Showing posts with label eating disorders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eating disorders. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Kelly Clarkson
I wanted to write another post about body image, and apparently my new found love for Kelly Clarkson will come to use.
I think most people know about BMI (the body mass index AKA Quetelet index), which was created in the 1800's by a guy named Adolphe Quetelet. Body mass index is the individual's body weight divided by the square of his or her height. The calculated number is then compared to a standardized values to predict if someone is underweight, normal, overweight or obese.
There are some pretty obvious problems with this method but I think the biggest is that it doesn't consider muscle mass.
There are other methods of determining true fat mass to muscle mass ratio. I'm not going to go into detail about them, but in on of my courses I had some methods completed on me. I am apparently overweight, both according to BMI and according to the actual fat mass recommendations.
Click here to calculate your BMI.
I always sort of new by these classification I would be considered overweight, but I guess I didn't want to accept it. There are a lot of people out there that say being overweight is always bad. But I disagree. I am healthy. I eat pretty well, I exercise pretty regularly (even if it's not always super intense) and I am happy with my body (though I know I could lose some weight and gain some muscle). So I wonder if the people that argue that you have to fit perfectly into the "healthy" range understand that health for some people isn't just about fitting into these standards.
I personally find that when I try to loss weight I become too obsessed with thinking about food and what I'll eat next. I really don't think the extra 10lbs or so that is putting me in the overweight section is worth me fighting my body and my hunger. I also don't think the extra 10 lbs I'm carrying around is going to dramatically change my health. I can still go outside and run for an hour if I want without panting, I can still do all the things I love to do. So why is there such a big stigma attached to carrying some extra weight around?
Kelly Clarkson's been getting some attention because of her weight gain over the last few years.
Before:
After:
I think it's sad that someone who is in the spotlight gets so much negative attention for something like this. She has obviously gained some weight, but I think that is something that typically happened when someone goes from being about 18 (when she got famous) to almost 30. Maybe people shouldn't gain weight as they get older, but I think they typically do. Why is the public so disgusted if it happens to someone who is famous when it so often happens to us "regular people"? I personally think she still looks great. I imagine at some point she will probably end up losing some of the weight too.
This is what she has to say about it:
“I work out when I want to work out; I don’t work out when I don’t want to work out. After a long day and I’m tired, yeah, a cookie helps. It makes me feel good. It’s soul food! There’s a reason why it’s called that. I drop, like, 15 pounds when I’m on tour.” (from Entertainment Weekly)
Just because I don't think being overweight is bad, doesn't mean I don't agree that if you are living an unhealthy lifestyle you shouldn't strive to change it. Just like I don't mean that being very obese should be acceptable, simply because there are many health condition associated with carrying excess weight. But I do think that it is important to feel our best and not to let societies standards, and even scientific standards decide what our best is for us.
I think most people know about BMI (the body mass index AKA Quetelet index), which was created in the 1800's by a guy named Adolphe Quetelet. Body mass index is the individual's body weight divided by the square of his or her height. The calculated number is then compared to a standardized values to predict if someone is underweight, normal, overweight or obese.
There are some pretty obvious problems with this method but I think the biggest is that it doesn't consider muscle mass.
There are other methods of determining true fat mass to muscle mass ratio. I'm not going to go into detail about them, but in on of my courses I had some methods completed on me. I am apparently overweight, both according to BMI and according to the actual fat mass recommendations.
Click here to calculate your BMI.
I always sort of new by these classification I would be considered overweight, but I guess I didn't want to accept it. There are a lot of people out there that say being overweight is always bad. But I disagree. I am healthy. I eat pretty well, I exercise pretty regularly (even if it's not always super intense) and I am happy with my body (though I know I could lose some weight and gain some muscle). So I wonder if the people that argue that you have to fit perfectly into the "healthy" range understand that health for some people isn't just about fitting into these standards.
I personally find that when I try to loss weight I become too obsessed with thinking about food and what I'll eat next. I really don't think the extra 10lbs or so that is putting me in the overweight section is worth me fighting my body and my hunger. I also don't think the extra 10 lbs I'm carrying around is going to dramatically change my health. I can still go outside and run for an hour if I want without panting, I can still do all the things I love to do. So why is there such a big stigma attached to carrying some extra weight around?
Kelly Clarkson's been getting some attention because of her weight gain over the last few years.
Before:
After:
I think it's sad that someone who is in the spotlight gets so much negative attention for something like this. She has obviously gained some weight, but I think that is something that typically happened when someone goes from being about 18 (when she got famous) to almost 30. Maybe people shouldn't gain weight as they get older, but I think they typically do. Why is the public so disgusted if it happens to someone who is famous when it so often happens to us "regular people"? I personally think she still looks great. I imagine at some point she will probably end up losing some of the weight too.
This is what she has to say about it:
“I work out when I want to work out; I don’t work out when I don’t want to work out. After a long day and I’m tired, yeah, a cookie helps. It makes me feel good. It’s soul food! There’s a reason why it’s called that. I drop, like, 15 pounds when I’m on tour.” (from Entertainment Weekly)
Just because I don't think being overweight is bad, doesn't mean I don't agree that if you are living an unhealthy lifestyle you shouldn't strive to change it. Just like I don't mean that being very obese should be acceptable, simply because there are many health condition associated with carrying excess weight. But I do think that it is important to feel our best and not to let societies standards, and even scientific standards decide what our best is for us.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Regarding the last post.
I am about to stop posting for the night. I was tired a long time ago. But now that I have this blog I feel like I need to fill it up with information that interests me so that if someone does decide to read it one day they find something useful.
I was thinking about the Orthorexia video and how horrible it would be. Even as a nutrition major I do not think very much about what I eat. I think, but I don't worry about if it's organic or if it's dying....I take the appoach of not wasting...I don't want to waste this carrot, it's only got a day left or...oh the cheese is a little moldy I will just cut the mold off and eat the rest...(...is that gross?).
I think the society we live in has really taught us to see our bodies in a different way then our relatives were taught in the past. I feel that in the past our grandparents, or at least mine, would appreciate their bodies for the strong, healthy, energetic bodies that they were. Without health they would have no livelihood. There were less convenience foods and unhealthy foods available. I don't think our grandparents had the novelty of stoppping at a gas station and buying a dozen donuts. So obviously their environment was a little different. BUT I still feel we all need to learn to love our bodies for what they give us.
We need to treat them like we treat other things that belong to us: we need to take care of them, to nurture them, and to strengthen them the best we can. The better health we are in now, the healthier we will be if something (illness, disease, accidents) does happen in the future, and the easier it will be to recover.
Don't forget to enjoy life today. Go for a walk. Play in the sun. Use a swing set. Do something to use your body and remember how great it feels to have one that works as well as it does.
I was thinking about the Orthorexia video and how horrible it would be. Even as a nutrition major I do not think very much about what I eat. I think, but I don't worry about if it's organic or if it's dying....I take the appoach of not wasting...I don't want to waste this carrot, it's only got a day left or...oh the cheese is a little moldy I will just cut the mold off and eat the rest...(...is that gross?).
I think the society we live in has really taught us to see our bodies in a different way then our relatives were taught in the past. I feel that in the past our grandparents, or at least mine, would appreciate their bodies for the strong, healthy, energetic bodies that they were. Without health they would have no livelihood. There were less convenience foods and unhealthy foods available. I don't think our grandparents had the novelty of stoppping at a gas station and buying a dozen donuts. So obviously their environment was a little different. BUT I still feel we all need to learn to love our bodies for what they give us.
We need to treat them like we treat other things that belong to us: we need to take care of them, to nurture them, and to strengthen them the best we can. The better health we are in now, the healthier we will be if something (illness, disease, accidents) does happen in the future, and the easier it will be to recover.
Don't forget to enjoy life today. Go for a walk. Play in the sun. Use a swing set. Do something to use your body and remember how great it feels to have one that works as well as it does.
Orthorexia?
I had never heard of this until today. Thoughts?
Some of this seems a little reasonable. But once I got to the end I could hardly believe it. The stuff they said to stay away from was almost all good! Eggs? Really? Fruit? Really? Wow!
I think it's better to take a chance on eating less healthy foods then it is to starve your body of the calories and the nutrients it needs. Even if you don't get quite enough micronutrients, at least you'll get most of them.
I understand this is basically an obsessive compulsive disorder, but it is still frustrating for me to watch.
"You become what you consume. You consume dead food and death accelerates its presence eventually it takes over."
Well yeah, of course. Eventually we'll die! If this guy can get a nutrition job, why can't I?!
NOTE: Cooking certain foods in water can cause water soluble vitamins to dilute into the water...reducing the vitamins available. BUT many foods also require cooking so we can actually absorb some of the mironutrients.
Some of this seems a little reasonable. But once I got to the end I could hardly believe it. The stuff they said to stay away from was almost all good! Eggs? Really? Fruit? Really? Wow!
I think it's better to take a chance on eating less healthy foods then it is to starve your body of the calories and the nutrients it needs. Even if you don't get quite enough micronutrients, at least you'll get most of them.
I understand this is basically an obsessive compulsive disorder, but it is still frustrating for me to watch.
"You become what you consume. You consume dead food and death accelerates its presence eventually it takes over."
Well yeah, of course. Eventually we'll die! If this guy can get a nutrition job, why can't I?!
NOTE: Cooking certain foods in water can cause water soluble vitamins to dilute into the water...reducing the vitamins available. BUT many foods also require cooking so we can actually absorb some of the mironutrients.
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