Winter Chub and Flub Is In

I feel chubby. I feel plump. Dammit.

Winter added on a bit of flab – on my arms, my midsection, my thighs. I wouldn’t admit to you that I’ve been standing in front of a full-length mirror with a forlorn look and sucked-in belly after this epic winter of eating too much and moving too little if not for the fact that many of my female friends echo the same sentiments as mine.

We get together, sigh and say, “I feel so chubby lately.”

But I don’t see it in them and they don’t see it in me and what’s a little extra flesh?

Allow me to step up on a feminist soapbox for a minute and state the obvious – women are held to unattainable beauty standards these days. Have you ever seen a Victoria’s Secret advertisement? How about a Barbie doll? (Fun fact: If our very busty Barbie’s proportions were put on a human, she wouldn’t be able to walk, much less be an astronaut, Olympic athlete, or police officer!)

Long legs that feature no thigh-touching, teeny tiny waists, and jutting Keira Knightley collarbones – that’s what many of us strive for…and it’s exhausting, let me tell you, not to mention mentally and emotionally trying.

I’m sick of never feeling skinny enough. I’m sick of catching the covers of Glamour, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan in the grocery store line and instantly feeling unattractive. I’m sick of listening to my friends call themselves “fat.”

Then, a few days ago, I happened upon old advertisements for weight gain. You read that right…weight gain! 

“Skinny Girls Are Not Glamorous Girls” reads one ad, another says, “If You Want To Be Popular…You Can’t Afford To Be Skinny!”

Well, heck yes I want to be popular. Who doesn’t want to be popular? Healthy-looking women in full body swimsuits grace the ads promising dates and happiness – as manipulative as the ads that advertise weight loss pills these days.

I had a laugh, shared the link, and felt a little reassurance that I’m a beaut just the way I am, like those Dove “Real Beauty” ads.

Bottom line – fashion fads go in and out, body weight (especially in Wisconsin) goes up and down. What’s important is not striving for the current, unnatural and unhealthy standards of beauty, but feeling good about you!

I will step off the soapbox now and put on my Stewart Smalley cap. Look yourself in the mirror and repeat after me: “I am good enough. I am smart enough. I am beautiful just the way I am. And doggone it, people like me!”