mardecides

I’m boycotting Self magazine. I went for a relaxing massage (Happy Pre-Mother’s Day to me!), and out of the huge basketful of magazines to choose from in the waiting area, I fought my instinct to pick up People and thought a good step forward to fitness would be to read Self.  After flipping through page after page of slender, sexy bodies glowing with pride at their sleek selves, (and studying the “Find a Swimsuit Perfect For Your Body Type” while naively thinking “Wow, maybe they’ve come up with a flattering swimsuit for body type labeled Fat” only to realize I’d been had again) I stumbled on a “Getting Fit is Easy!” article. Since I was already cranky (ok, jealous), that just sent me right over the edge. 

Getting fit is not “easy.” Maybe it’s easy for those who are already fit, but then it’s not “getting fit” anymore, it’s “staying fit.” If getting fit were so very easy, as proclaimed by Self magazine, then there would not be people like me, fat and unfit. Right?  Easy is sitting on the couch watching Grey’s Anatomy, munching on Ruffles, and guzzling a Pepsi. Easy is running through the McDonald’s drive-through because you’re stressed from work, bone tired, and have kids fighting in the backseat and the thought of going home to cook a nutritious meal (or at least a non-McDonald’s meal) makes you want to scream right along with your two-year-old. Easy is driving to the store even though you could probably walk but you don’t. Easy is convenience. Easy is getting fat. That was easy. It took very little effort on my part.  

Getting fit is hard and I haven’t met a success story yet that has told me otherwise. Losing weight and finding that healthy lifestyle after years and years of “easy” is damn hard. And I take issue with some sleek, hard-body magazine proclaiming it’s easy. That hurts. Telling me it’s easy is the first step to setting me up for failure. So from now on I’ll stick to People. At least they put weight loss success stories on their cover from time to time that inspire me. I kept one of those issues for months because the woman on the cover looked like me. Not her features, but I recognized her “Before” body. That was me. And when I read her journey to her “After” body, I could relate. I’d like to ask her if she thought it was “easy”.

My guess is I already know her answer.