I’ve shared my confusion (and disgust) with a certain site telling me that I needed to:
"Start taking better care of yourself. Get in wedding day shape by eating right, joining a gym, and/or even hiring a personal trainer."
But I feel the need to elaborate on my feelings towards getting into “wedding shape.”
It’s the wedding industry telling me that I need and have to get into a certain shape for my wedding that really gets me. They even don’t take into account the possibility that a bride might like her current shape... or that they might not be ready for that type of commitment. You see, I don’t have any issues with using a big event, such as a wedding, as a motivator to get into shape. The truth is that I was actually motivated to get into shape by a big life event…
It all started with Forever 21 (yes, the store in the mall). I’m not kidding. It was the summer before my 21st birthday and I began to think about the deep, deep meaning behind the store’s name. Specifically, why would someone want to be 21 forever? It’s not usual to hear *ahem* older women talk about their twenties with a certain yearning… for the energy level, the freedom, the lack of responsibilities, and of course, the body! The “body of a 21-year-old” might be on one or two Real Housewives’ wish lists...
So there I was, almost 21, and nowhere near the shape I’d like to be in forever. I realized that something needed to change! After cutting back on the junk foods and exercising my butt off for the next month I had lost ten pounds. It was really fun being able to do my birthday shopping a size smaller, but that was nothing compared to the big gift I gave myself that day. I realized that I loved the “in shape” me; that the healthy lifestyle led to more energy and a higher self-worth. I'm proud to say that I lost an additional twenty pounds over the next year or so and have kept it off consistently since then. While my 21-year-old shape was amazing, my 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26-year-old shapes haven’t been all that bad either. In my case, a one-time event change led to a lifestyle.
To sum things up:
1. No one should ever tell you that your shape isn’t good enough. Whether it’s “graduation shape,” “birthday shape,” or “wedding shape,” it’s your shape to own and appreciate.
2. Getting into better shape is a great thing... especially if you can keep it up!
3. I’m a total lame-o who was inspired to change her life based off of the name of a trendy mall store (which you might still find me shopping in at age 26…).
What motivates you to stay or get into shape?
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3 comments:
The lady at the store acted like I was crazy - completely insane - when I wanted to order my dress one size up from what I tried on. (The dress I tried fit perfectly.) I said "Look, I know myself. My weight yo-yos and I'm not going to starve myself leading up to my wedding." And I made the right call. The bigger dress ended up getting altered a little - but the seamstress agreed she was so glad to be taking it in a bit rather than trying to let the other one out.
Right now my motivation to get in shape is that I've crossed over into the "unhealthy" category. Not just the vanity of I don't like the way I look... but the reality that I am not taking good care of myself.
And, for the record, I've never been in a Forever 21. :-)
I'm so happy to see this being discussed! Like you said, using an event as motivation to be healthy is fantastic, but insinuating that brides aren't "whatever" enough to get married is decidedly uncool.
I paid attention to staying healthy in the year before I got married perhaps a little more than I would have otherwise. My criteria was "is this something I'd be pleased to do for the next several decades?" If the answer was yes (for instance, with running), I continued. If the answer was no (see, e.g., giving up ice cream), I deemed the action unwise. :)
You are so funny! Finding inspiration in unlikely places is a gift. :-)
You know, now that I think about it, I think I actually had kind of the same realization. I would hear women talk about their 20s in the same way, and I realized that these are my prime years. I looked at pictures of my mom in her 20s and thought "Damn mom, you are hott!!" and I guess I kind of wanted the same thing, as shallow as that may sound. But more importantly, when I started trying to lose a few pounds, I discovered the wonderful world of fitness and have since decided that "healthy" is much better than "skinny".
Good for you for being indignant about what those crazy wedding people tell you! Oh and if you want to LYAO, watch this http://current.com/shows/infomania/88988193_sarah-haskins-in-target-women-wedding-shows.htm
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