Does This Make Me Look Fat?

A status on Facebook this past week really chapped my ass and I haven't stopped thinking about it. And instead of commenting on the post, I'm just gonna blog about it....vent, if you will. This person, who is an aerobics instructor, has now erased this status from her profile but it was something along the lines of, "....I love the way my body looks. Does your group fitness instructor have a good body? If they don't, how will you?"

"Ouch." said I, the fellow aerobics instructor.

No, I'm not 5'10 and 115 pounds like her. No, I don't chug protein shakes all day long and exercise twice a day. No, I was not blessed with the genes to help me have a great body (no offense, Mike and MaryKelly, love y'all). No, I don't wear a size 2 and flaunt in a bikini all over Facebook.

Yes, I have had an eating problem in the past and was 190 pounds (it was actually 187.2). Yes, I did work hard to lose a good amount of weight the right way. Yes, I can teach a high-intensity step aerobics class without skipping a beat. Yes, I can run 5-6 miles in under one hour. Yes, I can put the highest amount of weight on my bar and do 5 long minutes of squats while teaching and encouraging others to do the same. And yes, I am 150 pounds and a SOLID size 8/10.

Not only did I feel like a fat piece of crap when I saw this status, it made me sad for all of the other girls that follow this skinny, abs-galore woman. As a group fitness instructor, I get up in front of CROWDS and jump around like an idiot. And you know what....there may be a little bit of jiggle coming from my mid-section when I do so. And there's probably cellulite still hanging out on the back of my thighs. But I'm healthy. And I've had quite a number of people tell me how awesome and inspiring and motivational I am when I teach. All while being a curvy, average sized girl. I've been the skinny girl but...I smoked a pack of cigarettes a day and limited myself to only eat vegetables and egg whites. I was unhealthy AND miserable.

I'm not at all what people consider thin these days. Honestly, some days I want to be and some days I could care less. It has taken me years, YEARS, to accept what my body is. And I struggle with it everyday. About 85% of the time I embrace it and that's doing *really* well for me. My body isn't perfect but I think it's nice...? And to think that I almost back-tracked when I saw that status. Stand us next to each other and it's the exact opposite. But shouldn't it be that way? Isn't that what makes us unique?

Maybe she didn't know she was offending a lot of people because deep inside, that's how she truly thinks it should be. I honestly hope that the girls/woman that follow this instructor know that you don't have to be thin to be beautiful. And that it's okay to eat. It's okay to have a butt (hell, people would PAY for one like mine). And it's so awesome that you're even getting in the gym and taking a group fitness class because it's a difficult door to walk into. It's not about being the skinniest girl in the class and having a 6-pack. It's about being healthy and having fun while doing it. So, lets all just exercise, eat the best that we can, keep the blood pressure down and the cherry on top can be how nice we feel in our own skin.