My morning rant.........
Okay, so it's great to hear people comment on how much weight I have lost. But I'm tired of comments like "You're withering away", or "If you lose anymore weight, you'll like a crackhead!" None of these things are true. I still have plenty of extra fat and I am still not in a healthy bmi range (I know the BMI is not perfect, but I think the measurement for me is pretty accurate)
Now I know my friends and family have great intentions when they make these comments. They just want to recognize my hard work. I appreciate that, but it becomes a problem when I hear this all the time. I know deep down in side that my body is not as healthy as it could be. It's not all about how I look on the outside. I am not even close to a point where people should be concerned. I'm still about 12 lbs away from a "healthy weight" and 20 lbs away from my goal weight.
Trust me I don't mind the compliments, it keeps me motivated. But the over-exaggerations get to be a bit much.
Now let me make my rant into something useful to you all:
My concern is that sometimes women may hear comments like this and end up maintaining an unhealthy weight.
One of my friends was telling me that in high school she was at a healthy weight. But everyone called her skinny and thought she had an eating disorder. She had a naturally small frame and she got a lot of exercise from cheerleading. Her doctor thought she was fine but the pressure from her peers and family got be to much. In college, she got very little exercise and ate whatever she wanted because everyone thought she was too skinny anyway. Now, 4 years later she has gained an overwhelming amount of weight. Now her friends and family are like "what happened the hell happened to you?." Anyway my point is that you can not always listen to your friends and family. Determine a healthy weight for yourself with the help of you doctor. You can also use this calculator here (still consult a doctor).
It's also important to remember that a healthy weight is about more than just looks. When your friends, family, man, etc. judge your weight/size it's more so focused on size. You need to be in a healthy weight range to reduce your risk of disease and for longevity.
Check out these links for more information about the importance of healthy weight and tips on how to achieve it:
*WEBMD-Healthy Weight
*Havard Health- Healthy Weight tips
* Risk Factors of Unhealthy Weight
*The benefits of a Healthy Weight
Comment!
Have you ever experienced people commenting about your weight?
How did you figure out a healthy weight loss goal?
5 comments:
I can relate. When people find out that I am eating healthy and working out almost everyday, I get that look b/c I'm tall and naturally thin. The fact that I'm trying to build more muscle and be stronger doesn't compute to them at all.
I got a little flak from my family at first because they were so used to seeing me at a certain size and being incredibly lazy. I suppose since I live out of state to see me one way at Christmas and a completely different way the next Thanksgiving could have been shocking. Once I assured them that I was healthy and they saw me eating actual food they backed off. I still get side-eyes from them when I go out for a run during the holidays though LOL.
I would encourage anyone who would let others comments deter them from their plans to consider the source. If this person is someone who doesn't live a healthy lifestyle, they just might be discouraging you because you make them feel guilty.
I also can relate. When I got back from a 4 month trip to Europe, my friend said it looked like I was wasting away. It just made me laugh because I was/am 10 lbs. from my goal. I also took it as a compliment. So don't let it bother you.
I too use the BMI. When I hit that HEALTHY section, I was SOO ESTASTIC. It makes you feel great. So when you hit that HEALHTY WEIGHT, do something special for yourself.
WOW, I just had a friend say these EXACT words. I am 30 years old 5'1 123lbs when I really active (spin, yoga, pilates, running). When I am chillin I am at 128. So I am pretty normal for my height. She thinks I look sickly asking what happened to my boobs etc. But I feel healthier and I get lots of compliments from males. I think Black women have beauty image standards based on Fullness, curvyness, thickness etc. I don't want to be a thick curvy full woman. Not saying those women look bad, I'd just rather have an athletic physique.
i have the same experience
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