Why Criticize?

This morning I crossed another milestone- this material body is now under 220; 218.5 to be exact.  I have now lost over 30 pounds as I weighed in at 249 to begin with.  When I was in the gym yesterday, one of the gossip programs had a little segment about Valerie Bertinelli.  Apparently, some women are up in arms that she now looks great after her diet and regimen and posed in a small bikini at age 47. They showed pictures and she really does look good.  The controversial case was built around the fact that they found some quote of hers from two years ago that she would never pose in a bikini.  They were almost acting like she should be prosecuted.  Perhaps she changed her mind. Has anyone ever thought of that?  People do it all the time.  Men claim women do it a lot but they still love them nonetheless.  Some people also claimed she did it just to get in those Jenny Craig commercials.  If that's so, even to an extent, then I say who cares?  So, she made a little moo-lah on the side.  I say, good for her.  If the end result is she's healthier and happier with her self-image, is that really causing a load of damage?

Now, someone may say that Valerie doesn't represent what real people look like.  That she is causing young girls to be anorexic or not eat a balanced and nutritious diet.  First of all, I would agree that Valerie doesn't represent what real people look like, especially at 47.  You know why?  Because she fucking worked hard at it and most people are too lazy or convince themselves they don't have the time.  I say why should she be criticized for working hard and getting good results?  As far as the anorexia thing or bulimia goes, I obviously agree that people should eat a healthy and balanced diet.  One mistake that Americans often make, though, is thinking that they have to consume gigantic quantities of food in order to get their nutrition.  In reality, Americans eat way too much.  They are the fattest people in the world by far.  As George Carlin said, "They are gargantuan." Well, for myself, I plan on keeping my name Gargs, but losing that part of the definition.  Besides, study after study has shown that when a person consumes less daily calories they are healthier and live longer.  Smaller portions.  What a concept.  It sounds just like Europe.  If you're very young, that's one thing.  But once you get past 30, if you don't change your ways, it's only a matter of time before it catches up with you and grows and grows and grows over time.

A more pertinent question for me was how did she do it?  Well, that's what they told us next.  First of all, she regularly hit the treadmill, at least five times a week for 45 minutes a session.  "Hey, that's cool," I thought.  "I am already doing that, except that I go for an hour."  Another thing she does is weight train every other day.  Check for me also.  Then finally, she limits her dietary intake to about 1200 calories per day.  I'm also doing the same.  At first, I didn't think I could do that part, but I just make sure I eat healthy and my stomach has shrunk.  I still have cravings but nothing like I used to have.  My appetite was formally insatiable but now I get satisfied quicker.  I get satisfied faster but I eat slower.  I'm no longer like some hyper hound wolfing down my food after a day running around in the yard.  After the segment was over I was pleasantly surprised that what worked for Valerie Bertinelli is working for me.  Let's see, eating less, cardio and weight training on a consistence basis.  Doesn't seem like such a mystery to me.  It's hard work but it works and over time you develop a taste for it. And there are many fringe benefits besides better health.  I can fit into the old shirts now.  Looking better is not a bad benefit either.  People try to make it sound like it's not spiritual or something.  That's bullshit.  I say it could be much less spiritual to be a fat slob.  Some people get fat because they don't want the opposite sex after them.  How about losing the weight and being mentally strong instead of becoming a blob.  Such a solution is much worse than the problem.  I took my shirt off this morning and am actually seeing some definition appearing in my abs.  I don't care if people say it's not spiritual or whatever.  I am happy about it.  It appears the Homer Simpson look is saying goodbye for good.

While saying all this, I don't believe that there is anything that can be objectively called an ideal weight.  My philosophy is to each his or her own.  If you're happy with your weight then go with it.  If someone else calls you fat or too skinny, it shouldn't bother you.  It's not a good idea to live our lives according to pictures in magazines, unless of course we want to.  It is not all black and white, it is not all bad or good.  We should be independently thinking intelligent people who make informed choices for ourselves and don't criticize choices other people make because it threatens or pressures us in some way.  The pressure is only in our own minds.  We should work on ourselves instead of lashing out at others.  As far as I'm concerned, the more diversity in the world the better.  It makes things so much more interesting.  The main thing is to ultimately remember we are not our bodies as we wear different types of dress while living in the material world.