Dooley Noted: 2/9/2015
Yesterday, my mother and I were looking through decades of old photographs.
I found these two pictures of me, seen below.
I was 21.
Do I look fit to you?
I was a size 4, weighing in at 120 pounds. This is considered a healthy weight, if not slightly below average.
I have warm, rosy cheeks and shiny, curly hair.
I have muscles on a lean frame.
I have a wide smile and colorful, trendy clothes.
I have a flat belly and clear skin.
Is this what fitness looks like?
If so, then the definition of the “fitness look” needs to change.
In those two photographs, I was the sickest I’ve ever been in my life.
I obsessed about every calorie that went into my mouth – on the days I actually let myself eat.
I was taking high doses of ephedra-based supplements. Most days I was in such a panic that I could feel my heart racing through my chest.
I trained every morning for an hour, then again after work for two hours.
If I ate one cookie or piece of bread, I’d beat myself up on the 5-mile run I’d complete, attempting to burn it off.
I’d starve myself to the point of breaking, just to eat a pint of ice cream. I’d promptly follow that consumption with self-induced purging.
It took me into my thirties to even be able to talk openly about those four years of self-inflicted agony.
Now, it’s hard to stop me.
I’m on a mission to redefine the “fitness look.”
I was young and on a quest to look like “fit” women in magazines.
It took me quite some time and discovery to understand the true look of fitness.
It looks like a person who chooses to eat for both nutrition and satisfaction, with not a speck of guilt.
It looks like a daily commitment to get the body moving.
It looks like devotion to a training program without deviation – but without punishment, too, if unexpected events occur.
It looks like someone who chooses first to move well, then move frequently.
It looks like someone who would never compromise long-term health for a short-term goal.
It looks like someone who doesn’t obsess about every calorie.
If this is you, then fitness looks like you.
As I look in the mirror, I see a fit woman.
At 36, she’s the strongest and fittest she’s ever been.
And it’s not created with clever makeup, good lighting, or forced smiles.
It shines like a light that can’t be dimmed.
It’s a body of work, solid choices, and purpose.
That’s what fitness looks like.
I hope you look away from the “fitness look” in magazines.
I hope you look in the mirror and work on your fitness look in new ways.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley