I have never been concerned with my weight or size. As a teen, I fretted about my hair and my clothes, but never my size. Even at my heaviest, with my fifth child, I never worried about my weight or about losing it.
However, when someone calls it into question, it concerns me.
"You're so skinny"
"you don't look like you've had five kids"
They seem like innocent compliments, so why do they frustrate me so?
Because the real reason the person is pointing out my size is because they are unhappy with their own; because I am more than my weight; and because while the majority of women will fall over themselves to defend when a 'plus size' woman is pulled up on her weight, there is no one standing up for all the others.
I teach my daughters about health - healthy eating, nutrients, exercise. We don't use the words skinny, thin, overweight, fat, obese, out of shape. We talk about giving your body what it needs, and not too much (but definitely some) of the empty foods.
Pointing out someone else's size or shape highlights how you feel about yourself, and where your priorities lay.
People are beautiful, intelligent, eclectic and individual. Each and every one has so much to offer - and I'm more interested in that!
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