Know Thyself

I had a great conversation with a friend today about body shapes, and I felt the need to write about the importance of knowing your body, its limits, and your own genetics, because I have known far too many girls that stretch themselves to unhealthy, and sometimes dangerous levels to try and lose weight.  The fact of the matter is that we cannot really control where our body likes to store its fat.  I have known many women that pack their extra pounds in their tummies, and others that have very thin midsections, but larger butts or thighs.  Ladies, you must remember that although we are living in a society that encourages hanger-type bodies, this type of body is not the norm!  I know, it's tempting to want to look like those models in Vogue, but REMEMBER that the majority of these models rely on drugs to curb their hunger, and many are on the verge of death.  We are so lucky that we don't have that kind of career-reliant pressure that forces us to torture our bodies.  It's important to adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes a healthy diet as well as physical activity.  Sure, you can "diet" in the sense of micromanaging your food for a couple of weeks to lose weight, but this is not a recommended way to go, because these changes are mostly temporary and the weight is easily gained back.  Be mindful of your diet, but please DON'T STARVE YOURSELF!

I can't say how sad it makes me to see how much pressure women are under to be rail-thin.  Starving yourself to be skinny will leave you constantly sapped of energy, damage your hair, and cause your breath to smell (ew no thanks!)  As well, many women who force themselves into frailty are also putting themselves at risk for hip fractures, chronic diseases, heart failure, or even cancer. If you want to lose weight, make a lifestyle alteration, and set realistic goals for your body type.  We must learn to love the body each of us has been given.  Some of us will always have a butt, don't think of it as such a bad thing (hey, Sir Mix-a-Lot seemed to like it enough to write a song about it!)  Starvation will not necessarily make your thighs disappear.  So embrace your curves, increase your fruits and veggies, get active, and lose weight the natural way!  Be kind to your body--if you aren't, you'll have no place to go.