It feels as though people are less and less able to get along with each other, and one aspect of it is the retreat to ideological online cubbyholes. Certainly on Twitter you see a lot of aggressive polemicizing about what kind of food everyone should eat. So, the diet/weight wars are part of the fragmentation.
Anyone who's ever been above the weight their body was comfortably designed to carry knows the myriad physical discomforts accompanying the movements of everyday life. The awfulness of chafed thighs if you wear a skirt or dress bare-legged. Acid reflux if you lean forward from a sitting position.
One of my HS-onward friends was a beautiful woman with serious weight problems, but she always looked gorgeous because she retained an hourglass figure, large as it might be. Well before middle age the bones in her feet began fracturing because they couldn't handle the weight.
To be able to walk comfortably; to be able to climb stairs without feeling like death awaits at each landing; to fit in chairs; to have reasonable stamina well into seniorhood--this is not obsessive unhealthiness but common sense.
Most people who struggle with weight (as I do too) also struggle with malignant boredom no matter how busy their lives may seem. If you keep your hands busy with an enjoyable craft you'd rather not put down just to snack on something you do not need to eat, many goals can be accomplished simultaneously.
This was a good post and I hope people will read it with intelligence and not emotion. But I do have questions, which are likely too personal for you to reasonably answer to strangers. I am always appalled by what can't be anything else than parental dereliction of duty in pursuit of unhealthy goals. The world of gymnastics seems entirely infested with that.
So kind. it helps to have encouragement cuz goodness there is plenty of discouragement, which is a nice way to put it. thank you. new post coming soon.
I grapple with similar thoughts about the body positivity movement. On the one hand, there are indisputable health risks caused by obesity, such that we probably shouldn't celebrate being overweight to that extent. On other hand, in today's America, we love to prioritize individual choice above all else: many think it's downright heroic to have the 'courage' to live life exactly the way you choose, whether it's what/how much you eat, how much/little you exercise, how many guns you own, vaxing/masking, etc. (one glaring exception: women's reproductive choices)
In any case, this was a great, thought-provoking piece JS! Look forward to more.
It feels as though people are less and less able to get along with each other, and one aspect of it is the retreat to ideological online cubbyholes. Certainly on Twitter you see a lot of aggressive polemicizing about what kind of food everyone should eat. So, the diet/weight wars are part of the fragmentation.
We are quickly becoming the Wall-E movie. . So sad
It's interesting you say that. I've often said same over last 2 years.
Anyone who's ever been above the weight their body was comfortably designed to carry knows the myriad physical discomforts accompanying the movements of everyday life. The awfulness of chafed thighs if you wear a skirt or dress bare-legged. Acid reflux if you lean forward from a sitting position.
One of my HS-onward friends was a beautiful woman with serious weight problems, but she always looked gorgeous because she retained an hourglass figure, large as it might be. Well before middle age the bones in her feet began fracturing because they couldn't handle the weight.
To be able to walk comfortably; to be able to climb stairs without feeling like death awaits at each landing; to fit in chairs; to have reasonable stamina well into seniorhood--this is not obsessive unhealthiness but common sense.
Most people who struggle with weight (as I do too) also struggle with malignant boredom no matter how busy their lives may seem. If you keep your hands busy with an enjoyable craft you'd rather not put down just to snack on something you do not need to eat, many goals can be accomplished simultaneously.
This was a good post and I hope people will read it with intelligence and not emotion. But I do have questions, which are likely too personal for you to reasonably answer to strangers. I am always appalled by what can't be anything else than parental dereliction of duty in pursuit of unhealthy goals. The world of gymnastics seems entirely infested with that.
So many issues to unpack in this essay. Body image, eating disorders, society's crazy changing opinion of us, defining healthy...
Love your work Jennifer Sey. all of it: Athlete A, Levi CEO, Covid school BS, and now this.
Keep your voice strong. People are listening.
So kind. it helps to have encouragement cuz goodness there is plenty of discouragement, which is a nice way to put it. thank you. new post coming soon.
I grapple with similar thoughts about the body positivity movement. On the one hand, there are indisputable health risks caused by obesity, such that we probably shouldn't celebrate being overweight to that extent. On other hand, in today's America, we love to prioritize individual choice above all else: many think it's downright heroic to have the 'courage' to live life exactly the way you choose, whether it's what/how much you eat, how much/little you exercise, how many guns you own, vaxing/masking, etc. (one glaring exception: women's reproductive choices)
In any case, this was a great, thought-provoking piece JS! Look forward to more.
still waiting to discover those adipose creatures from doctor who..