Weighing In On Being Healthy

I wanted to share this article that I just read:  Woman posts dramatic before-and-after of pics of one pound loss to prove that weight is meaningless.  

The article covers the fact that the photos shared note a 2 lb weight loss, but everywhere they mention 1 lb - an error was made when creating the photo. . .it was a 1 lb weight loss.

I loved seeing this.  Too many people focus on weight, when really, unless you are looking at extremes, weight doesn’t really matter.  I’ve had my share of body image issues and that is putting it lightly. As most of you know I dealt with an eating disorder for ~ 7 years.  While I no longer engage (that is the therapy word always used - clearly it was seared in my brain after all my years of therapy, ha,) with my eating disorder, I’ll be the first to admit that I do not have completely normal, perfect thoughts around body, body image, weight and food.  I have however spent a lot of time working to be healthier (mentally and physically) and while I’m not perfect by any means, I have become so much healthier (mentally and physically.) One of the many things that I’ve learned is that numbers/weight really don’t matter (outside of extremes.)

While I have my eccentricities, I really try to keep in mind what truly matters, what is healthiest both physically and mentally.  A lower weight does not necessarily mean healthier. As this women demonstrates, her body looks much healthier and fitter, after she began working out, lifting weights etc, however, she only lost one lb.

While I try to be healthy overall, exercising and eating pretty balanced, I also have learned to give myself a break.  Yes I still run a lot, but especially after my MS, I run so incredibly slow. It really does not benefit me physically nearly as much as it used to, but that is okay.  I keep at it because it still makes me feel good physically and mentally - running probably keeps me sane.

I’ve also become better at giving myself a break. We don't have to be/do everything perfectly to be healthy.  I still have some weird eating disorder things that I’ve learned to accept as my normal.  For example, I really need to have a fruit or vegetable with my meal to feel okay with it.  No, not normal, but it is so, so, so much better than where I had been, I can accept this as my normal.  I’m incredibly fortunate to have friends/family that are understanding of my eccentricities. For example, when we were in Edinburgh, my husband really wanted to go to this pizza place with amazing reviews, but he looked at the menu and there were no fruits or vegetables (no ceasar salad or anything.)  Anyway, he was understanding and supportive and asked me if I would go there for dinner or if I wanted to go somewhere else since there were no fruit/vegetables on the menu. I know this is weird and I appreciate him still taking into account how I feel. I just ate an apple before we went to dinner and ate some amazing pizza. . .and I was able to truly enjoy it!

Anyway, through all this rambling I want to encourage everyone (myself included) to really try to keep overall health in mind - not just looking at physical health, but what makes us feel better mentally as well.  And with physical health, not just looking at weight or being as skinny as possible, but to be in better shape and feeling better.

I would say that in recent years I felt best when I was running ultras. I wasn’t the thinnest I had ever been, I didn’t weigh myself, but I am quite certain I didn’t weigh less than normal, my thighs were definitely larger, but I felt so strong - damn I felt strong.  I loved it!