The Short, Fat One

Yay! I'm so excited to be part of this blog. It's exactly what I need right now. Thank you to everyone for creating this space.

Active Academic's post The Smart One mirrors in many ways my family dynamic. SisterLittle is 2.5 years younger than I am, and has always been the good-looking, athletic, funny one. And I was OK with that, until it became apparent, early in junior high, that she was also the smart, witty one. ("I'm off to puberty day camp," she chirped one day as she walked off to catch the bus.) Things got worse when Mom and Dad let it leak out that SisterLittle's IQ--we had both been tested at age 6 for the gifted education program--was one point higher than mine.

Like Active Academic's sister, SisterLittle danced as a child. In fact, she danced all the way through high school. I was coerced into taking two years of jazz dance lessons during the depths of puberty. All the slim, stylish popular girls from my neighborhood also had joined the class, and most of them had taken ballet or tap since their were small. The mirrors in the dance studio, therefore, reflected not only my pubescent awkwardness, but also amplified my lack of skill next to theirs.

I took horseback riding lessons. I wasn't bad, but I wasn't particularly talented, either. Mostly I enjoyed being in an environment that wasn't horribly competitive, and where I had to focus on what I was doing at that moment. I couldn't be distracted by the dismal bog of adolescence. I reached the point, however, where in my classes everyone else owned their horses, big leggy European warmbloods and Thoroughbreds. Such ownership was definitely out of my reach. Thus when our instructor told us to jump a course of fences, I was at a distinct disadvantage, as the courses were always set for the bigger, younger horses. It finally reached a point where I found it dangerous to be riding the small or aged schoolhorses over such courses. So I gave it up for awhile.

SisterLittle, meanwhile, took up rowing. She rowed with her high school, and then her college, teams twice a day. We have an aunt who's a two-time Olympic silver medalist in rowing, and SisterLittle definitely inherited the same genes as Superhuman Aunt. SisterLittle grew to be just shy of six feet tall. Through rowing, her body became even more refined; she just added a little more long, lanky muscle to her dancer's build. And then she majored in kinesiology in college, a course of study that one semester required her to work out for seven hours a day.

SisterLittle is typical of my family. Swimmers and rowers, these folks are tall and lithe yet have the cardiovascular power of racehorses. I do not.

All this is to say: At 5'9" and 175 pounds, I am now, and always have been, the short, fat one in my extended family. Typically, I tip the scales at 150 pounds, but dissertation, a pregnancy, and caring for a toddler have conspired to keep me from exercising or preparing fresh, healthful food for every meal.

I want to change this pattern. I want to reclaim my genetic heritage. I don't necessarily want to be an athlete, but I desire the fitness of my relatives.

I'm not one to throw myself wholeheartedly into a new plan; I need to dip my toe into the pool to test the waters. My first step, therefore, has been this week to cut my fat intake dramatically. I now try to take in fewer than 30g of fat each day, a sacrifice that many years ago helped me to drop 20 pounds in about four months. Since I'm a big fan of cheese, pesto, fried food, and ice cream, this has been a challenge for me. But already I find myself reaching for grapes as a snack instead of cheese or chocolate.

My next step is to schedule with Mr. Trillwing some time each day when he watches our son so that I can get out of the house to ride my bike, swim, or walk and run on the treadmill in our apartment complex's teeny tiny (but air-conditioned!) fitness center. My goal for the first few weeks is to exercise enough that I sweat for 30 minutes at least five days each week.

I'll keep you updated on my progress, as I need someone to keep me honest.

Good luck to everyone on your fitness journeys!