My maternal grandmother lived to an astounding age of 104. While that’s impressive in and of itself, her independence was even more inspiring. She mowed her own lawn into her late 80s. She cared for a garden and took multiple-mile walks well into her 90s. She grocery shopped, cooked, cleaned, and was generally independent at an age most people don’t even make it to. Was it genetics? Maybe. Was it her eating or sleeping habits? Possibly. Personally, I think it was her activity level. Grandma was active, and current research backs up how important that is.
My generation grew up with toxic dieting culture; “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”, 100-calorie snack packs, and unrealistic airbrushing in magazines all come to mind. The pressure to be thin is still rampant in society and now there are products and services available for purchase to achieve it. Weight loss surgeries, shots, and pills. Juice cleanses, fiber supplements, and pre-made meal plans. Diets in every way you can imagine – vegetarian, low-carb, keto, carnivore, dirty carnivore, whole30, gluten free, intermittent fasting, and many more I’m sure I’ve never even heard of. Do one teeny-tiny internet search and you can find a million advertisements – both obvious and stealthy – on being thin. What’s harder to track down is the cost of pursing thinness above all else.
Women start loosing muscle around age 30, and the rate of loss rapidly increases at age 60. Cutting out key nutrients can accelerate that process and lead to additional bone loss and a slower metabolism to boot. Studies are coming out about the dangers of rapid weight loss – whether through medical intervention or change in diet alone. Is the need to loose weight now-right-now really worth years and years of muscle loss? Is it worth a premature loss of function and independence as we age? I don’t think it is.
Think of your long term goals. No, not the size 4 dress you’d love to fit into for your cousin’s best friend’s wedding next year, or the swimsuit you want to show off in at the pool in three months. Not the “goal weight” you’ve been chasing since having kids. I’m talking about the really, really long term goals. Chasing grandchildren in a game of tag. Loading bags of soil into the garden beds in your 80s. Getting in and out of bed on your own in your 90s. The long term goals that take cardio, mobility, strength, and stamina that can only be built now, with long term investment of will power and time. Your body was not made solely to shrink, find a goal worth pursuing.
Disclaimer/Reality Check: I’m not a doctor – I’m just a mom that believes in building for your future self. I don’t think all diets are bad – especially if you find a way of eating that makes you feel good and fulfills your body’s nutritional needs. I do think changing your lifestyle with only your size in mind isn’t healthy. This column will be about motherhood, parenting, and homemaking for the most part. Sometimes it’ll be a funny parenting poem and other times it’ll be lamentations on the passage of childhood. Most importantly, I don’t ever want this column to make another mama think she’s not doing enough. If you’re reading this, I want you to know that you are, you’re doing great, keep it up. Sing it with me: no-one is doing it allllll!
