Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Fat but Fit Debunked?

Firstly- my body continues to heal from the New Year's festivities - down to 124.8 today. Almost back to normal (I see the extra pounds as evidence that I am still bloated/inflamed and therefore NOT completely normal).  Been drinking lots of water, walking at least 10k steps a day, eating some great food.

You know my usual food: cottage cheese with sunflower seed butter and blueberries for breakfast, leftovers with salad for lunch, and dinners have been especially tasty lately (garlic shrimp and broccoli one night, chili another, taco salads last night, etc).

Behaving like I always do gets my body back to it's set, happy point :)

Have you guys seen this study that has been reported on by various news agencies lately: You Can't Be Fit and Fat ?

I have always felt conflicted by the Health At Every Size movement.

One on hand, I don't truly believe that body weights in the obese category CAN be healthy forever (those who are young enough might not have many problems, but most won't stay that way for long).

On the other hand, I DO believe that the message of loving the body you have RIGHT NOW is a great one. I spent too long mired in self-hatred because of my body and it caused a spiral that kept me unhealthy, physically and mentally.

I've come to the conclusion that it is possible to love your body, no matter the size, to appreciate it for keeping you in this world, for letting you be here, laugh with friends, hug your family, etc AND to work to change it, at the same time. In fact, it is downright important to love your body in this way, no matter your weight. It wasn't until I started to gain a gratefulness for my physical body that I started to truly care for it - to make sure it was strong and would be around for as long as possible.

It's a tough subject for me, because the line is so very thin - the line between being a proponent for a healthy body and being a proponent for a skinny body. I don't believe anyone has to be "skinny," or even "thin." There are so many body types out there, and they are all beautiful! But there is sort of an ephemeral line that gets crossed somewhere along the way - where it is not just body type anymore, but a result of unhealthy behaviors.

I have erased and rewritten this post several times and finally decided to just give up and post what I had... this is because I am slightly uncomfortable talking about this subject. I don't want to offend anyone or be misunderstood. But that discomfort with the topic is a sign that I SHOULD post it - if only to spark discussion or thought.

I want my message to be that taking care of your body in all ways (food, water, exercise, sleep, etc) is important because we are physical beings that NEED to be taken care of. If we are sick, in spirit or body, we cannot live fully. And we might cut our time here short. And nothing is more sad to me. This life is too precious.

Namaste, my friends. Take care of yourself and those you love <3

5 comments:

  1. As the recent article said, health declines in obese people as they age. I am a believer, due to the research that has been done on the topic and from my own perspective. I have been overweight much of my adult life, and once I reached my mid-60's I started experiencing health issues directly related to being overweight. It stands to reason that a body not intended to carry 50, 70, or 100 pounds of extra weight will not stand up to the load on its systems for a long lifetime. Pain, illness (some serious), not to speak of the mental health issues...all related to excess weight are just not worth the freedom to eat whatever I want to put in my mouth. I know that some people have a different take on this topic...but this is mine...based on experience. Glad you're on a downward trend weight wise. Good choice to take care of yourself while you are young.

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  2. It's weird, Jeanette. I've never been one to really consider my personal view of my body...good or bad. Much of ever. Just not in my psyche's genetic make-up, I guess.

    No matter how much people might hate their fat body though, obviously on some molecular level they don't hate it THAT much, or they'd be motivated to fix it. I'm sure there is much more to it than that, and if I offend you or anyone I apologize...I can only speak to how I see it, never having had that issue personally.

    There is no question that the body is not built to withstand the extra weight...even a loss of 5-10 lbs. can change health markers significantly. How genetically old one must be before the medical issues of obesity affect a person...is magical and can't be entirely pre-ordained. All the more reason to make healthy changes BEFORE the real symptoms and diseases show up. :)

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  3. I believe you should love your body no matter what size you are at but there is a point where too much weight is unhealthy for an individual.

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  4. I believe there is a healthy spectrum - which is different to the exact BMI weight. That is only a man made assessment of what is healthy. BUT we each know by looking if someone is overweight or not! You actually don't need a chart to compare to. Healthy is healthy - obese is not healthy. Equally I don't think being overly skinny is healthy either. Not sure what I'm saying except it's just obvious when someone is at the right weight.

    People who are obese have also perhaps spent years dieting on and off, yo yo dieting... binging and so on. That certainly can't be good for them - normal weighted people tend to be able to just make small adjustments and keep their weight to a set point. Something I seem to be managing for the first time in my life :)

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  5. Extreme fine line. I do think it's important to love yourself and your body no matter what size you are, but to truly love your body, you would work at making it, and by extension, you, the best version of yourself.

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