Weighty Issues

[warning: minor rant ahead - and only semi running related]

I had a great weekend. I finished up a crazy work week with double half days on Thursday and Friday and spent some really fun time hanging with friends. Last night however I was faced with an encounter that really put me off.

I was out with a few of my friends and an acquaintance from college joined the group to chat. After seeing me the person came over and opens our conversation with the following: "You look like a twig. You should eat something." Well ... hello to you too. Not "How are you?" or "How are things and work and life?" or even "You look great." No. A deprecating comment regarding my weight. From someone who knows little to nothing about my current situation or state of affairs. I tried to follow up with "Oh it's because I run so much." (Because I DO! Anyone who actually knows anything about my lifestyle choices would understand this fact.) And then the discussion goes on and I am further told that I was never fat in college. The person thinks that I looked good back then and it was obviously apparent that I had lost a considerable amount of weight.

I wanted to SCREAM at this person: "You don't know me! I have GAINED 14 pounds since the last time I saw you! You know nothing about me and have NO right to judge me or my body!" But no - I kept it polite and classy and simply changed the topic of conversation.

[now that I've gotten that out of my system ...] I once read the statement that skinny people run faster. Yes, while this is true, I believe that there are two important facts that need to be clarified: (1) Just because skinny people run faster it doesn't mean that non-skinny people can't run fast. (2) Skinny people may be quick, but a truly good runner also requires serious muscles.

I will admit that there was a time (not too terribly long ago I might add) when I was underweight. I had been training for months and had some major races one right after the other. I was struggling with other personal issues totally unrelated to my running and was basically a hot mess in every sense of the word. My body began to deteriorate as a result and my weight dropped significantly. Working in the fashion industry can also put added attention on your body and so almost no one complains when you drop a size or two. But after some really hard months I was able to recognize that my body and my weight were becoming an issue. I had to take a life "time out" and with the support of some REALLY amazing people I put myself back onto the right path. It wasn't easy and took me a long time to get back to the place where I am today - a place where I am very happy and stable in all aspects of my life.

And I think what I found more off-setting than anything else regarding our "conversation" is the fact that this person does not know me or my story. They don't know that I run and weight train like crazy: that I am participating in a fantastic physical fitness challenge in just a few weeks: that I have to eat extra food every day to keep my weight going UP - in short this person does not know me. But they thought that because we sat next to each other a few times in college that they knew enough of me to make a snide comment about my weight. Rude.

When you look at a person you need to look at more than their weight. Those numbers on the scale are nothing more than numbers - they mean NOTHING without the person behind them. Do not make snap judgements about someone because of how their body appears. And I understand that this person was not deliberately trying to be mean or hurt me - but words can wound and you never know how something you say can be taken differently by the listener. Choose your words wisely . Only pass on the good - there is already enough hatred in this world without more negativity being spread.

#iammorethanjustanumber