The Weight of the Matter

101.  About what I expected…Just a few pounds above the number that appeared the last time I stepped on a scale, which was back when the temperatures were below freezing and I was at my parents’ home for the holidays.

Until yesterday, when I purchased some scales out of interest to track any potential impact of my Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) training and my recent dietary shift to more plant-based foods (I read vegan, ultramarathoner Scott Jurek’s Eat and Run), I had never owned a set – Previously when my jeans got too tight, I realized it was either time to cut back on the candy bars or go shopping, and when my pants started sagging, I went around eating as much of whatever I wanted with the mentality, “Hey,  I’m skinny.  I can eat that!”

You see, I’ve always been lucky to have skinny genes…When I was in elementary school, I remember being teased that I was not maturing as quickly as other girls.  And when I was in high school, I continued to buy clothes that were a little too big for me, figuring that I would grow in to them until eventually I came to realize that I was staying the same size.  In fact, I still wear a comfy pair of grey lounge pants that I got in middle school from the Limited Too – and why not?  They fit!

Before you start cursing at me and calling me a skinny bitch, I want to express some of the down sides of being below the “normal” weight (yes, there are some).

To me it is always interesting that people are crucified by the media if they criticize a person for being overweight (I am sure you have seen the stories…remember the news anchor?), but it seems like skinny people are fair game! Olsen twins, Calista Flockhart, Matthew McConaughey – countless actresses and actors have had their “skinny” photos splashed across the page with very little, if any, push back.  Sure, some of the weights of these Hollywood stars are unhealthy and sure, some are bad role models, but the same can be true about an overweight public figure.  And frankly, I don’t hear about all the anorexic models out there driving up our health care costs, and there are far greater overweight people than underweight people in this country.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 69.2% of American adults are overweight and of those, 35.9% are obese.  The percentage of underweight Americans… 1.7%.*

After getting in the best shape of my life last fall while training for my first marathon and logging more miles that I had ever before (and eating more too!), I braced myself for the inevitable conversation I knew would arise when an old highschool friend stopped by for a visit during the holidays.  I intentionally dressed in baggy sweatpants and pulled on a hoodie over my head.  Covering my skinny arms, I felt like a heroine addict trying to hide the tell-tell evidence of needle injections.  Even after I put forth all the effort to hide my boney body (maybe I should have worn a mask!), my friend, who has always struggled with being overweight, made a sour face and said, “You look REALLY skinny.”

I would never DARE tell someone “You look REALLY fat” (because it’s not nice obviously), but my highschool friend and others have not had any moral dilemmas about criticizing my lack of weight.  Over the years, in addition to people gossiping about whether I have an eating disorder (which I have never had thankfully), I have received a whole number of comments from both girls and guys…

“Woman – You need to stop running and get some meat on your bones.”

“Paula – You were like really skinny…like ‘not-attractive-to-guys’ skinny.”

“I don’t want you to lose any more weight.  You need to think about your health.”

“I know you’ve been running a lot, but after this marathon, you need to seriously gain some weight.  You are too skinny.”

While I have had more that one boyfriend suggest that I get a boob job, and I do agree that probably most 6^th grade girls have got me beat in that department, I also realize that you have got to love the body you are given.  I will never have Beyonce’s curves, but I know that my small frame and flat chest have helped me run faster.  And as far as the remarks on my weight, in the words of a post lap-band surgery Chris Christie, “With all due respect…your opinions on this issue don't matter a whole hell of a lot to me.”

MCM Training Week One: 53 Miles

(Mostly Easy, A few hill sprints, Longest run = 14 miles)

This Week’s Birra Choice: Menabrea 1846

I enjoyed this week’s beer choice at a small Italian restaurant on 54^th Street in New York City. I was there on business travel for my real job…the one is actually get paid for (i.e., not running or blogging).  While I cannot justify the hefty price tag of the Menabrea 1846 (I don’t even want to put the price in writing!), I will say it was a refreshing light lager with a hint of sweetness, and since the cost was more comparable to a bottle of Chardonnay in most restaurants, the beer was served in a wine glass.

I will also note that while my stay in the City was brief, the morning after my Menabrea1846, I was fortunate enough to get in a cool, easy 6.5 mile run that took me through central park, down Broadway, and across Times Square.  Later in the day, I snapped the below picture of the scene of part of my morning run.

*You can check my facts at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm and http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/underweight_adult_07_10/underweight_adult_07_10.htm