We need to stop obsessing about the numbers on the scale, and those on the tape measure, too, if truth be told.
If we are a bit over that elusive “goal” weight, but are in good health — not on meds, bloodwork and vital signs are great — maybe it’s time we accept our current weight.
I mean, let’s face it: Everyone is not built to be as thin as many of us strive to be. We see the beautiful people the media throw at us, and we think we need to try to look like them.
Okay, first of all, if I made a living being beautiful, you can damn sure bet that I’d have the time and energy to get and stay that way. Second of all, I don’t make a living being beautiful. End of story.
Trying to make a round body fit into a square hole does not seem like a very productive use of time. In the final analysis, if we eat right and exercise a bit, say a half-hour a day, we should live a long, active life, even if it may be with some “excess” baggage.
How did I reach this conclusion? I looked at my experience with trying to get and stay thin, along with just-about-everyone-else-I-know’s experience with trying to get and stay thin. Have you looked around? It just ain’t happening.
Now, yes, I am a lot thinner than I used to be. People might even perceive me to be thin. Some do, I know, because they make unsolicited comments about it. However, when I look in the mirror, when I grab the extra fat around my belly, I know that I am not as thin as I want to be. I want to see those abs!
(My abs, btw, are in great shape, beneath that fat, because of Shaun T’s Focus T25. That guy knows how to work abs.)
I’d already reached the obvious conclusion that my body is just going to do what it wants to do. I eat very well, and I exercise quite a bit. My bloodwork is beautiful, I am not on any drugs, and I am very fit.
If all that is true, why would I possibly be concerned about a little extra pudge around the middle?
Why, indeed!
Not only that, but as I reached that conclusion, I stumbled upon a book by Linda Bacon, Ph.D., called Health At Every Size. In this book, Dr. Bacon demonstrates, using convincing scientific data, that overweight people are often, in fact, not unhealthy, and they also often, in fact, live longer lives than “normal weight” people.
Hmmmmm….
Definitely something to think about. Read the book and decide for yourself.
Regardless of whether you buy into Dr. Bacon’s arguments, please realize that spending time fretting about how many pounds we weigh is not a healthy way to live.
Put away your scale! Eat right and exercise, and your body will take care of itself. Trust it.