The more blogs and articles I read, the more it seems like people have this idea that being fit is the solution to all their problems. And while it is true that I do generally feel better when I'm working out regularly (I feel like crap, and a good most of that is because I was sick and sleep deprived and didn't get a chance to get to the gym), I do not have a perfect life.
True, my outlook is rosier, and I tend to be more optimistic, but I'd be kidding myself if I didn't assume that the optimism was due to the endorphin rush, and the fact that I eat better when I work out, and am less likely to feel sluggish and dragged down. BK and I still fight, I still get stressed about my wedding, and the fact that I need a bigger pants size (thanks to no longer having an eating disorder. And no, I haven't gotten over myself and bought new pants) still drives me nuts, even if I know that I'm healthy.
And frankly, the implication that fit people have perfect lives bothers me, mainly because being fit is associated with being thin. It makes it seem as though any and every measure should be embraced in the pursuit of a smaller size, because naturally there is no way to be fit if you're larger than a size 6, even if you aren't able to fit into a size 6, unless you surgically decrease the space between your hipbones. Further, there is an implication that if you are thin, you are healthy, which is untrue.
There also seems to be a morality behind being healthy, but again, "health" means "thin". Honestly, if you mention that you're thinking of getting healthy, you'll get about 3 different diet suggestions, from low-carb, to the Zone, to South Beach, to Master Cleanse. No one suggests maybe training for a 5K, or some other fitnessy event that would enable you to improve a number of things that are unrelated to a scale.
And if you mention that you don't follow a set diet, but try to get to the gym and eat "mostly healthy", you get eye rolls and snorts and someone saying "oh, so you're not really trying". And it's frustrating, because I get eating disordered fairly quickly, and any diet that requires more than a passing notice of what's going into my mouth sends me into a scary place real fast. But that's not something you can tell a person that's a casual acquaintance, especially if you don't want to make a *thing* out of your eating habits (seriously. I told someone that I had had an ED, only to have them say "but you're eating french fries", as if the fact that I happen to be eating french fries means that I've never had any issues with food).
I'm not saying that people shouldn't strive to be healthy. It's great. But people need to understand that while eating habits are important to overall health, so is exercising regularly and getting enough sleep. And thinness isn't a cure-all: just because you wear a smaller pants size doesn't mean that you'll like your job more, or that all your financial problems will vanish, or even that you'll be healthier.
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4 comments:
Excellent post. I agree completely about the thin not equaling healthy. Just look at those terrifying runway models.. they look like they're about to pass out at any moment. It's sickening.
And also the whole 'must be smaller than a certain size' thing is not worth getting hung up on, because sizes change depending on what store you shop at. A 6 at Old Navy is like a 10 at Forever 21. I don't even bother to look at the sizes of pants I own now (there are about 3 different numbers), I just wear what looks best on me.
I love your paragraph about peoples' comments about getting healthy - it's totally true. People confuse diets with health - most diets I've heard of are unhealthy.
I love Michael Pollan's idea:
Eat food, mostly plants, not too much.
That has worked very well for me for the past few years, and honestly it's a lot less stressful.
I heard this so frequently when I was a trainer.
Both the magical thinking (when Im think life will be filled with balloons and flowers) and people WAITING TO LIFE UNTIL THEY WERE THIN (even more heartbreaking to me).
Wow, interesting post here! I do agree that thinness will not mean that you'll have a better life. Everyone will have different problems! It's only a matter of how you view things in life.
Word. What gets me is people who say "I just want to be healthier," when what they really mean is "I want to be thinner." Tip-offs are when they want to "get healthier" by doing lots of crunches (because everyone knows that *that* is how you get skinnier). Hey, if you want to be thin, okay! Own it! We'll get a lot more done that way. But don't give me this line about "health" because you feel superficial if you just want to look better. I guess that's sort of the other side of the dilemma.
My theory in the last year has been to try to make people look as much like themselves as possible. Not everyone will look like Jessica Beal when they're at their fittest; I'm trying to convince them to love the way they look at *their* personal healthiest.
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