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Sometimes the moments we feel most lost are the ones in which we find ourselves

Friday, February 26, 2010

Ok to be Fat?

The link below goes to an ABC Nightline story about the "great weight debate." It asks, "Is it ok to be fat?"

The video is very thought provoking and I clearly have my own take on it. I think fat is too often the focus, when we should really be concerned with issues of weight. Fat is not ok in our culture, but what does it mean to be fat? I am fat, but I am not unhealthy. There is a striking difference between fat and obese and I think we as a society tend to go too far. Yes, you want to be healthy. Yes, being overweight can lead to a number of health issues. So, being healthy and being thin are often two sides of the same coin. But you can also be thin and seriously unhealthy. It is all about finding balance and what works for you and your body.

I think the woman's argument that yo-yo diets make you unhealthy and therefore you should not regulate what you eat is nuts. No, yo-yo diets don't work and they will probably make you unhealthy in the long run. But life and health are not about diets. You have to make lifestyle changes for lasting results and good health. Crossfit is a lifestyle change. Paleo is a lifestyle change. You focus on how good certain habits make you feel and so you forget about all the things you used to crave or wish you could have because they don't control you anymore.

We need to stop talking about fat and start talking about health. Would I love to be a size 2 and have 17% body fat? Sure. But if the cost is my health, it is not worth it. I think reaching those goals are totally attainable in a healthy way that doesn't revolve around dieting becoming thin, but rather on continually making informed decisions, hard work, and treating your body with the respect it deserves. I think this is the potential crossfit has to teach women especially. It is not all about how you look, but about how you feel and what you can accomplish.

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