I sometimes get comments like, "You don't need to workout! You are little enough!" Or, "You're so tiny. Why are you working out?" Or, "You don't have to worry about what you eat." I have even been asked if I eat! These comments actually kind of hurt my feelings at times. I can get a bit defensive when it comes to this matter. Yes, I have a small frame (5'2"). Yes, I understand that I am smaller than some people. Yes, I get that you think that I don't have anything to worry about in regards to my size. But, just because I have a small frame and might be smaller than you, doesn't mean that I don't have to be concerned with my health. And just because I am of small size doesn't mean that I do not eat. (Believe me, I eat all the time! My close friends and family can confirm that.)
I haven't always been the size that I am now. I mean, yes, I have always been short. There is no changing that. I guess I could walk on stilts, but I am not coordinated enough to pull that off. Although, I do have a few pair of high heels that allow me to feel like one of the "tall" people. Ok, enough of that digression. Back when I was in high school, I weighed more than what I weigh now. I ate poorly, just as most teenagers do. Oh my Mom cooked great healthy meals for the family, but that wasn't the only food I had all day. I ate hot fries, chef boyardee, pizza, french fries, potato chips. cookies, candy, junk, junk, and more junk, whenever I could get my hands on it.
It wasn't until after I suffered a miscarriage in 2003, that my weight changed. The change in my weight wasn't from any workout or healthy eating habits either. I lost a lot of weight due to sinking into a depression. I didn't want to eat. I had no appetite. Food just didn't appeal to me. So, as I quit eating, my body changed. I actually began liking the change too. I mean, what woman doesn't like to go to her closet and discover that she needs new clothes because all of her current clothes are TOO BIG? I thought I was doing pretty good. I didn't see that I had lost weight in a very unhealthy way.
As my appetite returned, I decided to eat a little better. I didn't want to go back to the size I was before. I wanted to at least maintain the weight that I was at during that time. So, my eating habits got a little better. Eventually I started exercising. I began with working out with Denise Austin in the mornings before heading off to work. It wasn't anything too tough, but it was still something. During this time those nasty comments that I mentioned in the beginning of my post began.
At first, I would shrug off the comments as compliments, but after a few years I no longer saw remarks such as these as any form of encouragement. Sure, some people actually spoke them out of encouragement, but not everybody was supportive in their words. I mean, when you approach my Mom and voice your concern over my size, you are not being supportive. (At no point during this time was my weight ever at an unhealthy level.)
So, fast forward to the present. I am now a little more educated on what it means to live a healthy lifestyle. I know now that when I first starting shedding weight, I went about it all wrong and completely unhealthy. I work my butt off now to stay healthy. I don't workout to be "skinny","small", or "thin." I work my butt off so that I can be healthy! I am not working out to lose weight. I do not avoid certain foods or eat certain foods because "I am on a diet" (anyone close to me knows that I hate that word, and do not believe in that word). I eat healthy to be healthy! I don't deprive my body of the fuel that it needs. I want to treat my body right. I want to take care of the body that God has given me, because it is His temple. I want to set an example for my kids, my friends, and my whole family. I want to set an example for strangers. I choose to live a healthy lifestyle, because I want to give my body the best of what it needs, and give other people the best of me.
My motivation here in writing this is not so that I can talk about my size, and have it mean that I am any better than anyone else. I wanted to write this in hopes that it would inspire someone to continue on his/her healthy lifestyle journey. I want to shed light to the fact that just because someone might be smaller than you, doesn't mean they do not have to be concerned with their health. There is a big difference in being skinny and being healthy. I want to be healthy, so I choose to eat clean and workout. Be careful in how you speak into people's lives. Seek to be an encourager.
If you would like to know more about how you can live a healthy lifestyle, I would love to help you. You can visit my website at www.beachbodycoach.com/jaclynturner1, or email me at jaclynturner1@beachbodycoach.com.
*And please, if you or someone you know is at a truly unhealthy weight, speak up. I am not speaking against helping people.
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