Week 17’s Summary of Operation Get Fit No Excuses is finally here! After so many weeks of writing weekly posts, it gets hard to think of different topics that won’t just be a repeat of things I’ve already written about in previous weeks. This week has been pretty calm and uneventful as far as my exercise and eating habits are concerned. I did a 30 minutes workout every day or more. I alternated outside walking with indoor toning/cardio at-home workouts. I’ve been thinking of possibly adding some sort of strength training, but haven’t decided yet how or when. I will definitely share it with you when I do add this to my exercise regimen.
Since I started my journey, I’ve lost over 30 pounds and haven’t been this size in longer than I can honestly remember. Since I live in Italy, I had no idea what American size I now wear in pants. I got curious and wanted to try to convert my Italian size to American. I thought that all I had to do was do a little research on Google and that would be the end of my search. Boy, was I wrong!
I ended up looking at over 25 different sites with 25 different answers as to what an Italian woman’s size 48 would be in an American woman’s size! My research said the conversion was a 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20! All of these numbers were said to convert from just a size 48 in Italy. Obviously, since I am American, I knew right away that over half of those numbers were wrong! I had been a size 16, 18, and 20 before in past, so I knew those were wrong right up front. To make a long, confusing story, short, I’m a 10/12 in the average American woman’s size now.
But, that’s really not the point I’m trying to make. I wasted so much time and effort researching this because my brain became obsessed with needing to know what number I was. I just could not make myself stop agonizing about it. It’s like getting caught up with what the number on a scale says. People that weigh themselves every day. It’s a trap!
Western society has programmed young females through diet and fashion magazines, air brushed photos, and online articles about what the ideal size of a woman should be. We all know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We also know that weight and body types, especially those that carry around extra weight, are not the only factor in a persons health. They are definitely not a factor in a person’s character. We have been taught that it’s not acceptable to be over a certain dress size or a certain number on a scale. We should always go on the latest diet or try the newest pill to lose the weight. We are taught, consciously and subconsciously, from birth, that a number is more important than how we feel. Even if we are comfortable and healthy, if we don’t conform to a certain size or a certain number, there’s something wrong with us. DO NOT LET THE NUMBERS WIN!
I have fallen into this trap more often than I can tell you. After we purchased a new scale so that we can keep up with how much weight we’re losing , I became obsessed with making sure that my number on the scale stayed the same or went lower. Now, we all know that weight fluctuate during the day, depending on what you eat, the weather outside, how much you drink, your body type, and many other factors. You can actually fluctuate up to two or 3 pounds in one day. I caught myself weighing in two or three times a day on that scale in an effort to see how my numbers were going. Where are they going up? Where they going down? Or were they the same?
I had to physically stop myself and mentally slap myself, to stop obsessing over a number. I look in the mirror every day and see my progress. I know what I am eating and how many calories approximately a day I eat. I know how much exercise, time, and effort I’m putting in to losing weight and getting healthier.
When I started my operation get fit no excuses, my goal was to live a healthier lifestyle, not to conform to a certain number size in clothing or weight. I have never really cared what the scale or my size of clothes said in the past. Why should I care now? What should matter is how I feel about myself. What should matter is how my body feels now. Those are the things that matter. My health and the improvement in my health are what matter. There is no number on this earth that can tell me if I feel good or if I don’t. Only I and my body can tell me what I’m feeling, how I’m feeling, and if I’m doing the right thing to stay healthy and happy for myself and my body.
I know I have said this in past posts, but do not let the numbers rule you! Be your own person. Don’t be a number. You are so much more than any number on the scale, any size in a pair of pants, or any fake, perfect sized person in a magazine. If you start obsessing about the numbers on your scale, your measurements, or even the size clothing you’re wearing now, stop!
If you think about it, in the past few years, there’ve been many articles about new regulations for models in the fashion industry. I’m not sure who dictates how tall or how skinny the perfect female’s body type is. Is it the editors? Is it the fashion designers? Is it the talent scouts that are looking for the actual models? I have no idea. But what I do know is that their standards over the past 20 to 30 years have become extremely ridiculous and impossible. Less than .5% of people around the world could conform to a 6 foot tall, 110 pounds, size 00 female. And honestly, how many really want to be like that? Yes, sometimes it looks good on a photograph. But most times, what you don’t think about when you’re looking at that glossy, retouched picture, is that the person in that picture is not happy. The person in that picture is starving themselves just so they can look like that. The person in that picture is not eating healthy or even close healthy.
Now that I have gotten my point across, leave the scale alone. Leave the measuring tape alone. Don’t care what size pants you’re wearing. It’s one thing to be proud of the weight you’ve lost, or the hard work you’ve put in to getting to that goal. But it’s another thing to be gum so absurd is that it takes over your life. It makes you unhappy if and when your weight fluctuates. Only use the scale once a week. I suggest taking your measurements only once a month. That way, if you continue on with a healthy eating and exercise program, you’ll see much bigger and better results in four weeks then you will every single day. Seeing that type of progress is a huge motivation and will keep you going the next four weeks.
Well, that’s all I have for this week’s summary. I hope you continue to follow me on my own journey. If you want me to follow you, or if you just want to share your own story with me, please contact me. I love to hear stories and progress from my readers. It helps motivate me but also makes me happy that sharing things from my own life, experiences that I have had, may help inspire you guys to get over whatever hump you are in that might be similar to a situation that I’ve been through. See you next week!
