Two Great Posts About Weight, Obsession and Fear
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I continue to be amazed, humbled, and inspired by all of the brave people out there blogging about their journeys, struggles and triumphs.
Today, two separate bloggers have written about their own issues with weight, obsession and fear. Both posts gave me a lot to think about and I encourage you to check them out.
First, Kelly at Grounded Fitness has written candidly about her struggles with bulimia and how she “broke the addiction.” Please do read her story; I know it gave me a lot to think about. Here is a snippet:
I wasted so many years obsessing about calories and food and my body, that I don’t have the energy to do it anymore. I don’t have the mental energy to plan out every meal and workout constantly. Health is an amazing thing, it saved my life and brought me to where I am today, but I will not let another thing take over my life. To be healthy, you don’t have to obsess or count or make rules. I will not let one more thing cause me to feel guilty, cause me to feel like I’m not good enough or that I have failed.
At the end of the post she asks a great question: can something be an addiction, even if its technically good for you? Can something that is good for your physical health, negatively effect your mental and emotional health?
It’s an important question and one that all of us aspiring rock stars should stop to consider on our path to awesomeness. My short answer is YES, it’s very possible for something physically good to be emotionally bad. It’s all too easy to get lost along the way to our initial goals and let the details consume us. I’m forever grateful that people like Kelly take the time to share their stories so we can learn from them and remember a.) why we chose this healthy path in the first place, and 2.) that we’re not alone! Thank you, Kelly!
The second post comes from Lynn C who is guest-posting at MizFit. Lynn writes about her own effort to avoid scale-obsession and why she doesn’t keep a scale in the house.
I would probably step on that damn thing more than once a day. I’d probably step on it every single time I went to the bathroom. I would get obsessed at the difference between first-thing-in-the-morning, naked weight and after-five-pm-fully-dressed-at-Weight-Watcher’s weight.
This post could not have been more appropriately timed. I’m in the habit of weighing myself every morning, and as I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I’ve gained a couple pounds in the last few weeks. Lately I’ve approached the morning weigh-in with dread, fearing that another day of idleness will reflect itself in the numbers. Then I read something Lynn said that I really needed to hear:
I recognize that this cannot possibly be healthy. That one number shouldn’t be the entirety of my self-worth.
She’s right: health and fitness isn’t all about weight. It’s about feeling awesome.
Many who are successful in improving their physical health only do so at the expense of their mental well-being. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I thank Kelly and Lynn for sharing their stories. They both reminded me that I need to take of my mind as much as my body, even more so now that my body’s in recovery mode.
Bulimic To Personal Trainer: Can Too Much of a Good Thing Be Bad?
The Weight of Fear (Or Good Reasons to Be A Big Fat Coward)
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October 19th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
It IS about feeling awesome! And balance - between physical and mental needs. That’s a great point Monica. It’s a reminder I need to hear. To be reminded of what it’s all about. Feeling awesome - in body, mind, and spirit - that’s a great place to strive for!