It was...meh. My entire family left town on Saturday for Ride the Rockies, an annual bike trip through Colorado. This is the first year I haven't gone along, and as a result I was forced to consume many sweets this weekend in order to console myself for being the only one not there.
In addition to muffin-loading (like carb loading before a big race but without the race and with self loathing), the bf and I also took Haruki on a hike and to the dog park. All I'll say about that is that Haruki is some kind of badass warrior dog. Also, we can't take her to the dog park anymore.
Here are my hiking shoes:
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| These are fancy trail running shoes. I am pretty fancy, but I can't figure out what to do with the lace thing-y--anyone? Bueller? |
In other news, we made nachos for dinner last night. They tasted delicious, though as far as I can tell they looked like cut up penises and excrement thrown on some brown rice chips. YUM!
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| That's actually seitan, almond cheese, and refried beans. |
I don't see a cookbook deal in my future anytime soon.
Luckily, I had some of my olive oil/banana/ezekiel bread to top off my dinnaaaa!
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| That little bear creeps me out. |
But seriously, I had an inner dialogue during class about my feelings towards this very, very, very thin woman. Reaction 1: indignation and disgust that this obviously anorexic girl was being allowed to teach fitness classes. My follow up reaction: Maybe she's just naturally thin. Reaction 3: Maybe she's currently struggling with an eating disorder and you should look at her less like the devil and more like someone who deserves respect and compassion. Reaction 4: You're just annoyed with her because she's skinny like you used to be.
Yah--that last one about hit the mark. Sigh. But at least I have no. 3: Maybe she's currently struggling with an eating disorder and you should look at her less like the devil and more like someone who deserves respect and compassion. This was a significant realization because I live in Boulder, where I constantly see women who are drastically underweight and/or likely compulsive exercisers. Thinking about these encounters with very thin women, I'm surprised to realize that my reaction is always to be just a little indignant--like "How dare they parade that body in front of me like it's so fantastic and fit?" But what's really happening is that I'm making someone else's issues my own--i.e. by assuming that they have issues like the ones I have, and also by making their simple attempt to grocery shop a seeming barrage on my stability in recovery.
*What about you? What is your reaction when you encounter someone who you suspect has an eating disorder? (Are you a good person who feels compassion, or are you and I going to be counting calories in Hell because you too find yourself angry in this situation?)
Well, if we frown upon models who have eating disorders, and say they shouldn't be hired because they send bad signals to the mortal women out there, the same seems to carry over to fitness instructors. I think they can have the same sort of role model function, and give people the wrong idea about what it looks like to be healthy and fit.
ReplyDeleteWhen I see super fit and super skinny women, I usually remind myself that I wouldn't find the effort worth it. Even when I was at my fittest (cycled an hour every day), I looked basically the same I do know, which I am alright with. So what's the point of killing myself exercising if I can hardly tell the difference?