My Body, My Temple...

I don't know many people who are happy with their bodies. They feel they are too tall, or too short, too fat or too skinny. They don't like their tummys or their boobs, or their thighs or their legs. Obesity and conversely, eating disorders, are on the rise in North America. I see people who are just teenagers, who are suffering from morbid obesity and I see others who are starving themselves to fit an unreasonable ideal propagated by mainstream media. It is really sad and discouraging. Eating habits are out of control in the US and Canada.



Our serving portions keep getting larger and larger yet the images we see on tv are of men and women who are childlike in their body proportions. It seems that nothing we see anymore is real. The problem in West Virginia is obesity. I eat in the cafeteria at the college here in Glenville and I am appalled at the food selection, but I see the results in my fellow students. I would estimate that about 65% of the student population is overweight and approximately 15% of those are morbidly obese. On the other hand, those that are not obese do not eat any better, for the most part. Cheeseburgers, fries, biscuits and gravy, pizza, cream soups, baked good and sugary drinks are the main items on the menu here. Those items are front and center in our cafeteria. There is a salad bar, but it is usually unappetizing with limp, brown, lettuce and vegetables sliced in unhelpful, awkward portions. And the amount of dressing added to salads is unbelievable. Sometimes I wonder if there is any salad under all that Ranch dressing. It looks like a plate of white sauce. Yuck! All the cooked vegetables are boiled into unrecognition, so all nutrients have been leached out, and then they are stored in an oily/butter water to keep them moist. I never have to add salt to any of the food, and I like salt. Sometimes I luck out and have roast beef or roast chicken, but most of the time I have to turn away from the breaded, deep fried chicken nuggets or what they call "veal parmigiana" and what I call "gross". I fill up my plate with a selection of raw vegetables from the salad bar, munch on a burger that has lettuce substituted for the bun, drink water and look around at everyone eating two cheeseburgers and an entire plate of just fries and ketchup, and gulping down glass after glass of pepsi. Not a vegetable in sight.

Now, I'm not saying I am better than anyone else. I was a chubby kid.


You can't really see it there, but I had some serious rolls.

I have lost about 30 lbs in the last 3 years. I had two kids and had stopped working out and was eating pretty much all the same bad things that I mentioned above. I have pictures from back then and I was obese myself. Here is a picture of me from Christmas about 3 years ago.

Wowsa! And that was just my face. Oh...and I had had a couple drinks, so that accounts for the "rosy" appearance.

I did not like what I had done to my body. Slowly and painfully I started to work out again. My husband was a tremendous inspiration to me and both he and I decided to become scientific about our goal to lose weight and become more healthy. We drastically changed our diets and made exercise a mandatory part of our week. It worked, it is working. But being here, not being able to cook for myself is hard. Working out is easier. I don't have to schedule around my kids or work, so I am lucky that way, but the eating part is difficult.

I am also lucky that my kids will probably never have the problems that I had with weight (I hope). My kids are eating our diet right now and as a result are extremely lean and healthy. We talk about proper nutrition with them and emphasize the fact that exercise should be a part of their lives.

My body is my temple and I am beginning to worship it and treasure it as such. I watch what I put into it, I take care of it and once in awhile I have to make some renovations on the run-down parts. I had breast reduction surgery about a year and a half ago. Once I lost my weight, the boobs stayed the same unreasonable size. Something had to be done. I also had laser eye surgery, which I would recommend to anyone and everyone. It is life changing. I work out an average of 4-5 times a week, hard. I may be older than 99% of the student population here at college, but I will be in better shape than the majority of them.

I still have about 10-15 pounds to go, I figure. I will then weigh what I did in high school, but with a woman's body. Hopefully, then I will possess a body that I will love and be happy with. Until then, I will continue to watch what I eat and hit the gym regularly.


Much love.

Tanya