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Getting Real About Weight: How to Choose Realistic Goals for
Yourself
It is said that when a man looks in the mirror, he sees himself as better-looking than he really is; when a woman
looks in the mirror, she see herself as worse-looking than she really is. There are also reports of grammar-school
aged girls of normal weight who see themselves as overweight and refuse to eat.
Forty years or so since the Women’s Movement, the most primal of woman’s rights, the right to be judged on the
woman herself--regardless of fashion or outside influences, seems to have not progressed much farther than to name
the problem. Some would say that that progress is amazing in its scope. There are also people that say all of these
theories are so much hot air.
How, then, is getting real about weight supposed to be accomplished? Your grandmother says that you look like
you’re starving; your brother still calls you by his childhood nickname for you that he based upon the width of
your sit-upon. The answer is that no one but you can choose realistic goals for weight or body shape.
How do you begin to form these realistic goals? It will take some truthful examination between your hopes, dreams,
and personal tastes and the practical outside world.
Say, for example, that in your heart of hearts you would love to be the thin, wispy type like Kate Moss or Wynona
Ryder. In the practical outside world, you feel hypoglycemic unless you’ve had a substantial breakfast and a
midmorning snack. Bidding a fond farewell to the wispy image for the sake of your health is the only sane
response.
You can, however, use dieting and exercise regimens to realize a healthy slimness. Girls with what used to be
euphemistically called an hourglass figure (that means you have larger breasts, hips, and rear end) can’t do that
much to change the body image they were born with. Again, diet and exercise can help you be as healthy and slim as
possible, but realizing that you have value far and above your proportions is the way to go. You may know a high
school best friend that was similarly formed, and when she finally got out of baggy sweatshirts and discovered
v-neck shirts and belts that emphasized her small waist, she could not believe the response she received; not only
from guys, but girls who couldn’t believe the change in her confidence and personality.
Other factors than body appearance may have to be addressed in choosing realistic goals for your weight, because
there are those who could give a toss what they see in the mirror and could give two tosses about what the outside
world might have to say about their bodies. Eating a healthy diet and getting healthy exercise is getting real
enough.
These days, some women have more physically demanding jobs than in times past; emergency med techs, fire and police
departments have many women in their ranks. A woman engaged in this kind of strenuous activity might be able to eat
more calories and can be, by definition, more physically fit. Changing jobs or getting older may call for
reappraisal as time goes by.
For, there will be for all of you the time when middle age can change the body in ways you may not expect. You will
suddenly realize you are gaining weight on the same amount of food you have always eaten. There may appear several
inches around your middle you can’t exercise away as easily as before. Many women have a hard time recognizing that
fact, but that is part of getting real about weight, and once that is realized, maintaining a healthy body and
happy life.
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