There’s been a lot of chatter lately among my friends, family members and strangers that I’m getting “too thin.”  It’s been going on for a while now, so much so that I felt I needed to address it here.  I know that the majority of you are genuinely concerned for my well being and state of mind, but I’m sure there are quite a few that just need some hating to do.  Get it all out haters.  The non-haters have actually confronted me (in the nicest possible way) with their concerns so I’ve decided to have an airing of the grievances Seinfeld style in the spirit of festivus!

It’s also in the spirit of MizFitOnline aka Carla Birnberg, who wrote a post titled What If One Woman Told the Truth?  I told her I was ready, so here goes nothin’…

1.  I know I’m thin.  I’m doing it on purpose.  No, I’m not sick and I don’t struggle with body image issues and I’m certainly not puking in the bathroom or bingeing and purging.  I’m training like a maniac for the biggest competition of my life thus far and I need to be ready to roll with the athletes. I have to take any advantage I can get.  You run faster with less weight.  It’s as simple as that.

Do I look thin here?  Yes.  But I also just PR'd a half-marathon.

Do I look thin here? Yes. But I also just PR’d a half-marathon.

2.  I love my body.  I’m very lucky that I have zero body image issues.  Sure I wish I were 6 feet tall with no body hair and gorgeous, long flowing locks on my head but I’m more then happy with what my body does for me.  I would never in a million years do anything to damage my health or hurt my body in any way whatsoever.  Just the opposite.  I nurture my body with massages.  I eat as healthy as humanly possible to treat my body like I would fuel  a machine.  I get 7-8 hours of sleep (not uninterrupted unfortunately!) almost every night and I foam roll and stretch until I have to dash off to whatever it is that tears me away from running or spinning or power sculpting.  I have actually thanked my body – out loud – for doing all that it does for me.  It was in a yoga class and yogis are way into that kind of shit.  But I meant it and I live it.

Someone else who lives it is my dear friend in fitness, Kim at Day With KT.  You can read what she wrote about this same topic HERE, which really pushed me over the edge to write this.  Thank you Kim!

3.  My heroes are runners that look like this:

DeenaK

Deena Kastor – runner, Olympic medalist, American record holder & amazing woman.

Shalene Flanagan - world class champion runner/athlete

Shalene Flanagan – world class champion runner/athlete/badass

Do they look thin?  Of course they do!  Do they kick so much butt in running competitions?  Of course they do!  Do I want to emulate my heroes?  As much as Miles and Vaughn want to be Batman and Robin!

3.  I eat like an animal.  A very healthy animal, but still.  I probably eat more food by 10am then most people eat in a day.  I’m constantly snacking and picking and grazing on all kinds of food, fruits and veggies in between breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I devour meals after workouts and I carry as many snacks for myself as I do for my kids.  It’s ridiculous.

4.  For the first time in my life I’m weighing myself once a week.  I actually had to go out and buy a scale.  The reason for the weigh-ins is so I don’t lose too much weight.  I have a number I don’t drop below or rise above, much like any other person in the universe.  I’m losing weight because I’m working out more then I ever have and piling on miles and strength training.  I’m not restricting calories, but I am very careful about what I’m eating.

5.  When I was pregnant with the twins it was all about them.  I absolutely still worked out (hard at times) but I listened to my body, I ate even more food which I didn’t even think was possible and read up on everything I could get my hands on regarding a healthy twin pregnancy.  Did I want to be running and racing while pregnant?  Of course!  Did I cry my eyes out on my front steps when I realized that wasn’t happening?  Yup. I sure did.  What I didn’t do was keep running despite all the warnings my body gave me not too.  I found healthily alternatives and gained 42 pounds in the process.  As a result, I delivered healthy twins and that is by far my proudest accomplsihment.

This is world class runner Kara Goucher when she was pregnant.  This is what I thought I would look like when I was pregnant.

This is world class runner Kara Goucher when she was pregnant. I thought I would look just like her when I was pregnant.

This is what I actually looked like!  Notice I am NOT standing on a track.

Instead, I looked like this!  Notice I am NOT standing on a track.

6.  I’m not obsessed with my workouts and training.  Hahahahaha!  OMG I totally am but hey, there are far worse things to be obsessed with and I do have other interests and hobbies that balance out my life.  I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who view how I train as “crazy” (my husband is one of them) but it brings me joy and nothing else makes me feel more alive then when those endorphins are coursing through my veins, so how can that be bad?

To everyone who has reached out to me with their concerns I want to say – I hear you.  I love you and thank you for being concerned and having the balls to tell me to my face.  I appreciate your love and friendship and I’m here to tell you that I know, I get it and as soon as this competition in Spain is over with I will gladly join you for a beer and a bacon cheeseburger every night of the week!…as long as we run the next morning 🙂

Ever have friends or family confront you about a problem they thought you may have?  

Thoughts on weight loss for training?  Thoughts on body image?

 

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