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Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Superhero


I look nothing like this when i work out

Every morning I wake up at 5:45am. I go to the gym and work out for 30-45 minutes. Throughout the day I eat lots of healthy snacks like veggies, fruits, and nuts and drink lots of water. My meals are low in fats and sugars. I eat around 1200 calories a day and I’m never really hungry.  Basically, I do everything right.

But every time I get on the scale, I’m still the exact same weight. According to the internet, my BMI is like 26. I’m in the “overweight” category. I need to lose almost 10 pounds before I’ll be considered healthy.

WTF?

You can literally see my abs. well, three of them at least.

Most people would say I have a slow metabolism. I prefer to think it is just madly efficient. It would keep me alive for months without hardly any food or water. My Irish genes are designed to withstand cold, starvation, and probably virus’s, which means I will be the one saving the world during the zombie apocalypse when the rest of you are enjoying brains for dinner. So really, I’m not chubby and awkward; I’m a super hero. Why didn’t I figure this out sooner?

I’m pretty sure superhero’s don’t change their bodies to fit into their clothes. Hell No. Super hero’s have clothes made especially to fit their super awesome bodies. I think it’s time I threw out my old size 8 pants and got myself some new 10’s and 11’s. I guess I’ll just always have giant, well-muscled thighs and broad shoulders. That’s not a bad thing.


I like Wonder Woman's hips. They're giant. Like mine
What does your body do that makes you special? Are your arms just the right size to reach through half closed car windows and unlock the door, thereby rescuing the person who locked their keys inside? I have news for you, you have a superhero body too. Are you super awesome at moving your hips, to the point where you rock every dance floor you stand on? Superhero. Are you so awesomely hairy that you could survive an Alaskan blizzard because of your extra warmth? Superhero. Does your extra layer of fat make treading water incredibly easy? Super. Hero.

Why do we spend so much time focusing on what our bodies look like, instead of what our bodies can do? Why do we think about our hips and double chins when we plan what to eat? Shouldn’t we be eating out of respect and love for our bodies instead of hatred and mistrust?

So, here’s some advice I should really take myself. Do you own a scale? I suggest that you go and throw it out. Or at least take out the batteries. Stop looking at charts and graphs that measure numbers instead of value. Our bodies are awesome machines that perform extremely complex and impressive tasks every day. Find some things about your body that rock, and celebrate them!

4 comments:

  1. BMI is a lousy measure of health anyway. :) That said, I'm clinging to my scale with every fiber of my being...

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  2. Amanda's right, BMI is just calculated on height and weight. If you spend so much time in the gym you've got some great muscle going, which weighs more than fat anyway. But you're right, it's much more important what our bodies can do than what we look like!

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  3. I was catching up on your blog just now, and I'll throw out there that you're probably not eating enough. 1200 cals/day plus working out you're probably netting about 1000 cals/day and that's slowing your metabolism down. I bet if you up your calorie intake and especially your healthy fats you'll see some weight loss. Your body needs fuel to burn fat.

    Though I'm sure you're perfect exactly the way you are! Celebrating and enjoying your body exactly as it is is key to all around good health. :)

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  4. Something my doctor once told me - muscle weighs more than fat. That's why BMI is a terrible measure for athletes (and Superheros). Looks like you've hit the point where the only way to lose weight would be to lose muscle. Don't do it. The world needs you!

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