Size 1 Jeans

America is the world's fattest nation. Let's just face it. We hear about it all the time in the media, in our daily lives, in the products available to us. It's easier in America to be heavy than it is to be thin. However, for those of us who are comfortable with our bodies or, heaven forbid!, are skinny, a lot of heat is actually directed at us.

Let me give you a couple examples:

My mother and I are not only skinny, but short, so we look extra petite. We were shopping one day, as is quite often our habit, in Kohl's. Another mother/daughter pair was shopping in the same section. The mother turned to her daughter and said, "Ooo I wish I could fit into some of these clothes. Not everyone can be skinny like them." I kid you not, there was accusation in her tone. She was angry with us for being skinny. Angry! We pretended we didn't hear and moved on, though griped about it to each other later.

Every time anyone sees me eat ice cream or cookies or anything with sugar, I hear, "Must be nice to be able to eat whatever you want. Some people are just lucky."

Sorry, but I'm not going to apologize for taking good care of my body. What most people don't know about me is that on both sides of my family, I would appear to be genetically destined for an average body size. I suppose arguably both of my parents are fit, so that looks like genetics, but I'm more convinced that it's lifestyle, not genetics, that play the largest factor in weight. I won't deny that I have a lot of sugar in my diet, but I also have a lot of fruits and vegetables. Not just that, but I'm constantly eating small quantities of food; this means that my metabolism is constantly working. Did you know that if you go more than 6 hours without eating, your metablism slows down? True fact. That's not to say I never eat meals, but the meals I do eat are very small, and I am very adament about usually leaving at least one bite on my plate. I also try to do 25 sit ups every day, 10 push ups, and maybe go running for 30 minutes a couple times a week.

I've told that to several people who try to make me feel guilty for being in shape, and they've always been surprised. Suddenly it's like they can't legitimately blame me for having won some kind of genetic lottery.

So for the record, if you're happy with your shape, no matter what size you are, more power to you! If not, not my problem if you don't do anything about it.