Thursday, August 28, 2008

Julie: Week 1, and body image


"We all want to be skinny, right?"

Someone said this to me recently and I have to admit, I got sort of angry. Is this what we, as women, are now thinking? "I want to be skinny!"

I don't know about you, but I want to be healthy. And it took me a long time to get there.

Like Michelle, I realize that I am a curvy girl, and I've never had a problem with it. This is one of the reasons I had to stop taking ballet when I was 12 and already a 34C-- ballet dancers aren't curvy. They're sinewy and muscular but curvy? Nope.

For very long time, I swear that I was the only one who realized that I was a curvy girl and wouldn't be anything else. My mom, who at 5'8" is as tall and thin as I am short and curvy, essentially poked fun at my burgeoning bosom and I distinctly remember her saying something to the effect of "Once you go over 160 pounds, there's no going back." She's the same person who poked my stomach last month when I commented that I was eating out too much. Gee, thanks, Ma. She means well, but she's never had to battle with her weight (she's gained about 15 pounds since 1973) and has no idea what sort of body image she should have instilled in her daughter.

I've had boyfriends who have broken up with me because I'm curvy (one particular in high school who patted my stomach! Argh!), and my ex was into tall, skinny goth girls (also known as "not me. At all.").

ARGH.

So I will tell you right now: my goal is not to get skinny. My goal is to be healthy. I know that unless I have a tummy tuck, my stomach will not be flat. I do not want to have to work that hard to make my body do something it doesn't want to be. I want to eat healthfully because it's good for me, not because I want to please men (who often prefer curvy anyway) or women (who I think are our harshest critics; far harsher than men!). I want to exercise because human beings are made to move, and it makes my heart healthier and has a thousand other benefits. I want to eat good food-- not diet food, marketed specifically to women because we are so desperate to lose weight that we buy it-- in small quantities (exception: Lean Cuisine, because they're all I can remember for work).

So healthy. Like Nigella, who relishes food and is curvy and seems to have a happy home and career.

Numbers for the week:

No workouts, yet.

2.6 pounds lost

172.2.

8 comments:

Kate The Great said...

Love it! Yes, I will always be a curvy girl. My rack isn't going anywhere, no matter how much weight I lose. I am on the same wavelength as you and Michelle - I have always pictured myself as a Blonde Bombshell, now I'm just working towards a more explosive effect!

Michelle said...

My mom is 5'8" and is anywhere between a 2 when she's thin and a 6 when she thinks she's fat. Yeah, I know. So I get where you're coming from. My dad was always worse though - any woman who is over a size 8 is fat to him. Egads! We'll all just be happy curvy girls - like Marilyn Monroe and Nigella!

*Lissa* said...

Way to go on your 2.6 lbs lost!! Great job!

beverly said...

Great job on losing some lb's this week! I also am committed to no diet foods (except a rare diet coke). It's challenging, because it's what I always did in the past. Good luck & thanks to all you ladies for sharing your journey w/ the rest of us.

Um, and by the way, I would love to say I'm curvy, but there's nothing up top. So, it's only junk in the trunk for me. But, it's a family trait & I've accepted that!

Julie said...

Kate-- yes! Or, as Terry explained to me, a brick shithouse. Man, those Southerners and their crazy sayings!

Michelle-- Yes!

Lissa-- Thank you!

Beverly-- It is challenging, but I think it's worth it because I learn to eat real portions. I do like LCs because they truly teach you what portion size is.

Mikki said...

Men do prefer curves. Chaz did some computer work for an acquaintance whom I would describe as "Model-esque" (read tall and thin.) The first thing he said when the door closed behind her is something like, "We should give her a burger, not a laptop!"

I have to say, I think I have done better curvy rather than skinny. I wouldn't mind seeing a size 6 or 8 again, but the girls have served me very well.
Congrats on the loss!

ShannanB said...

It drives me crazy that people assume you are loosing weight to be skinny. Sure I want to loose weight and get back in the healthy zone, but I also want to improve my eating habits.

This is important to me because I have to "represent" for two children. The things I cook for them now are the things they are going to remember when they are older. I have to set an example.

Amy in Ohio said...

Fantastic loss - nice and healthy!