I’m a twenty-something university grad living in the Bay Area with hopes of returning to the world of academia for Japanese, linguistics, or East Asian Studies.
My obsessive-compulsions include stopping the microwave only when the time remaining is divisible by five and reading the fine print on commercials.
My first sip of tea was out of my baby bottle. I make one of the best cuppas you’ll ever taste.
Focus your energy on yourself
I was personally told by my WiiFit that I’m obese (back when I used to regularly use it), but I also know that I’m fat AND muscular - I’m bigger than some people, I’m smaller than others. I cycle five miles every gym session without any tears and I pamper my body by going to the gym AND eating what I want. It is my body not anyone else’s, and I will worship it how I choose!
Cholesterol, Triglyceride, Low density lipoprotein/HD, TSH, and Glucose are all where they’re supposed to be without a flaw; I have a great rebound to resting heart rate after a vigorous work out; I have a high waist that is 10 inches smaller than my hips; I’m a 12/14 pant size; I have a ridiculously large chest (Holla); and to me my body would be near perfection if my torso was two inches longer/I was two inches taller.
There are days where I want to let Hollywood and other media determine my beauty standards even with my method below:
For me, I imagine what my skeleton looks like and I figure out where my hips are in relation to the rest of my body (are they pronounced or narrow?), and I imagine that all the skin, muscles, fat, and everything is stripped off my body until the skeleton remains. Now, I figure that even with all the “dieting” in the world I will never be smaller than what my hip [bones] allow me. Once I accept that fact then I stop beating myself up for not being pant size x. I do still have the days where I miss being a sizewhatever but I try to remember that not only have I grown in age but my bones have changed so, of course, I’m not the same size I was x years ago.
X is basically one size smaller than I am now, yet people are on this “eat less” bandwagon but are now calling it “eat well”. Here’s the thing: ADA guidelines or the Food Pyramid are templates not Bibles, Qur’ans, or anything of the sort. They adjust to new research and are not the same from a decade ago. There are dietary restrictions caused by UC, Crohn’s, Colitis, Lactose Intolerance, Gluten Intolerance, etc. that influence someone’s personal eating style. Saying that HAES is a cult leaves the door open to saying that diets such as Atkins, South Beach, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, etc and exercises regimens like Insanity, Zumba, etc. are all cults as well, except here’s the thing: HAES doesn’t say “you have to do this or you’re bad” - no, “be happy with whatever you decide” / not anti- or pro-diet.
There is a difference between body policing and health - they are not interchangeable. Health varies among bodies, genetics, and lifestyle so insisting that your way is the only way cannot be a truth. Focus your energy on yourself, maybe then you’ll find health for your body per your own definition and you’ll find the happiness that comes with loving your body as it is.
