Source: runners world.co.za
We live in a society consumed by weight, size and looks. Too often, you hear the words, “I’m too fat” spoken. And all too often you would find it incredulous the owner of those said words. Or would you? Hardly ever will you hear someone complain about being too skinny or rather, under-weight, which is the purpose of this post.
I have always been a small-boned person and so never thought much of it in a Trinidadian culture that approved women with a more rounded figure. Later on, as first-world ideology creeped in, it became more apparant that skinny was not just cool, it was sexy. In fact, the skinnier, the sexier..say what? Exactly! It is now the aspiration of almost everyone. I mean forget health, it is the measuring rod by which society gauges whether one is cool or not.
For my part, I struggle with this weight issue in so far as it pertains to keeping it on. As a runner it has become increasingly difficult to maintain a I-feel-incredibly-healthy-weight, and so, it is a goal of mine to strive to stay within the range of my BMI (body max index). There was a time I went to the gym for the chief purpose of putting on weight; exercise, eating, even entertainment, was designed around this goal. The problem was and is that, as with any diet, it requires adherence to the plan. The truth is, I have neither the time nor inclination to eat six meals a day – a nutrition analysis showed this to be the case as I have an extremly high metabolism. In addition, it’s extremely expensive to eat healthy; I have no doubt I would be unable to sustain the cost of six meals a day for even six weeks, far less six months or longer. Between work, activities and running daily, my schedule is an endless hustle to get through my to-do
list, eating included.
I should say, I have a huge appetite for food, not snacks or junk, just food, but I’m really only in the company of food twice a day so that leaves me with a lot of meals to make up for. Thus, between time, cost and running, my weight has suffered.
While I have no problem with being skinny, my goal has always been to be healthy. In striving to attain this perfect balance, I tend to always overcompensate on my vegetable and fruit portions as I like to say it replaces snack for me. However, the truth is I just love it. I drink two of the Ensure protein drinks per day, these particularly, were made with active people in mind, and I take a Creatin supplement when training. I also indulge in protein shakes – a passion of mine.
The struggle continues though. I think it’s getting to that place where I make an appointment to see my doctor. Maybe she can help.
runningwithfaith 