A Healthy Body Image

I recently hit the big 3-0.  And honestly it wasn’t a big deal.  I didn’t feel any different, look any different.  No biggie.  But then I started to take notice of small changes with my body.  And I don’t know if they’d been going on for awhile and I was just hyper aware because of turning 30 or what.  I started to notice that my shape was changing.  

At first, I freaked out. I was used to being smaller, eating whatever and going for runs to keep my weight down.  Suddenly I had curves popping out left and right.  What is this? Hips? Now I’m going to get hips? Oh and I can’t eat potato chips and drink wine and not gain weight anymore? What the heck!  What proceeded was hard core cleanses, new workout routines and a whole lot of misery to lose maybe 10 pounds.  And then my face looked gaunt and while my body looked pretty good, I looked 10 years older.  I started wondering, is it worth it?

While I in no way think being out of shape and obese is a healthy lifestyle (I’m a huge advocate of exercise, even walking for 30 minutes a day), I also don’t agree with starving ourselves to get to an unattainable weight.  It is not realistic.  Something I discovered in the last year? We all have a healthy body shape and weight that with a moderately healthy diet and exercise, our body’s will naturally sit at.  It’s impossible to say that two women, both 5’5, can be 135 pounds and should look the same.  One woman might look incredibly skinny while the other looks average.  Why? Bone structure.  If one woman’s hips and shoulders are spaced farther apart than the other woman’s, than the weight is distributed across a larger scale.  She can tend to look skinnier, even if they’re the same height/weight.  So should the woman that’s got a more narrow frame starve herself to lose weight even though 135 pounds is a healthy weight for her height? 

Growing up I was always small.  Right around 100 pounds and was 5’2.  My frame is small as well and I pretty much lived on potato chips. I was a picky eater.  After my first child, my figure went through it’s first change.  I gained weight and had to start running to get back down to my regular size.  My weight sat at 110, which was fine.  After my second child my weight still stayed around 110.  But I was working out more.  Then when I hit my 30’s, my weight started sitting around 118-122.  Which made me so mad!  Until I figured out that I was eating healthy and working out.  This was where my body wanted to be.  I finally stopped fighting it.  I will take a few extra pounds and a youthful face over skinny and older looking any day.  I actually have come to love my figure.  Having curves makes me feel feminine.  And my husband certainly isn’t complaining either. Now if Hollywood could catch on...

Lisa Coronado is a content writer for a Downtown Seattle Chiropractor.