moving onto the article. i'm not necessarily afraid of inheriting my mother's body, i am however afraid of inheriting some of your health issues. ie: diabetes. my health and the hope of not getting this disease is a strong motivation for my weight loss.
moving onto how this relates to my childhood. my weight was never a topic of discussion growing up. if it was, i wasn't aware of it. i was never told "april you need to lose weight." or "you would be so pretty if you lost a few pounds." i know people who were told this growing up, and i think it gave them a "i have to be skinny" outlook on life, and a person's body image in general. i myself don't have that complex because my weight issues were never really an issue growing up. for that i am so so grateful.
last week while i was in the locker room at the gym this woman saw me after my workout all sweaty and gross, and saw that i had some weight to lose. and then immediately whispered to her little bit over weight 20something daughter "see, you have to work hard." by the way this woman said that comment, what she was really saying was: "see, you have to work hard, so you don't look like that." even worse is that this young woman has down syndrome. i was immediately frustrated because the mom was going about motivating her daughter the wrong way. granted i do think girls see me, and think "i have to keep working out, because i don't want to be over weight" but to actually say it? i mean c'mon. their are many more reasons to work out, than just for the physical aspect.
my main point, is that my childhood didn't have that. i never once felt i had to lose weight. i knew (know) i was loved unconditionally regardless of what it is that i looked like, or what i weighted. and that is a great feeling to have.
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8 comments:
Amen to that! Great post, April. Unfortunately there are alot of "shallow" folks out there that would disagree...All I can do is feel sorry for them, because they only see things in a superficial light, when there is so much more!!
-Kari
Yep, I agree with Kari. I think our society is way too hung up on appearances and forgets the whole reason to work out - health! I am so glad that you agree, it's more about health. That makes me very upset that she said that to her daughter with Down Syndrome! How sad. It makes you want to give that little girl a big hug.
BTW I haven't read that book and I'd be very excited to hear what you say about it.
Love you!
What a HORRIBLE thing for a woman to say to her daughter, but especially a daughter with disabilities. I am horrified at that. I hope I'm a better mom than that.
I would never, EVER put un-do pressure on my girls to be thin but I DO work my ass off to make sure they know how to make good food choices. Sometimes they hate me for it. Sometimes they get super mad when I tell them yes to an apple, no to popcorn but I always want them to have balance. Last night we had Sonic shakes for dinner. Yup, for dinner. Once or twice a year I do that. Tonight we will be having something with plenty of veggies and protein. They don't get to eat fast food, or processed foods, 95% of the time and it isn't all because I want them to stay healthy weights but more because I want them to stay healthy people. It is not easy when there is so much readily available "food product" out there but I try. I wasn't always like this, I used to feed the kids a LOT of crap, I became educated about it and made slow changes. I don't know how your mom could have known back then how dangerous processed foods can be. They change our body chemistry. It's horrible. You are fighting the good fight and getting their, all you can do is keep moving forward so that you can be healthy and live long, and ultimately that should be the goal for ALL of us.
What a RUDE, RUDE, RUDE, mom. And horrible, too, to say something like that to her daughter. It kind of reminds me of stuff my mom says to me. Boo. I'm sorry you had to experience such rudeness, April. Especially when you've worked so hard and have had such wonderful success and will continue to shrink before our eyes. You look AMAZING and I wish I had your motivation and will power. I'm working on it, though.
Yes, April you are our inspiration and As your MOM i wish that I could protect you from such horrible exposure but alas you are a grown woman now and you know it is your perspective that will keep you happy and positive.
And I do pray that you are blessed without any inherited health issues. AMEN.
Love/Prayers, MOM
It's amazing how even ONE comment can shape our lives.... My dad once made ONE negative comment about my thighs when I was a teen and I have hated them ever since.
You really are blessed April.
@Emily- just by you recognizing that the lady in the gym was rude means that you are a MUCH better mom. :o)
April... One thing I have to say is... Some people's kids... Things now a days have made women think they need to be a stick to be pretty... when really it is the confidence in themselves that is truly the attractive trait. You'll reach your goals soon!!
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