want the best for all of you.
I didn't lose weight till I got REALLY FREAKING REAL. I got on that scale every day, even when I knew it was going to say something that would make me cringe - but it made me cringe because I knew *I* was the one responsible for that number. The scale is a tool. So is the mirror. So is the fit of your pants.
It's important to get your mind right in this process.
So let's get real, let's get honest, and let's freaking ROCK this life :)
Namaste!
Hi Jeanette! Super message, and I could not have said any part of it better. If a person doesn't like what the scale says, food journal, measure foods, and count calories, and that scale will react accordingly. It's only the messenger--don't hate the messenger.
ReplyDelete:-) Marion
p.s. Love the dancer pose pic of you! I'm following now. :D
I loved this post! so much!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you....although that scale will continue to occasionally chap my tail. I say it in jest though---knowing that it's ME. ;)
ReplyDeleteSarah
www.thinfluenced.com
amen, sista! You are singing to the choir here! I love the term 'own your evil.' I do it constantly. So should everyone else.
ReplyDeleteGave me a similar but slightly different message to post tomorrow myself, now that I think about it... :)
I like the "cutsey" and will continue to use it. I see your view but that doesn't change mine. Of course I think I have only said it three times or so in seven months. However it makes me smile as I use it (in jest)to be funny. Sorry that type of stuff irks you but some of it is just the way our (general) minds think. Different humor levels and stuff.
ReplyDeleteTo each their own, for sure! As long as there is ownership that goes along with the silliness, I don't really mind. But some people really write whole posts with this mentality and never own up to the fact that they overate or whatever happened. It's THAT kind of stuff I just simply don't get!
DeleteAgreed! I came back to correct myself as I was thinking about it making dinner (baked tilapia and green beans) and I realized I have probably used it more than three times. Haha.
DeleteJeanette, I love how honest you are in this post. So true. People need to realise that they are the way they are, because of the choices they make.
ReplyDeleteSo when I was calling the scale an a-hole a few months ago you didn't appreciate it?? Funny how I no longer do that. :-)
ReplyDeleteHaha, Kelly! You, as a whole, own your shit. And THAT I appreciate. A funny remark here or there is no big deal - but you would be amazed at some of the posts I've read in the past month or so that seem to legitimately think the scale has a problem with them!! LOL
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