Diet & Exercise

Let's just say that the closer to thirty one becomes, the more diet and exercise have become a matter of importance.  Maybe that's why I have become oversensitive to anything and everything diet related in the media.  I know the media has been constantly feeding young girls and boys garbage resulting in poor body image and unhealthy habits, but I must say that I never really paid attention before now.  It's kind of like that old adage my parents used to say "it'll catch up with you when you're older" referring to my eating habits as a teen.  I was one of those teens blessed with a high metabolism.  Partner that with participation in sports and I was an endless pit when it came to food.  I could eat anything and not suffer any consequences with my weight.  Those days pretty much skipped town towards my junior year of college.  However, now that I'm just a little over a year away from thirty it's gotten even worse.  I feel like I have to scrutinize every little thing I consume or I'll wake up a hippopotamus the next day.  If you think about it, it's not really fair.  I eat so much more healthy now than I ever did back then and yet it's now that my body decides it wants to store fat?  For what purpose, to hibernate until the apocalypse?  I drink so much more water now, scrutinize the fat content of the leanest meat at the supermarket, shop my yogurt by protein content, and my milk/butter by cardiologist endorsement.  The sad reality is that I just want to eat ice cream and not get fat.  Is that too much to ask for?  Apparently.

At any rate there were two articles in particle that I read this week which really bothered me.  The first had to do with model Natalia Vodianova claiming "it's better to be skinny than to be fat."  The way the article is written, she appears to look down her nose at society for not looking the way she does.  That it's a choice to be obese.  I understand in some instances it is, but what about folks with hormonal issues, etc?  Making broad statements that it's "better to be skinny" is not necessarily the right message to be sending to our youth or anyone for that matter.  The other article had to do with a woman who died from the Sunlight Diet.  Unfortunately there was much at play here.  She obviously suffered from some form of disorder and in that state of mind was highly impressionable to media reports on diet and body image.  Ultimately the combination of these things killed her.  It's an extreme example, but nonetheless true.

So with these two particular articles in mind, I think I'm going to give myself a break.  I understand that as we age the metabolism slows and it's important to be mindful of diet and exercise, but everything in moderation.  So I'll continue to work out, but not like a fiend, and I'll continue to make healthier choices when it comes to the foods I restock my fridge and cupboards with.  I also hope that one day when I have children that I am supportive enough as a parent to help cultivate a healthy body image for my children so they aren't as impacted by the gross expectations of the mass media.  And in the meantime I am going to accept the womanly body I have matured into as opposed to pining for the one I used to have.  I say that today, but we'll see how I feel about it tomorrow.  ;-)