I’m tired. Tired of wanting to be thinner, tired of training and then feeling like I can’t have that big hunk of Toblerone, tired of counting calories, watching everything I eat, pouring litres of water into me, trying to eat less carbs, more protein, no sugar! Tired of being bombarded with weightloss stories, “best 5 tips for busting belly fat” bullshit and articles on people who now lift weights and are looking better than ever. And I’m tired of wanting to read them. Tired of trying to find an answer to my weightloss plateau, tired of not seeing results, tired of being told that ergs don’t actually help weightloss but still having to go on them, tired of reading articles on my metabolic rate and under-eating, over-eating, training at the wrong time of the day, not having enough good fats. Tired of macros!
Tired of punishing myself for not being smaller. Tired of looking at my friends and wondering how I’m not their size, we do the same training, we eat the same food. It’s their fucking height, woman! Tired of having to remind myself that I still look good. Tired of not feeling like an athlete because I don’t look like an athlete. Tired of having unsweetened tea and not having a biscuit at 3pm. Tired of counting my steps everyday to make sure I take enough, regardless of my actual training. Tired of hearing about a new diet, a new book, a new way of thinking. Tired of detoxes, juice cleanses. Tired of “resetting” my body, my metabolism, my anything! Tired of making smoothies that look like pond scum (though they do taste alright!)
Tired of cutting calories more and more, tired of not being able to enjoy my food. Tired of being controlled by numbers; kilos, inches, minutes. Tired of being afraid I won’t fit into my clothes, fit into my wedding dress. Tired of watching the scales yo-yo and not understanding why, grand if I binged but what if i didn’t, what if I was good as gold! Tired of working out what I can eat tomorrow to stay on calorie target. Tired of hearing “fail to prepare and prepare to fail.” Tired of feeling lazy, tired of feeling weak, tired of feeling judged if I do and judged if I don’t.
You are fed this notion that being thinner will make you happy. And it’s true… for awhile. But then you start to feel normal and new flaws emerge, new insecurities, new problems. I don’t think I need to “reset my body” I think I need to reset my mind, shut my negative thoughts down, their exhausting! I just want to live my life, be with the people I love, enjoy the food I like and be part of the sport I adore. I want to eat and train, not diet and exercise. I want to understand and truly believe in my heart that my body is stronger, fitter and healthier than it ever has been before. I don’t want to be a prisoner to my weight anymore, I thought I broke free from those shackles a long time ago.
But I haven’t.
Every woman I know is on a diet, cutting back, training more, “being good”. And I’m so tired of it. Where is the self love, where is the body positivity? Food is not taboo, food is not the enemy. Your mind is. Yes, be healthy. Yes, be fit. And course eat well. But I can’t hate my body anymore.
I’m just too tired.
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It’s such a minefield, isn’t it? Bodies!! Having just spent a month in denial of all the fun stuff – bread, coffee, booze, sugar etc, I can understand how food can become the ‘enemy’. However, I had no limit to how much I ate of anything else – so this didn’t feel too much of a punishment for me. I do agree that it’s important to make peace with your body, but I don’t agree with calorie counting. If something is healthy (and that’s the tricky bit) – I think you shouldn’t have to limit it. Personally, I can’t cope with feeling tired and hungry which is where I end up when I try to restricts calories… Rhona’s approach wouldn’t be the one I’d go for – But I totally support her choices. Everyone’s got to do what’s right for them. And what works for me won’t work for someone else. Initially I thought Rhona’s post was the opposite of what this PBM blog was about (positive body image, fit not thin) but you know what? I was wrong. Everyone feels like this sometimes – and it’s important to be able to rant about those feelings! No one can be positive ALL THE TIME. Sometimes, you just have to own the feelings, without trying to find the silver lining.
Anyway, even if she doesn’t totally love her body right now – we’ll do that for her 🙂 Everyone who sits in a boat with her loves her body 100%. Her core balance, powerful leg drive and steady (if blistered) hands. So we’ll just have to show her the love while she figures out an approach that works for her.
Aw Em! You’re making me all weepy!
I’ve set a challenge for myself, to not stand on a scales, to not count calories, to not measure one’s waist for 21 days. My own “reset” if you will. Learn to not be controlled, but just be healthy. I will of course being doing a post on it in due course!
“And it’s true… for awhile”, …well this totally hit a nerve! Great post, time to reset the brain!