Projo Fitness Blog

"I wish I was born rich instead of beautiful."

My mother used to say that on a regular basis, as a joke, of course -- but it came to mind to me today when I started reflecting on what it means to be fit. Just like being either rich or beautiful, fit is in the eye of the beholder.

So, what is fit? On the Get Fit Slowly blog, they quote a nutritionist at Harvard's list of what it takes to be healthy. Here's some of the highlights:

OK -- I'm among the first one to encourage folks to eat right, stretch away their stress with exercise (especially yoga, my favorite), and take care of themselves. But sometimes we -- and I fall into this category as a woman, especially -- are too hard on ourselves and how we look.

Consider this: The average American woman is 5'4", weighs 140 lbs, and wears a size 14 dress. In the United Kingdom, it's size 16. And a recent survey done by a British magazine shows that the men surveyed really like the more curvy, size 12 woman, as opposed to the female ideal, a size 8.

I'm short -- 5'1" - and wear size 4. If you go by the "ideal body weight for women", I'm 10 lbs. overweight when I weigh my average, 115 lbs. But I feel fit: I don't get too winded when I exercise, I try to eat right but I don't starve myself, and my health is good. My husband likes the way I look, so why do I obsess about my weight?

There's no over-arching lesson here, just a thought: Maybe you really were born beautiful, and our body images are the real problem.

 Tags  body image fit Pam Cotter size 12

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