A while back, I wrote about how we should not let a number on the scale define us. You can see that article HERE. I am one who has over the years, has learned to love myself, no matter what I look like or what that number on the scale says. I won't even step on that scale as it can do wicked things to my mind. I have a scale in my bathroom drawer but it no longer works because it needs new batteries. I hate that scale so much that I avoid the doctor as I don't want to know what I weigh. That number thing is a thing of my past.
I was a chubby overweight kid
Most people don't know about my past with my weight issues. I have been on both sides of the fence when it comes to an unhealthy body and body size. When I was a kid, I was that chubby kid who had to wear the pretty plus clothes. I was teased because of my body size as a kid. I believe that I was overweight because of eating way too much junk food. I am not sure I ever had any fruits and vegetables. I don't blame my mom for my fat body as she was dealing with an alcoholic husband and trying to raise five kids by herself. She did not care that I did not eat my meals and I instead ate ice cream and cookies.
I was too thin
Then the tragic death of my older brother when I was 12 left my family even more broken. I felt like my brother's death was my fault as I was the last one to see him alive before he ran away. I sunk into a deep depression and stopped eating. I lost a lot of weight and became too skinny. Doctors gave me a label of anorexia and I am not sure that is what was wrong with me. Back then this body disorder was given to girls who came from rich families. My family was far from rich. The weight loss and depression left me not wanting to live. I did not want to die but I did not want to live this life either. I heard many comments about how I was too skinny but I did not care. When a body is starving, it can't think correctly.
It was a job at a church nursery several years later and giving my life to Jesus that helped me realized that I was loved and deserved to enjoy life. I started eating again. My body had been in starvation mode for so long that I became overweight. It was hard to find clothes that fit me and I again heard comments about my weight once again. It was then that I decided I needed to get my body back to a healthy size. I studied nutrition and took up running. I learned that nourishing food and exercise could help with my depression. Through diet and exercise, I was able to stop taking anti-depression meds and I started on the road to recovery.
Now that you know about my background
So I have the insight into both sides of body shaming. Some say that skinny shaming is not the same as fat-shaming but I don't think they are. Right now I am at a healthy weight and may be considered skinny by some but I don't think that. I have been told that I am lucky that I am thin and recently read that thin people are privileged. Yes, that blew my mind and struck a nerve, just like the time a teacher told my son he is a privileged white boy just because he had a disagreement with a Hispanic girl when he was in high school. Mind you that my son was the minority at this school and at the time we were on the free lunch program. My son may have been in the top ten of his class but he worked hard for his grades. Being white or having money, as we were considered low income, had nothing to do with this situation. I hate when people label people!
Twelve Things Your Skinny Friend Wants You To Know
So I am not lucky when it comes to my body size. I don't have an eating disorder and I will not be shamed because I like my body to be in shape. It makes me feel good to be able to fit in my clothes and to have a strong body. I like working out and running fast. I run every day because it leaves me feeling awesome. I love the feeling that my body can run fast and runners high is a thing. I eat healthy nourishing food because that is what my body craves. Trust me I don't deprive myself of food. Running allows me to not have to worry about things like counting calories. I lift weights because I want my muscles to be strong and not be weak when I am older. Having a healthy body allows my body to fight off germs so I have better resistant to the flu, the Coronavirus, and other types of cold viruses. Healthy also means I have the energy to do what I like.
My body is not perfect and I am not striving for a perfect size body. I have wiggles and jiggles on my body. My belly is cushy from giving birth to five kids so I gave up on a flat stomach long ago. I love the body that God gave me and I want to take care of it.
Forgive me if I come across as fat-shaming
When I write about healthy eating and exercise, it is not to fat-shame. I do so to help others who want to have a healthy body and feel awesome. A healthy body means having more energy and not being sick. I can't even remember the last time I was sick. A healthy body means not having certain diseases like heart attacks, diabetes, arthritis, colon cancer, etc. My healthy body and diet help me control my asthma better. When I discovered that dairy was triggering my asthma, I was able to stop having daily asthma attacks. I found that running and weight-lifting helps clear the mucus from my lungs. I like that food can be my medicine.
I may have body-shamed in the past or I may have thought someone was unhealthy because they are overweight or too thin. I have now realized that my thinking was wrong. I think we have all have body-shamed someone or even have done this to ourselves. Trust me when I say, I have body-shamed myself and have thought that I was unworthy because I had love handles.
I am loving that someone wrote a book about positive body image
This children's book is something that I wish I had growing up. I remember all the lies that I heard about my body and how it was never good enough. The magazines back then also told girls lies about the perfect body size. The models in the magazine had bodies that were not healthy and I believed the lies that they had perfect bodies. This is a book that I need to get for my granddaughter as I want her to know that bodies come in different shapes and sizes.
“Her body is beautiful—strong, kind and wise. All bodies are lovely no matter their size.” Her Body Can is a book of poetic self-love and body positivity declarations for all young girls. Its aim is to encourage our young girls to create a reality for themselves in which they love themselves and their bodies for exactly who and what they are, instead of learning to judge themselves and hate their bodies for what they are not. Our girls should know that their bodies are absolutely amazing and CAN DO incredible things—and that their worth is not measured by anything except how big they love themselves."
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I cut back on exercise because I thought it was ok
When someone called me skinny and told me I was fat-shaming, I decided to not worry about exercise as maybe I was too obsessed with exercise. So I cut back on my exercise and stopped running. I did go for walks a couple days a week. During this time, I discovered that my lack of exercise made me tired and my brain could not focus. I had a hard time getting things done. My body did not run properly either. I started feeling bloated and my bathroom habits changed, making it hard to go #2. I thought that I would feel better when I did not have to schedule exercise into my week but I was wrong. I was glad I had Regular Girl to keep me regular in the potty department.
So I was glad when my husband wanted to start exercising and change his diet instead of taking drugs for his high blood pressure. I had a new motivation for my fitness routine. I wanted to help my husband get his high blood pressure down to a normal level. So I started running again and working out on the cardio machines. I even started to include weights into my fitness routine after I saw my father-in-law struggle with weak arm muscles.
During my time of thinking that I did not need to exercise, my father-in-law started having major health problems and was having a hard time with walking. Seeing him having to go through physical therapy to regain muscle strength that he lost from not getting any exercise made me realize that our bodies need exercise and healthy food. I always tell my kids that a car can not operate with bad gasoline and has a hard time running after it has sat in the garage for a long time.
Stop making excuses about finding time to exercise!~ 13 Simple Ways To Sneak In A Workout
So now I look at my exercise time as my fun time. I feel so alive after I go running first thing in the morning and my mind just works so much better. So I make no apologies to my crazy fast workouts that I do at the gym. They make me feel awesome! Sure there are days that I don't want to exercise and I give myself grace knowing that a day off is ok. Then there are the days that I have to push myself out the door in the morning for a walk and I always end up running. I also am glad that I did my exercise as I always feel better.
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My motivation for sharing health and fitness tips
I see people struggling in doing daily things like walking upstairs. I also see kids at my kid's school complaining that they can't run in gym class and that makes me want to help people learn about body health. I see my father-law struggling to get up from a chair because he has no arm strength. I see people complain that they are tired or sick. I see people who have heart attacks at a young age. I hear about young people having type 2 diabetes. I hate hearing about people died at a young age. Most of these things can be avoided with exercise and eating food that is good for our bodies. When I hear about someone who wants to get back in shape or see someone at the gym who is new to fitness, it makes me realize that I need to keep sharing with others. When I inspire a friend to start walking and they realize that it makes them feel good, I start loving fitness and health even more. I realize it is what I am good at and my website is my job. I get excited when I get to test the latest supplements and fitness products.
People are worried about the Coronavirus killing people but unhealthy bodies and complications from unhealthy bodies kill more people per year. When people are unhealthy, their bodies have a harder time recovering from diseases. So if my excitement with health and fitness encourages one person to take charge of their health, then I will keep writing. Love yourself no matter what your body shape. Love your body and focus on health, not size as people come in all different shapes and sizes.
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22 comments:
I admire you because I like your strength and your decision and I want to feel better!
You are a strong woman and I'm with you. We have to stop body-shaming I hate when people think that they can do anything positive or negative or they just like to bash out our body Images.Is our bodies is not theirs. I just shut them down when they start to body shaming if I'm too skinny or if I'm fat is my body is not yours stop shaming me.
Yes to all! It is our bodies.
A couple years ago I lost 100 pounds. I've kept most of it off, but even though I'm not at my lowest weight, I exercise 5 days a week and eat well. I know what it's like to feel like my body wasn't good enough and to have people comment on it. I think every body that is healthy is a good body! And we all need to do what we can to encourage everyone to make sure their bodies are healthy...without shaming them!
I think we all need to love our bodies, no matter the shape our size. We're all made different and that is totally okay.
Yes, I completely agree. Body shaming is becoming horrible. I don't know why one would want to shame anyone.
Body shaming needs to stop! The funny thing is, as women, I think it doesn't matter our size or level of fitness, we will always be judged. And that is sooooo wrong!
I think the live is better when you feel good with your body. It's the first step to be happy.
I think it's a fine line between encouraging healthy life choices and body shaming. While I feel like you understand where that line lies, not everyone does and it leads to people fat shaming or skinny shaming without necessarily realizing that they're doing it. I think it's great that there are resources like that book so that we can help teach kids from a young age :)
Body shaming is not right by any means. Everyone is beautiful. Its the heart which matters, not the figure.
I agree! It has affected so many lives already. I've been a victim of body shamingand it affects my mental health.
Good for you for getting through that tough time and learning how to have a healthy body. And good for you for not listening to others' opinions about whether you were too fat or too skinny!
After reading this I feel even better about my body! I love your positivity & it is really inspiring!
You are an inspiration! I'm currently working on health and fitness. Thank you for reminding me why I started in the first place!
Congrats on the good health choices.
Different is a good thing
My passion is to inspire others. Even I need reminders about making wise choices like getting out for a run. My son motivates me.
Thanks for the kind words.
It took me a long time to get past the mental part of body image.
I was thin my whole life then along came menopause and a few years later and here I am 40lbs overweight! I need to stop body shaming myself and do something about it.
Body shaming is a nightmare! Doesn't matter what age it's always a bad thing
Healthy balanced meals are an excellent way to fight obesity. They allow you to obtain optimal health and to reach a natural healthy weight that can be maintained. Bekam
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