The Big Deal

The Three Graces -- Peter Paul Rubens

It is amazing to me how divided people can be and how negative. As I have discussed here before, I am not a woman that can be classified as petite.  It has taken me a few years, but I have accepted the fact I will never be 5 foot tall or a size 2.

This morning I read an article about Plus Size fashions and noticed the massive amounts of comments that followed the layout. Most were positive, but many were negative. There was one that went so far as to say if you ate right and exercised then you wouldn’t be considered plus size. What a bunch of whooie.  I wanted to write back and say if he got his Neanderthal head out of his butt he might not be so small minded, but I digress.

At my lowest weight, I was still a size 14 and could count every rib I had. It is only in the past century that looking like a walking skeleton has become the mark of beauty. If you look at artwork of the Renaissance and Classical era, most all the women had curves and the men were all muscular. They wanted women that had curves because it meant wealth and (supposedly) fertility. I would have been a perfect model for Titian or Rubens.

But here’s the thing. Does the number on the label of my dress correlate directly to the size of my intelligence or the size of my heart? Of course not. So why does society make such a fuss over it? And please don’t tell me it is for my health, because quite frankly, there are very few strangers who actually care if I am healthy or not which, in case any of you are wondering, I am.  I always told my doctor I was his worst nightmare—a healthy fat chick. To which he would roll his eyes and chuckle.

So, what’s the big deal? There are thin people who are unhealthy and fat people who are healthy. I have seen devoted, hardworking athletes taken from this world by heart attack and cancer. And I have seen people who, by conventional medical and/or social guidelines, should have died years ago, but lived well into their nineties.  

I am not saying we should all go out and over indulge in everything.  What I am saying is it should be our goal and our job to be healthiest we can regardless of what the little tag inside our pants says. Am I trying to lose weight? Yes I am. But not because of what society thinks of me. It’s so I can stay around for a bit longer and that is a big deal.

Love and blessings to all!

The problem with my laundry room

If you read my last post, and I hope that you did, you know that I am on a diet, and if you look at the widget on my blog you will see that I am down 4lbs. Yay me! I have been very diligent about counting my calories and putting down every morsel I have eaten. I have wanted to lie a time or two, but realize I am only lying to myself, so what good is that?

Even though I was away from home today, I think I did fairly good with what I ate. Although an oatmeal raisin cookie was involved I still counted it. I wasn't really THAT hungry when I ate dinner, but I knew I needed to do so.

Now however, I am more hungry than before I ate dinner. There is nothing but my conscience standing between me and the refrigerator door. This is the first time since starting my new eating plan that this has happened. I am trying the old trick of keeping busy, so I started doing laundry. However, I must walk through the kitchen to get to the laundry room.

In reality I suppose I could by pass the kitchen, but it is the shortest route. The fridge is directly to my right as I walk through, and it would be easy to take a peek inside. fortunately for me, I refuse to buy junk food just in case something like this happens. Oh, did I mention the pantry is also on the way to the laundry room. See...my laundry room, nothing but trouble.

It's a weighty subject

I have had a battle with my weight since I was a kid. It was so bad, I can remember being relieved the day I was diagnosed with Poly-cystic Ovary Syndrome.It was a relief to know that my weight problems were a symptom of the syndrome. Not to mention the possibility of having diabetes, stroke, infertility and a greater risk for cervical cancer.

Due to this I have to be careful with what I eat so that I don't let my weight get out of control. I have tried everything from eating when and what your body tells you to, to taking diet pills and 1,000 calorie diet. The later did work, but as soon as I quit taking the pills and went back to eating normally... well, I don't have to tell you what happened.

So, here I am again trying to get my weight under control, again. Both of my parents died in their mid 40's and 50's from heart disease and with my condition, I don't want to take any chances.

Here's the fun part. You guys are going to go in this journey with me. My goal is to loose 37 pounds. I have already lost three so I suppose that only leaves 34 to go. I don't know if I will make it or not, but I am going to try. They say the best way to loose weight is a pound a week, and that is my goal. That means by December 5th, I should hopefully be at my goal weight.

Wish me luck guys!