This post by DCup got me thinking about weight and the weight consciousness of our society. I went online and checked my BMI and my ideal weight. Of course, I came up obese and according to this site, I am about 100 pounds heavier than I should be. Now I admit I have a gut and could probably stand to lose of about 25 or so pounds, but honestly I don't know where 100 pounds would come from. That is basically losing half of me and at the low end of the scale according to my ideal weight I should lose half my body weight. Even when I was swimming everyday on a swim team when I was in middle school and into the beginning of high school I was still bigger. Even when I was a lifeguard and was teaching swim lessons and so was in a pool for several hours at a time and holding kids up when they were swimming so at times I was only using my legs to porpel myself or keep my head above water I was bigger. These are the two times I was in the best shape of my life and yet I have the body type which means that I will be a fluffier person (I love the term fluffy, it is so great). Since I have been walking my dog on a regular basis and starting to try and eat better, I have lost some weight or at least most of my clothes are getting too big for me, but still I am not and never will be a really skinny person.
I have come to the conclusion that all of that medical stuff is bullshit. That when you apply the same standard to everyone no matter what their body type is, then you invalidate all of your conclusions. I firmly believe that people learn differently so as a teacher I do not teach the same materials the same way to every student, well losing weight and what is healthy is the same thing. Different people will lose weight differently and different people will be healthy with the same weight. I am not making exucses for not eating healthy or saying that you should weigh whatever you want. But if you are happy with you, than don't worry about what others say. If you are bed ridden or cannot walk a few steps without getting winded then yeah maybe you could stand to lose a few pounds, but otherwise you should remember that moderation is the key.
In the same vein and because I have to say it, if you give your child a hamburger, large fries and a large coke everyday for their afternoon snack and they are only 5 and then they eat a full dinner later, than maybe you need to rethink your nutrition habits. But on the other hand if you encourage them to eat healthy and be conscious of what they are eating as they get older, than let them eat the sweets occasionally or even every day in the afternoon. There is a difference between some chips and soda after school and two full meals of fat and grease between 3 and 6.
So I guess to summarize, as adults eat what you like in moderation and fuck what others say about your size if you are happy with you, but children need to be encouraged to eat healthy, so that they can grow up to eat healthy and like vegetables.
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3 comments:
The whole concept of losing weight and healthy weight, etc, etc, has always been very frustrating for me. When I was in high school, I was quite a competitive athelete. I played varsity volleyball as a Freshman, and also competed in track and field. And I was quite good, but everyone still told me I was too fat. I was teased about is mercilessly. I was hefty, no doubt, but I was solid. But I believed everyone. I was convinced I was the fattest ugliest most worthless thing ever. And after I hurt my knee and had to have surgery, the two things combined in my head and, I don't know, I just went downhill from there. Even at my heaviest, I was still quite active and very strong.
I lost a lot of weight a few years ago as a result of surgery, but I have struggled with keeping it off since then. I am not as active as I used to be, largely due to work and somewhat due to the fact that I don't walk to the train every day now. And, according to my nutritionist, I have the strongest digestive system she has ever seen, which is tragic, as my metabolism is very low, meaning I should only eat about 1000 calories a day.
And so, I struggle, not only with finding the healthiest spot I can be, no matter my size, and all the emotional crap that goes with it....
Boxer, I so get you!
Wow, that is a great comment from GG above.
And this was a great post Boxer. I come to admire you more and more all the time.
You are so right about how a, pardon the pun, one size fits all weight number can be applied.
I have never and will never meet any so-called standard. I would like to lose some weight as I feel uncomfortable right now.
Anyway, I think you are so right about kids. I worry about my stepdaughter a lot.
I posted about this too-here, if you wish to check it out.
Great post--and a great philosophy. I never had a weight "problem" until I hit my mid-30s. I believe I should lose some weight because I'm uncomfortable in my clothes and I get huffy when I bend over to tie my shoes. But you're right about those BMI and weight charts. They're too generic to be valid.
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