A Thousand Things Before "Thin"

As I work toward group exercise certification, I'm discouraged by how much rhetoric in the fitness industry and even study manuals is concerned with fat and thinness and weight loss. I love helping people improve their lives through exercise and better health. Sometimes, yes, this means weight loss, but I've never believed that a lower weight is automatically equivalent to better health. When I think about "fitness", endurance, strength, energy, and overall mental and physical well being matter so much more to me than a number on the scale. After a treacherous struggle with weight preoccupation, this is a good place to be.

I'm planning to write a little bit more on my no-diet diet philosophy later this month. In the mean time, this quote from my heroine J.K. Rowling sums up my thoughts on the matter:

     "'Fat’ is usually the first insult a girl throws at another girl when she wants to hurt her. I mean, is ‘fat’ really the worst thing a human being can be? Is ‘fat’ worse than ‘vindictive’, ‘jealous’, ‘shallow’, ‘vain’, ‘boring’ or ‘cruel’? 

     "I’ve got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don’t want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I’d rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before ‘thin’. And frankly, I’d rather they didn’t give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons.”