Let me just dispel the notion that what you think isn't always correct. And just for the record, if you even remotely think that skinny jeans make you look thinner, you are seriously delusional. Look, I don't care what you look like, I really don't, but I find it very hard to believe that people put on the tightest pants possible and then imagine that they are somehow flattering? In an attempt to not sound prejudicial here, those skinny jeans only look good on people who weigh less than 140 pounds and even then, most of them are teenagers and, to contradict what I just said, I don't think that they look all that great anyway. Of course, supermodels are the exception or most models for that matter, but that could be said for any article of clothing that a Victoria's Secret angel is donning at the moment. By the way, some of those models are truly a few of the most beautiful on the planet. I give them full credit for having great genes, not jeans and any other factor that keeps them looking so stunning. It is nice to have an ideal I suppose although some women would argue with that notion, but it's necessary too. There are all types of us out there and there is no "benchmark" for what is the ultimate in beauty now is there? I made the mistake as I do daily of asking the 13 year old's opinion, just to get that "generation's" viewpoint and he looked at me and said, "Well, if Kim Kardashian is at the top and Ugly Betty is at the bottom, you're somewhere in the middle Mom." Hmmmm, food for thought, coming from a kid whose idea of beauty is a green piece of paper with Andrew Jackson's face on it.
I weigh 163 pounds and I don't want to write that here, I don't want to look at that number, I don't want to acknowledge that I've let my body get 33 pounds heavier than I'd like it to be. My doctor told me, I know, back to him again, and, you can read this in most "body" type magazines; that, for an athletic woman, her ideal weight is close to that when she was 18. Exactly my point. Although 23 years have passed in the gaining of that 33 pounds, it was only until recently that I gave some real credence to my weight and my health. I actually hadn't weighed myself since, well, I can't remember to tell you the truth because the number doesn't interest me as much as how my body feels and right now, it feels pretty damn GREAT. I suppose that any activity level and the subsequent benefits of adding more activity will make most people feel that way. But I really do feel better, stronger, like I'm doing the groundwork for the next stage of my life. I don't have a concrete number in mind although I just kind of joked about the 33 pounds; that is a lot of weight to lose. But here's the thing, I want my body to rest at a weight where I don't have to work out for 3 hours a day, 7 days a week to maintain it. AND, I want to eat chocolate and cheetohs and I want to drink alcohol and I want to eat Mexican food. So, if that means that the number will reflect itself in a higher category then, I guess, I'll just have to live with that. But for those of you who've looked at yourselves and thought, I could be better; you can be. And you do have to start small and you probably will vomit along the way. I have, unexpectedly. I've also cried, fallen down, screamed, been in intense pain and shaken so badly that I just wanted to lay down and not get back up. Reminds me of childbirth actually, then again, there are drugs to help with that so the point is moot I guess. Regardless, the body is an amazing machine and it does remember and even if you weren't an athlete growing up or even if you were the last kid picked for kickball, all it takes is a little extra time and effort; prep work if you will and, maybe at the beginning, a kick ass trainer to motivate you. There is much to be said for trainers who know what they are doing and physical therapists who can come and help you to iron out the kinks and, there will be kinks,that I can assure you.
Instant gratification is not for those whose ultimate goal is to wear skinny jeans. To wear those things, if you really want to, you will have to work at it, day after day, like a dog and even then, there are no guarantees, just ask Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem or any other program that touts the "miracle" cure. Those programs do work and they work well for people who STAY on them, but, like you and I both know, it's easier to quit. It's easier to run to the store and pick up a week's supply of Haagen Dazs and then eat some of it while watching the Biggest Loser and telling yourself, Hey, at least I'm not as big as they are. Sad, but, yes, that is the type of person I am. I still won't give up the ice cream, not even if you told me I could be Alessandria Ambrosio; she's my favorite angel, whatever. Some comedian said, as a response to the age old question, "Honey, do these jeans make my butt look big?"
"No dear, those jeans don't make your butt look big, your butt does." So maybe the mirror isn't telling us exactly what we want to hear and maybe having to lay down on the bed to get into your pants is not the best measuring stick for whether or not you should wear them out in public. Maybe some common sense will help out here and despite your size or your condition or whatever is keeping you at the weight that you are at, do not feel compelled to buy something that you "think" will make you look smaller because,in the end, it won't. Really, the only thing that will make you look smaller is to stand next to a person bigger than you, like I said, common sense.
It's taken me over two years to get some control over my body and to begin to feel like the athlete that I was so long ago. But I don't want be someone who has to be taken care of due to infirmity or obesity or high blood pressure which, incidentally runs in my family and I definitely don't want to live to old age if it means I have to just sit around and wait to die. I want to be Betty White and Dixie Carter and Mia Hamm Garciaparra, wait, she's younger than I am, well, I want to be her later on because you know that she'll still be kicking the soccer ball at 80.
The woman who I saw today didn't really make me think anything other than, she should not be wearing those jeans. Aside from the fact that she could barely move, she was trying to chase two toddlers around and she was having more than her share of difficulty. I understood, hell, I understand, but that doesn't change that something shouldn't be albeit even if it is only my opinion. I was shopping for new jeans the other day and I am between a size 12 and a 10 and although I squeezed myself into the 10, I couldn't buy them yet because I won't wear them unless they fit properly and that means not making me look like Randy from A Christmas Story who, in his snowsuit, cannot even move, let alone stand up unassisted when he falls to the ground. I'm not saying hide who you are or wear a mumu; I'm saying, let's show a modicum of taste and grace and tact, especially in places where people take their children. "Mom, those pants make that woman's bottom look huge" I hear as we wait in line, No hon, the pants don't do that I think. Did I mention that we were in line at McDonald's? Bon Appetit...
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