I feel as if this blog doesn't delve much further than food and exercise - which is why (among other reasons that will become more apparent as you read on) I've decided to dedicate this post to something considerably more personal than the latest grub I've chosen to graze upon.
Let me start from the beginning. As I grew up, I was always an energetic and athletic girl. I was part of every after-school sports club you could possibly imagine, from rock-climbing to netball - I was always there, taking part in as much of the physical action as possible.
It was only when I moved to Southampton for University that I lost touch with my sporty side. None of my new friends were into exercise, and had never involved themselves with sports in or outside of school. As a result, I fell into a bit of a rut whereby I replaced my love of sporting activity, with a shameful love for alcohol and partying, alongside my friends and acquaintances at Uni (something I'd not really experienced at all prior to Uni).
This is something that is most definitely associated with university (though perhaps not so much now that students are paying 3x more for tuition fees!). 'Student' and 'alcohol' are two words that are sort of a match made in heaven, as sad as it may sound.
Inevitably, my first year at University took its toll on my body. I gained a lot of weight (so aptly labelled the 'Freshers Fifeteen') and became unhappy in my own skin, though I was still what would is generally considered a 'normal/average' female weight.
I desperately needed to regain the confidence in myself to exercise, and to return to my normal, pre-uni eating habits - not to mention detoxifying my body of all the alcoholic poison I'd wrecklessly filled it with over the past year.
This was a gradual process, but I took matters into my own hands and began to make those gradual changes in order to feel better about myself. And it worked.
Over the course of my second year at uni, I was armed with a more health-conscious attitude; I joined various group exercise classes at Uni and made time for myself, cooking decent meals rather than sticking a pizza in the over or grazing on empty calories.
By my third year, I was confident to attend those exercise classes on my own. This is when my body really started to tone up. I loved the variety on offer, and took part in pilates, circuits, and legs, bums and tums on a weekly basis. I became increasingly interested in health and fitness, which - over the course of a year - resulted in me losing all of the weight I'd put on over my University years.
I can't really input the figures in terms of how much weight I gained/lost over the years. As a teenager, I went through a phase of obsessive calorie counting and weighing myself, which saw my periods stopping for a few years, and so I now tend to avoid the scales as much as possible. However, I'd guesstimate at 140lb being my heaviest weight, and my current weight hovering around the 120lb mark.
But now I come more onto the matter at hand. It's currently mid-October, and my parents have just arrived home after living in France for the past 5 months (alright for some, huh?). Since their arrival, I've been subjected to various comments about my weight, the worst probably being my Dad suggesting I needed help to walk around Tesco due to my apparent frailty (!).
I understand their standpoint. They've been away for a long time, over which time I've changed my eating and exercising habits considerably, my awareness of health and fitness being acute to my interests and hobbies. It's completely understandable that they're worried about me, and they're open to comment (as opposed to taunt) if they so wish.
Though that should give me a free-pass to negatively comment on my Mum's weight-gain, too, surely? It's exactly the same situation, but reversed. But hold on a sec - of course, this would be completely inappropriate and, moreover, insulting towards my Mum.
As it stands, my diet is akin to that of a fitnessista (was that a new word I just created right there, or does it already exist?!) - or, alternatively, a female athlete (minus a fair few calories taking into account the difference in training intensity/time).
Yet, the story unfolds; I am merely a young twenty-something. I guess that must mean I have to follow the eating habits of the average young English woman, and have the body to match - a body that, by Western standards, would be considered acceptable.
So I guess I'll return to eating crisps, chocolate, and large portion sizes, right? After all, that will result in my body returning to what my parent's think is a 'natural' or normal weight. Clearly, my conscious choice to eat a clean diet is unhealthy by their standards.
This must mean that all of those celebrities, actresses and TV stars that we aspire to look like (to no avail, on the mostpart) must also be unhealthy. The bodies that we envy on screen are considered unachievable in 'real-life', and anyone who manages to achieve a similar body shape (like myself) must therefore be labelled as 'too skinny'.
I've finally realised the problem of the Western mindset in relation to food and diet. Fact is, you cannot possibly please everyone. Whether you're overweight, underweight, or the exact same weight that you were 5 years ago, there is no getting away from the labels that people will put on you.
We're all judgemental to a certain extent, and everyone has different ideals as to what is the desired or 'ideal' size to be. We're also all akin to bouts of jealousy, which is also an interfering factor in the matter.
My opinion follows that you should aim to make yourself happy before you start thinking about what everyone else thinks. I'm more happy in my body than I've ever been before, and I don't want to lose that feeling just because my parents tell me I'm 'too thin'. I've merely lost the layer of body fat that most women struggle to rid themselves of; my muscles are still very strong, and I consider my body as fit and toned, as opposed to thin and frail.
I have a strong opinion on this subject because I honestly hate the contradictory Western mentality on weight. It is certainly a 'weighty' subject, to say the least!
What's your opinion on the points I've made in this post? Do you similarly feel like a bit of a Western misfit when it comes to your diet/exercise habits? Please share your thoughts with me, I'd love to hear other points of view on the matter. :)
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