"Physically Perfect"

I mentally talk about these topics so much in my head, I can almost see one of you reading this title and groaning "Oh Anna! Not this again!". But I know none of you will, because all my lectures and thoughts on this have remained the mind that sits on my two shoulders.


When I was growing up, I never remember having a scale in my house. My parents believe kids should eat three square meals a day and not make snacking a habit. We didn't eat a lot of healthy foods, or at least if we did, I didn't know it. We didn't talk about what was in food much (except for Bologna which we all love). We'd occasionally read the "NUTRITION FACTS" on the back of the product, laugh over the ingredients, and acted shocked at the number of calories we ate. We all played outside every day and, looking back, lead decently active lives. I didn't think much about eating "healthy" or exercising. I did what I always did. I was the skinny 90lb girl who could beat boys in races.

Biology and time win in the end. As you age, you gain a little weight in your preteen and teen years. The scale went from 90lbs to 100 which climbed to 115. I worried a little but I was still healthy, my parents assured me. In the fall of 2009, I took a fitness class. For the first time, I was required to exercise three times a week. We talked about eating healthy in class. I didn't really think about it, just brushed it off. I was healthy; I wasn't over weight or underweight or anything like that. Then it happened. I started figure skating and began to worry about my weight.

It wasn't immediate, but very gradual. When I went into the sport, my mom warned me about it. She told me that I shouldn't worry what number was on that scale ever time I stepped on it or how my body looked, as long as I was healthy. She had done gymnastics in high school and college, and went on a diet which ended in unhealthy results. I promised her that I would never go on a diet or starve myself. The pressure is there, even if it is never said. In the world of sport, particularly dance, figure skating, and gymnastics, you are surrounded by all these slim, muscular women. No one ever has told me "You need to be skinnier" or "Lose a few pounds, girl!", but my subtle observations gnawed away at me. The scale climbed to 120. I worked out more, joined a dance class, figure skated for 3hours on Wednesdays. I began to feel a little guilty when I ate a lot, even after a work out. I began to think I was overweight, not obese, but overweight. It began to be a cycle, I felt fat, I splurged on food because I felt bad about being "fat", felt bad at splurging, felt fat, splurged, etc. It wasn't obvious to my family, but I know they did start getting concerned when I started offhandedly mentioning "Oh I am so fat" (sarcastically) or talking about the calories I was eating. The clothes I had didn't fit properly anymore. 125lbs the needle on the scale read.

Finally, this spring, it hit me when casually mentioned to my mom that I was gaining weight. After explaining that I would gain weight because of the changes my body was going through because of time, she looks at me and says "But of course you're gaining weight! YOU'RE WORKING OUT!"

I was and still am self conscious about my weight, but it really helped being out of any sport for a couple months. I couldn't do figure skating because of my grandfather's surgery and dance had, for the most part, ended for the year. I could just relax.


Now all this is to say that I believe there is a great deal of pressure, maybe not spoken, to be slim or fit. I think the pressure mainly lies on the teenagers, even if the pressure is only self induced. For teenage girls especially, it is dangerous on their health to be skinny. What do I mean by "skinny"? Under their natural body weight. Sure, it would be nice if everyone was healthy, slim, and muscular. But not everyone has the build for slim, and not everyone is muscular. SOMETIMES FAT (as in body fat, not as in overweight) IS OK. IT'S OK TO HAVE BODY FAT. PLEASE DON'T GET UPSET BECAUSE YOU ARE GROWING! People who are into the whole "healthy and fit" deal often forget that body fat is healthy. It's ok to take in calories. In fact, if you're a teenager, you're suppose to take in about 2000 to 2500 calories a day.

Hmm...I'm beginning to rant. Please pardon me.