I spent the day yesterday shopping with a friend who needed new summer clothes. Well, she needed to shop because she has gotten terribly out of shape and I think is now at her highest weight of all time. She gave me all of her old clothes (size medium) as she is now a 1x. I gave her all of my old clothes from post-pregnancy. I also passed along plenty of entry-level workout tapes and dvd's for her to try, in the comfort of home. But she is so resistant. She is buying into some notion that working out is "uncool". Furthermore her eating habits are atrocious. Sugary pop every day, fast food 2 meals a day. She refuses to learn to prepare meals for herself even though I have offered to show her some really easy and delicious quick meals to make. It's as if the healthier I get, the more discouraged she gets. I keep up my cheerleading but there is only so much I can do.

What drives me nuts is that she makes a good living and is an educated person. She absolutely knows the formula for better health and wellness (reduce input, increase output ). She is attracted to health food stores and holistic living in general, but somehow, I think is embarrassed or afraid to get a program started for herself. This frustrates me to no end, especially when we shop together and she gets discouraged, seeing the limited options for cool yet classy fashions for someone with rolls all over the place.

I am not criticising those who are obese or just overweight. Heck, technically according to my BMI, I am overweight.

I was once a size 2x person. I made myself feel better by "buying into" the notion that women can be beautiful no matter their size. I would not negate that this is true.  But I think that attitiude is only beneficial if one uses such a mantra to buoy their spirits and encourage themself to take those little steps to make the changes to get healthy and not allow themselves to spiral down into a depressed state, thus aggravating their weight/health problems further. I know, in my case, I didn't let my size bother me - I just found some sweatpants in my size and got out there! First, just walking, pushing the baby stroller. Then, joining a gym that had childcare and exercising faithfully 5 days a week. Finally I made changes in my family's diet and began buying more "whole" foods  instead of pre-processed conveninece items. I actually lowered our grocery bills by doing so.

No one needs to be size-oriented or even oriented to a specific so-called "ideal" weight. That is equally as unhealthy. Finding an enjoyable physical activity, drinking water, getting plenty of sleep and tuning into the real nutritional needs of your body are far more realistic and do-able.

However, there is NO defense for outright sloth, for shovelling nutrient-deficient, high fat/sugar/sodium-laden garbage into your mouth day in and day out. To me, the body is sacred and beautiful in all its shapes and forms. Just as we should respect the world around us, we need to love and respect OURSELVES.

You can be larger and healthy - as evidenced by "clydesdale" and "athena" weight classes for competitive triathletes and runners. But these people ARE athletes - they excercise regularly, have significant muscle mass, flexibility, and well-functioning cardio-vascular systems.