Confession III

So, I haven't confessed anything on the blog for a while.  I'm due.  Here's my big confession on this Sunday evening:  I have never been on a diet to lose weight.  Ever.  Not even a post-partum one. 

Please don't hate me, mock me, or think I'm making this up.  I'm really not.  How this happened is a combination of a lot of things, I think.  They may seems random and a little discombobulated.  But, I think they all contribute to my philosophy about food, which is a post that I'm working on, but I thought this confession should come first.

I was raised with a pretty healthy body-image.  (This despite having scoliosis and being bow-legged.)  My Daddy and Mommy always told me that I was beautiful.  I didn't hear my mother gripe about her body shape/size all the time.  Hollywood beauties were not idolized.  (And neither were frumpy women.  When I was going through a phase of almost believing that frumpiness was next to godliness, my mother would say things like, "You look pale, honey.  Go put on some lipstick."  This was always said in the most loving and never demeaning way.  She encouraged my beauty; we'd get our hair done or buy pretty underwear together.)  So, I always kind of accepted my body for what it was.  I accepted it and did my best to make the most of what God gave me.  (I do like to dress up and look nice.  I don't want to hide behind the mom-wear.)

Because I never went through that adolescent phase of "I think I'm fat." I never wrecked my metabolism (which is what dieting does).  I always gave my body plenty of calories to burn!  That and we lived a pretty active lifestyle.  No couch potatoes in our house.

I was raised eating real food.  It wasn't perfect food (I don't know what perfect food is.) but it was good food.  When we went grocery shopping it wasn't all boxes, cans, and frozen foods.  It was produce, meat, rice, flour, etc--mostly the perimeter of the store and not all the aisles.  We made food from scratch.  We ate sitting down together at the table.  Tablecloths.  Cloth napkins.  Please pass the potatoes.  Dinner conversation and lots of laughter--which the Bible tells us does good like medicine!

I truly believe that all these things: a healthy body-image, not wrecking my metabolism, staying active and eating real food, is the reason that I have never been on a diet and don't feel the need to.  True, I'm not the same size I was when I got married.  I'm OK with that.  I'm not my pre-Meg's-pregnancy size.  I'm OK with that, too.

My philosophy is that we should be healthy--meaning well-nourished, active, joyful, and mindful.  After those essentials body size and shape will vary greatly.  Can we be OK with that?

My health essentials list is:

1. Eat real food every day (not edible food-like substances, as Michael Pollan says)

2. Be active every day.  Walk, ride a bike, swim, play on the playground with your kids, run around with the kids, make love, hike, do a pilates video, wash your walls, hoe the garden or clean out the garage.  Just be active!

3. Go outside.  Weather permitting, get outside for some sunlight and fresh air.  Even if you just sit in the sun and read for thirty minutes, do it!  Your body craves sunshine.

4. Have a joyful heart.  True happiness will make your food digest better, your calories to burn faster, your blood pressure to be lower, and more!  The Bible has a lot to say about the effects of joy.

5. Never speak negatively about your body.  Don't put down The Temple.  Respect yourself and your Creator.

More on my food philosophy to come......

Confessions II

Things I Never Wear:

1. Velour. Seriously, I don't understand why anyone would wear it.

2. Sweats. No one, and I mean no one, looks good in sweats. I'll never understand why anyone thinks they are all-purpose wear. They were created for jogging. If you're not jogging (and I never jog) you have no business wearing sweats. If the mood strikes me to work out, I wear yoga pants and a tank top.

3. Ugly pajamas. At what point in marriage do women switch from the lingerie they received at their bridal showers to the ugliest ensemble of cut-off sweat pants and coffee stained over-sized night shirts? Call me crazy, but I only have pretty or cute pajamas. To me it doesn't have to be sexy (although every married woman better have at least a few sexy numbers), it can be cute or fun. It just can't be frumpy.

4. Number four is much like number three. I don't wear ugly underwear. Seriously, ladies! When did you make the switch to large-cotton-granny panties? I'm all for supportive undergarments (trust me! After six kids, I know the value of a corset!). But that does not have to mean unisex, stretched out, worn out chonies? Really?



5. Blue tooth/cell phone earpieces. Maybe I'll someday wear one in the car. I rarely use my cell phone so thus far I haven't found a reason to invest in one. (But, I do hereby make a solemn pledge--barring any unforeseen circumstances, such as losing the use of my arms--not to wear a headset in public.) You now how you used to be able to point out the crazy people as they walked down the sidewalk talking to themselves? Well, that line has been obliterated as people constantly not only mumble, but shout and yakety-yak seemingly to themselves. Many times I've thought someone was talking to me, only to realize they have an earpiece. It seems as soon as that thing is in their ears people lose track of the concept that they are in a public place surrounded by other people.

'Fess up, what's on your never-wear list?

Confessions

Confession is good for the soul, so they say. So, here are some things I feel I need to get off my conscience.

1. I judge you by your shopping cart. I do. In line at the market I look at what is in your cart and if it's full of sugary cereals and Capri Sun I'll assume you have unruly children. If it's full of obscure things I didn't even know the store carried I'll think you're probably pretentious. If it's full of "diet" and "lite" things I wonder, "Why doesn't she know that that stuff is actually making her gain weight and sick?" If it's full of convenience foods, I'll assume you must not be a very good cook.

Of course my cart is likely full of only the most wholesome things like milk and eggs and bread. And all organic. Healthy and totally unpretentious. That's why my children are such angels in the grocery store. (Can you hear sarcasm on the internet?)



2. I eat a lot of dessert. I eat dessert everyday. After lunch. After dinner. And with tea in the afternoon.



3. I decide whether or not to let you get in front of me in traffic, based on your bumper stickers. If you have a bunch of Obama/Biden campaign, Coexist, or anti-war stickers you're likely not going to get in front me if I have a choice. This pretty much makes me in competition with every other driver in Southern California. However, there are a few people with pro-life, NRA or Harvest Crusade stickers who I smile at and let off the gas pedal.



4. I really like stupid movies. I do not like movies that make me think, make me nervous, make me mad, or make me cry. I watch movies only for relaxation. I want fluffy, girly, silly comedies (romantic or otherwise).



5. I don't like flip-flops. (And every true Californian just gasped and erased me from their blog feeder.)



Whew. I feel better. Five is a good place to stop. If I confessed everything now you might not like me anymore. But, stopping at five leaves me feeling free and you entertained.



Do you have anything to confess?