making notes for a later article… women, body image, and thinking more li
Just found an article on Yahoo… talking about women, body image, weight, health etc. Of course all of these things are BIG ISSUES© and sell a lot of books, magazines etc. But first I wanted to pull something out of it:
"She points to women athletes as much better role models than supermodels: "There’s an undervaluing of physical fitness and an overvaluing of absolute weight and appearance for women in our culture.""
Seriously - I can’t tell you how many times in the past I’d been happy with the number on the scale, but not with my physical abilites, stamina, general shape, etc. Now, that I focus on what I can do (chin ups, rock bottom kettlebell pistols, etc.) - or strive towards doing one day, the focus on absolute weight has literally fallen away. This could be the result of a few things:
1. A shift in priorities
2. I’m in a somewhat maintenance phase and have achieved a baseline of fitness (in my opinion…) so the rest is gravy (devil’s advocate)
3. The gains in physical ability have become a greater reward and a source of confidence, so the need to compare with society’s sometimes unrealistic female images is lessened.***
4. The fact that body composition, and body measurements are greater indicators than just weight/bmi
I remember being a very scrawny vegan (when people were acting "concerned" and before some of you even knew me) and thinking… I just came off a 10 day cleansing fast and could blow away in the wind, why do I still have a saggy ass?? Because the answer, ladies, is NOT TO STARVE YOURSELF! (side note, just because you’re vegan, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re starving yourself, thats not the point I’m trying to make) The answer is to eat realistically and adjust physical activity accordingly. Maybe physical fitness goals should be put ahead of scale-based goals (for some clients)… I can see how that would be attractive to people who already consider themselves to be athletes - someone who wants to improve their speed on a 5k, train for a marathon, or has a deadlift competition coming up - those people will not be as concerned about their weight (other than the deadlifter getting into a favorable competitive weight class) and certainly not as concerned that they do not look like the woman on the cover of cosmo this month.
So the question is, how do we shift the focus to physical fitness, not just the scale in this image-weight-appearance-based world? How do we get regular people to think more like athletes, and to respect their own abilities? This is something I hope to help with - might be idealistic, but I like the idea of a client being all "WOW! Look what I can DO! Oh, and look at that - I managed to improve my body composition in the process - I almost didn’t notice"
***I swear, I’m going to develop a mini-computer-course in "what can be done with photoshop for magazines and catalogs" for clients who may be too focused on trying to obtain an impossible body which only exists because of photoshop.
May 12, 2009 at 9:31 am
great blog! Too many people concentrate on numbers rather than what they actually look like. I tight and trim 120 pounder looksso much better than a 120 pounder that starves themselves.
Keep spreading the good gospel.
May 12, 2009 at 9:41 am
Excellent topic. I think the real issue is that few are actually interested in good health, but rather vanity. They want to appeal to other’s visually, but have little desire to work hard, maintain a healthy diet or quit smoking.
May 12, 2009 at 10:01 am
My theory is. …Scales OUT Measuring tape, bodyfat calipers, loose fitting clothes IN.