This is a rant, and ought to be recognized as such. You have
been warned!
Anyhow, I cannot help but notice that when New Year’s is
upon us, the Internet and social networking sites are full of thinspo, not to
mention Time’s Square’s live coverage.
I will be up front here—I’ve never been a big fan of the New
Year’s holiday. I am a tremendous proponent of the old adage “to each their
own,” but when it comes to this particular celebration, I experience difficulty
discovering one thing about it that I truly look forward to or enjoy. For the
most part, the general tradition is to get “crunk,” watch the ball drop, and
vow to hit the gym more often. I suppose that just isn’t my speed, ha ha.
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| (Courtesy of Magiccrabz.blogspot.com) |
This aside, I’ve noticed that a lot of folks I know and a
lot of folks interviewed at Time’s Square frequently mention working out more
often, sticking to a diet and losing weight.
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| (Courtesy of Calm Down it's Just a Joke via my buddy Alan) |
I find this rather disturbing, in honesty—the reason being
that we as a society seem to believe that losing weight will make us better
people. As though losing twenty pounds will lead to a twenty degree increase in
desirability, worthiness, kindness and generosity. But if the pounds stay on,
we just suck and will stagnate as losers until the next New Year’s.
I guess what I will expound on here is that while it’s fine
to consider maybe eating a tad better if your eating habits are less than
stellar and are affecting your health, and also to consider getting more active
if you are otherwise fairly inactive and would genuinely like to change that
for your own sake, it’s not fine to adhere to the belief that you should attribute
morality to eating (i.e. drink the “eating foods considered to be unhealthy
makes you ‘bad,’ eating foods considered to be healthy makes you ‘good’”
Kool-aid. Don’t. Do not. And if you start to? Spit it out), drop down to the
size of a stick-bug and spend hours compulsively laboring in the gym every day
trying to live up to societal fitness standards because “you should.” Because
that’s what we’ve been led to believe, and not because that is unfailingly what
is good for us. And always remember—losing weight will not make you a worthier
or better person. You are already worthy and good regardless of your weight or
appearance.
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| (Courtesy of mind2body.net) |
My feeling is that a better resolution than working out
more, dieting more, and losing weight would be to love your body in all of its
aspects and listen to and care for it as such. Life is short and precious, and
really, you never can know what will happen tomorrow. So love each day, and part
of that means don’t beat yourself up over a freaking cookie. That freaking cookie
will not do a thing to harm you. It’s a baked mishmash of flour, baking soda,
sugar, salt, eggs, butter and accoutrements. The systematic uploading of the
belief that “this cookie will SINGLEHANDEDLY make me fat” into your brain is
what WILL cause you harm. And in my experience, when I no longer bothered to
worry about whether that demonic little iced raspberry pillow cookie monster
would turn me into the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man via its delicious black magic,
I could suddenly stop at one or a couple and not feel a desperate need for the
whole dang plate. I’m not sure why that is, but I guess it’s the fact that when
sweets are no longer forbidden, they become far less interesting. There is no longer a sense of urgency
regarding indulging in them. Therefore, quieting the bids to be indulged from
your sweet tooth is much easier… as the demand for them isn’t so pervasive,
since if you’re not cutting said sweets from your diet, your mind and body both
know they will still be available to you in the future. I hope that makes some semblance
of sense. And that might not apply to everybody, but like I said, that’s just
in my experience!
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| IZ GONNA MAKE YOU FAAAAT! MWA HA HA HA! (Source: crooksandliars.com) |
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| NO, COOKIE. (Source: Facebook "Tardar Sauce the Grumpy Cat") |
So when the New Year dawns on us, let’s keep the
determination to love our bodies first and foremost in our minds, and let all
of our other bodily goals (other resolutions unrelated to physical fitness or
health set aside here), whatever they may be, follow however they will. Loving
your body is the most important facet of true health. So… Love each day, and
love yourself. ^_^
Love,
Kate
