Plus size

I know that I am one of the many who have a love/hate relationship with our society. It is a society in which we were born and raised and even have shaped by our contributions. You would almost think we should love it as we are in part its creator but we don't. Hence my comment that we both love and hate it.

We have as many reasons as there are people in this country to say why this is so. Many of us will have similar if not the same reason(s). I could pick just one topic and probably have a half dozen reasons pop into my head and start a discussion that would last for hours. Sort of reminds of the Jewish female character done by Mike Meyers on the "Coffee Talk" skit for SNL where she would say "I'm all verklempt, talk amongst yourselves." She would pick a topic and then tell them to discuss. Loved it! You can find many video clips on youtube.com with Mike Meyers that are worth checking out.


One of the topics that I am gonna discuss here is the one regarding "Plus Sizes". This will not be a huge write up, just a bit about what I think and feel. I know a lot of people that would be classified as a plus size person. I know that a majority of the population would fit into this category as there are so few that are not a plus size. A lot of this is due to the "image" that society has created.

According to this chart I would be considered acceptable with a body fat percentage of 18-25%. I do not know what my body fat percentage is but I do believe that I am at the higher end of that range. I know so few people that would fit in any of the lower range categories at all.


Body Fat Percentage Categories
Classification                                 Women (% fat)                                  Men (% fat)
Essential Fat                                        10-12%                                                 2-4%
Athletes                                                  14-20%                                               6-13%
Fitness                                                     21-24%                                               14-17%
Acceptable                                            25-31%                                               18-25%
Obese                                                       32% +                                                  25% +


The problem with image these days is that if your body fat percentage isn't below 15% then you are most likely considered overweight and/or a plus size person. Image is based on what we see in the media and how the people with less than 10% are seen as the "Ideal". I think they are too skinny and verging on anorexic.

I personally find that if some one is healthy in mind, body and spirit then they are a much better "Ideal" than anyone seen in a magazine. I feel that a person with a bit of extra weight on them looks healthier to me. I like someone with a good appetite and who eats well. Why is there such a fine line between what is deemed acceptable and what is obese?

I was told once in a health class that if you were more than 20 Lbs overweight then you were clinically obese. If that is the true case then I am borderline obese as I am almost 20 Lbs over what my doctor feels is right for me. If I lost the twenty pounds then I definitely would be thinner but I wouldn't necessarily be healthy. If I could lose that twenty pounds in fat alone then I would be healthier as long as it was balanced with good muscle tone and development. My ideal for me would be about 10 Lbs lighter and better muscle tone. I totally need to be more active in my life. It is the one thing I enjoy but am horribly bad at achieving. I know that I am not the only one either.

I try and try a fair amount. I succeed for short periods of time then when I am doing well I figure I deserve a treat and this leads to my eventual downfall. One treat proceeds another and so the dominoes fall. This is another thing that society throws at us as well. "Be thin and beautiful but eat eat eat!"

The last time I was in the United States I went to a restaurant for dinner and ordered a nice meal. I went to Denny's and ordered the Chicken Fried steak, a personal favorite. At the American Denny's I got a meal that was twice the size of the Canadian Denny's for the same price. My meal was enough for two yet they expected one person to eat it, and you wonder why so many people are overweight! There are a lot of other issues/reasons as to why people are overweight as they are but this doesn't help. We are constantly bombarded from so many angles it is hard to stand your ground day after day.

I have been there and I understand.

We need to fix our society and its Ideal Image. Because we are the creators of our society we need to change it. Turn our attitudes around to include more Love and less Hate. To achieve this we need to give ourselves reasons to feel more of the Love. We can start with redefining what is considered acceptable and normal for ourselves. Start with yourself first then work on the masses later. Be proud and confident in who you are and tell those that see you as 'plus size' or 'overweight' to take a flying leap off something tall.

Start there and along the way you will find more that you can do to improve yourself and everything around you. It is a lifetime endeavor but in the final frame you will feel like it was worth it. You just may be lucky and change things for the better for others as well! Is a great goal.