whale or mermaid

This picture has been floating around Facebook a lot this week

The story with it is as follows:

A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and b...eautiful woman. The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"
The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.
But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale.
At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn't enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.
We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.
Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: "How amazing am I ?! "

(The girl on the picture is model Tara Lynn)

The end.

 

 

I think the woman in the picture is beautiful. And seeing this picture come up and the comments that go along with it from friends all over the globe, all shapes and sizes, makes me think hard about my own body image and desire to be "perfect".

 

 

I say perfect in quotations because I know no one, including me, is or will ever be perfect. But we have an ideal perfect for ourselves in our mind's eye and for me, getting there is a huge passion in my life.

I do not consider myself shallow or vain in pursuing this passion. I do not judge others based on their body. I don't discriminate against overweight people. My obsession with sculpting a better body and being fit is something that I do for me. Not only does it help my body aesthetically, but it keeps me healthy! I feel great! I can keep up with my kids. I'm usually the one outlasting them! I can go out with my husband or friends and have a good time. I'm not lonely or sad. My lifestyle limits me from some things but only things that will rob me of my energy and overall feeling of well being.

 

 

Still, I can't help but notice that guilt bubble up when I see a picture like this. I agree we should all love our bodies and as woman, if we have curves, embrace them. But I also agree that we shouldn't get too comfortable either. The last thing I want to sound is shallow, but I don't want to send a message to my kids that says, you know, it's ok to be overweight as long as you are happy in your own skin. Because being overweight can cause health issues and more than likely, you aren't going to be happy about them. It's better to be healthy. Not thin, mind you, but healthy.

 

 

On the other hand, I don't want to teach my children to obsess about their bodies or their weight either. And while I do seem like I'm "obsessed" to most people, again, this is a personal goal I have set for myself and I realize it is not the norm. But that's what makes it so worth achieving to me. Just like running a marathon might be so delicious to someone else. It's something special, not everyone can do it or has the desire to do it.

 

 

"Obsessed is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated" ~ this is a quote I like to refer to when someone calls me "obsessed" or a "fanatic". They might not always like it, (no one likes to think of themselves as lazy) but then neither do I when I'm judged for how I eat or why I workout the way I do, or for the goals that are important to me.

 

 

If you are a "whale", as in the story above, and you are ok with it, fine! Good for you! But if you are a "whale" and are truly not happy with yourself, I want to motivate you to change. I want to let you know that YOU CAN do it. It just takes a little bit of determination with a side of patience and some consistent hard work smothered over the top. I love to inspire people to make healthy changes in their lives, if they want to. I've learned to back off a little because not all people are appreciative of my "helpful advice". They don't need me telling them what to do. But I have also had a number of people ask me to help them. Give them diet plans, make a workout routine for them to follow, etc. and nothing thrills me more!

When a topic like this comes up, we tend to rally together, saying it's ok to be big. We want to prove that we can be overweight and still be sexy. We don't want society to tell us we aren't beautiful unless we are a size 2. So we put up a picture of a beautiful overweight woman proving society wrong. Because you can be beautiful no matter what size you are. True beauty radiates from within. And I mean that. But when it comes to health...you can't argue with statistics.

 

 

What I want you to take away from this is, maybe I want to be a "mermaid". Maybe the "pc "thing to say is that I would be fine being a whale, but it wouldn't be the truth. And might I be so bold as to say, I don't think if given the choice to be fit or fat, a whole lot of people would actually choose fat.

 I want to be rare and special. I want to be extraordinary. I want to encourage others to be the best they can be. I want to live a long and healthy life so that I can be around for my grand children and great grandchildren. I don't want to be a sickly burden to my family as I age. There's no shame in that.

"Health and happiness go hand in hand. To live life to the fullest and enjoy every bit of it, it is extremely important for us to be healthy!" ~Manali Oak