Monday, June 22, 2009

Operation Beautiful

I came across this video this afternoon and started to cry. What an amazing gift these people are giving to the world.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Woman in the Mirror

This is going to sound strange, so I hope no one reads it the wrong way.

I have a strange fascination with other womens bodies. It's not at all a sexual thing, as I am not so intrigued by the naughty bits as I am with other parts of the female body.

I know it's normal for women to compare themselves to other women, but I sometimes wonder if I take it over the edge. I'm constantly watching women; the way they move, their shape, their ability to put their bodies/sexuality out there, how their bodies change with age, etc. Those things really do fascinate me.

OK, so my curiosity probably has something to do with the fact that I am indeed comparing myself to other women, trying to figure out if my body will ever look like that of women in my age bracket. At this point, I'm realizing that without major surgery, my body is going to look more like that of an alien than of a lovely young woman.

As strange as it feels to think this, I sometimes wish my body could return to what it was 100+ pounds ago. At least then, my curves were filled out, my boobs weren't saggy and gross, the dead skin of my thighs and arms didn't hang like chicken skin. I certainly didn't like my body then, but it was much less scary than it is right now.

It's funny how I wasn't happy then, and I'm still not happy now. Even with all I know my body can do and how it can move, on the outside it ain't pretty. As superficial as it may be to say, I wish it were.

At dinner with a friend last week, she mentioned that I'll probably need to have surgery to remove a lot of excess skin (and therefore, a lot of excess poundage.) 2 years ago, I never would have even thought about plastic surgery--suddenly, I'm obsessed with the idea.

I'm not looking for perfection, as I think perfection comes from the flaws that make people unique. It would be nice, however, to look at another 26 year old and think "Hey, I look somewhat like her." Right now, that's what I think whenever I the 80 year old Russian women I see at the gym.

I've heard acceptance comes with time and loving yourself. I'm working on the latter, but I've given the time thing quite a bit of...well, time. How much longer do I need to wait to feel as beautiful as people say I am? And how much more time will it take until I can look at my body and truly think that it is a beautiful creation made by God? I've discovered just what the INSIDES can do, but when will I feel as enamored by the outsides?

Someday?

Monday, June 8, 2009

Bad News, Good News, and a Little Revelation

Let's get the bad news out of the way first:

I've gained 3 lbs since coming home. It sucks, but I'm trying to keep in mind the 3 weddings and readjustment to suburban life and all the pleasures that come from coming home. It's no big deal, but it's a little bit of a bummer.

Now for some good news:

Thanks to my summer job, I have a free membership to the JCC for the summer. The J has just reopened after a massive remodeling job, and is completely new and high-tech, with amazing machines and the latest and greatest in fitness technology. It also offers all of the classes for free (a change from last summer, where a yoga class was $15.)

I got my membership card last Thursday, and have been back almost every day since. I'm trying to reshape my routine so that I don't fall into the same plateau that I fell into last summer--I've since learned that doing the same thing everyday doesn't really help much with weight loss. I'm trying to mix things up, doing intense cardio some days, classes some days (Zumba is my new favorite thing--who knew exercise could be fun???) and, as of today, a new routine on the weight machines. I also took yesterday off from the gym and took a long, fast walk with a friend around Forest Park. I want to try to move in some way every day and not get into any patterns so my body doesn't get too adjusted to an exercise routine.

And the revelation:

One thing that hit me during my walk yesterday (between huffs and puffs) was the simple joy that comes from moving my body. The abilities to walk and dance and run and lift and push and breathe and MOVE are ones that I now realize I need to thank God for. The body--my body--is a beautiful, amazing thing that works in incredible ways. It amazes me that I can now do all of these things to protect it and improve the wonders that already exist within it. To move is to LIVE, and I finally feel like I'm living the life I deserve to live, the life my body deserves to live.

Judaism teaches that every human being is created B'tzelem Elohim, in the image of God. Is there any better way to show love to God than to take care of the person created in God's likeness?

God's pretty good at this God thing, huh?