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Kick Her When She's Down
I know well enough that at my age and stature I have no business thinking in these terms. . .
But the Vogue annual "shape" issue arrived, full of Vogue-y examples of different body types. (For the record, these types are: Tall, Short, Curvy, Thin, Pregnant, and Athletic.) Now, I am not in the habit of comparing myself to fashion models who are considerably younger, considerably taller and considerably more considerable than I am, but for some reason, the pregnant woman Vogue decided to profile is pregnant marathon runner Paula Radcliffe. And there she is photographed trotting along in Monte Carlo, eight months gone, putting people like me to shame. This woman ran her runs every other day, aqua-jogged and would do one or two sessions on a stationary bicycle throughout her pregnancy. For my part I have done my best, but I am no marathoner.
I don't understand why now, with weeks to go I am feeling as if I should have been training harder or why the article inspired so much guilt in me, but there it is.
In some ways, I understand that I don't ease easily into pregnancy. I ignore it and fight it until it overwhelms me and then it's over and I can get back to the normal business of ignoring and fighting my body- a game I win more often. This time around, I've been especially aware of my stamina and limitations because there is a toddler who refuses to believe that my lap has new (one hopes temporary) limits and it is harder to hoist the stroller up the subway steps than usual. And yet there's Ms. Radcliffe, pounding the pavement, still wearing her pre-pregnancy jeans, showing me what a wimp I am.
Adding insult to all of this is, of course, the latest research on weight gain in pregnancy, which is completely annoying. It seems the pendulum is swinging back to the point where women aren't supposed to gain much weight at all when they get knocked up for fear their toddlers may end up plump.
Are these recommendations helpful or do they just make people crazy? I honestly can't tell. It seems to me that my body will pretty much do what it wants to do within reason (I, for instance, have to work on taming my ice cream and candy compulsions- especially in this: jelly bean season).
Between Vogue and the new study I feel rather beaten, though, as if there is no winning no amount of exertion or discipline that will be regarded as sufficient.
Happily, Vogue did allow me a bit of a respite. Jeffrey Steingarten, writing in one of may favorite of his styles, has a piece debunking the whole trans-fat fracas that we're living with in New York City. Maybe the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology will swing back around too.
posted by Elise at 1:01 PM
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"Listen to your body!" I gained fifty pounds, maybe more, eating an all natural, low sugar, low bad carb, vegetarian, etc. diet. I paid no attention to gaining weight, and no attention to losing weight. 12 months later, I am back to pre-preggo size & it could have been sooner, but I don't own a scale & was lazy about buying new clothes as the pounds dropped off. I am so sick of new studies & recommendations regarding eating, weight, and health. They only serve to pad the pockets of whatever company is sponsoring that particular media outlet or research company at that particular time. My goal is to stay away from unneccessarily processed ingredients, eat when and what my body wants, and if I crave processed crap rather than food, I think about what nutrients I might be needing to cause that particular craving. And...don't get me wrong, I enjoy treats, but I know how my body reacts to different foods, so that keeps overindulgence at bay. As I write this, I realize how far from mainstream my outlook on food is, but why? Isn't it more natural to listen to your body, and eat closer to nature? Haven't we proved time & time again that nature has a balance & when we try to mess with it, we just screw it up? Vogue and the Washington Post can both go suck it. Rather than make an already tenuous emotional time worse for pregnant mothers, why don't they start focusing on where our food is coming from, who benefits from selling foods full of preservatives, why we have such a high # of obese yet malnourished children in this country? One of the best gifts we can give our children is a healthy knowlege of and attitude toward food.
4/08/2007 1:08 AM
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