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World Cup Observations

2 Jul
This man, Tim Howard, was incredible. Stellar goalie.

This man, Tim Howard, was incredible. Stellar goalie.

Like many Americans, I am a new (and disgruntled) soccer fan. The game is full of near misses and frustrating endings. The team that’s been playing crazy defense all game can get tripped up in the last 30 seconds and lose it all. It’s a frustrating thing to watch. But I love sports, so I’m learning to love soccer.

The World Cup has been so exciting this year. Despite yesterday’s loss, it’s been easy to root for the U.S. Men’s team. Having only really paid attention to soccer for the first time ever two and a half weeks ago, I can’t claim to be an expert. But there are a few things I’ve noticed so far.

1. Thighs. Soccer players have some of the most beautiful thighs I’ve ever seen on men. They are ridiculously toned. I’ve been an avid runner for about five years now and am nowhere near that kind of definition. Those beautiful quads and hams have to be well taken care of in order to kick the ball with such precision.

2. Abs. Core strength is key to almost any physical activity. These fellas have great cores. It keeps them agile and allows for some awesome scissor kicks.

3. Faces. It’s not called a beautiful game for nothing. Soccer is the CW network of sports. Marginally attractive people aren’t employed there. The only sport that comes somewhat close in the ratio of fine athletes to their less-attractive brethren is tennis, and that sport doesn’t has nearly as many players. Sure, most soccer players average about 5’7″.* But with faces like these, you have to give them a pass.

4. Speed. I heard somewhere that for the 90 minutes that soccer players are on the field, they’re averaging about seven miles of running. Seven miles! For comparison, I run six miles an hour, and I’m not chasing a ball, trying to control it with my feet, dodging 10 other people and trying to kick it into a goal.

Good job, fellas.

Good job, fellas.

5. Sportsmanship. In high-stakes competitions like the NBA Finals or the Super Bowl, you’re bound to have a few scuffles. I have yet to see any real blowups on the pitch. These guys are running around in Brazilian heat (which is no joke) for 45 minutes straight each half with other people kicking at them, tripping them, pulling at their uniforms…and no one has thrown dem bows. My favorite part is the end when the teams exchange jerseys—partly because of observation No. 2, but also because the players appreciate the other team’s hard work. It’s a really special moment.

6. Dedication. I ran a race on Saturday (five miles in 50:35, thank you very much) and the sun was beating me up. I was frustrated with the organizers for having only two misting stations and myself for not stopping for water more often. I finished, but I was not pleased at the amenities. Soccer players play through each half with no timeouts, no water breaks, no ref challenges. Nothing.** You’re just out there until your half is up. And they do it with no complaint. It’s inspiring.

Even though my team is out, I’m going to continue to watch the Cup through the end. I’ve gained a new appreciation for the sport. Will I try it? Probably not because I’m an old. But I can definitely see its universal appeal.

Now that the U.S. is out, will you continue to watch? What’s been your favorite moment so far? Mine was anytime Tim Howard let out his inner beast.

*I’m 5’2″, so I have no real right to complain about height. But a girl’s got preferences (not necessarily prerequisites).

**Players do find a way to take a breather by doing I what I call the “Paul Pierce.” Old Navy doesn’t have as many flip flops as I’ve seen during these matches. It’s hilarious, but at the same time a bit of a “Come on!” moment.

Photos courtesy of FIFA/Getty Images

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Let Me Walk in Peace

11 Mar
running_again

If I ran in New York in this, I’d have to have my headphones at eardrum-bursting level to drown out the comments.

Editor’s note: Sorry for the lack of posts over the past couple of weeks, but I was on vacation in Rio. I’ll be posting this week about what I learned on my trip, and hopefully entice you to take a break there. Trust me: it’s awesome!

It’s March, which means spring is around the corner (hopefully). I don’t know about you, but dealing with the winter doldrums has taken its toll on me. I hate the cold. I hate the layers of clothes I have to put on. I hate that those layers cause a ridiculous amount of laundry that the man from the cleaners shakes his head at every time he comes to pick up my clothes. I will be so glad when this mess is over.

I’m a spring/summer kind of gal. I like the warm sun, the green grass, the lack of sweaters. I love the sun shining on full, green trees. Most of all, I love the beach. I like laying out on the sand and hearing the waves crash. When at the beach, there’s an expected attire. I’m talking bathing suits.

I’ve discussed before my apprehension with putting on a bikini. Well, last week I was on vacation in Rio de Janiero (everyone should go there at least once), and I saw things I’d never see here in America. There were women—old, young, tall, short, heavy, waify—all wearing Brazilian-style bikinis. You’ve never seen one? Take a gander.

Embed from Getty Images

Imagine seeing that on your grandmother. I saw it on several. And you know what? It was no big deal. Body image is a huge thing here in the States, as it is in many places. But in Brazil, everyone—men and women—walk around shirtless. The women, of course, wear their bikini tops. It doesn’t matter whether you have a flat tummy or you’re in need of a few more sit-ups, no one is pointing or gesturing at you. Everyone goes about their business, possibly to whisper behind your back, but no one is ever outright rude.

If I could have bottled that attitude and brought it back to the States with me, I would have. I, like many women, am often the subject of catcalling. My shape is frequently the subject of some man’s rude comments. For someone as body conscious as I am, it makes me terribly uncomfortable—and angry.

I work out for me. I get sweaty and gross and smelly for the purpose of getting healthy and feeling good about my appearance. Just because some stranger sees me doesn’t mean he has to grab himself and make rude comments. I’ve heard everything, but most comments are focused on my rear. It’s large; I’m aware of that. It’s also not an anomaly. I know this because I saw several of them in Brazil. And not once did I get catcalled or street harassed there.

You don’t know the comfort and relief that came the day I realized not one person had said something that would have set my father off about my body while on vacation. It felt normal to walk around in shorts and a bikini top, because it was hot. I wore little shorts and a tutu to a Carnival parade without fear of harassment.

I think if more people, particularly men, were exposed to other cultures, or even to the comments women hear on the daily, I hope they would have more sensitivity to our plight. Saying “Good morning” is a perfectly fine greeting. Followed up with how smackable my butt is kills any goodwill that may have been earned.

Maybe I just need to move to Brazil…

I’m stepping off my soapbox. Have you ever had to deal with catcalling? How do you deal with it.

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Small Steps, Big Mountains

12 Feb
mountain climb

While climbing, stop every once in a while to appreciate how far you’ve come.

I think everyone has a bucket list. My list contains travel destinations. Most of my travel has been right here in these United States. But I got my passport for a reason, and it has only one stamp in it. Right now my top five destinations are Venice, Capetown, Fiji, Paris and Rio.

In a couple of weeks, I’m going to cross out Rio because I’m going…for Carnival! I’m super excited. Rio and Carnival have been on my bucket list for years, and now I’m finally reaching my goal.

Sometimes I wish I had been more focused on achieving some of my goals, other times I think complacency has worked for me. Complacency allowed me to appreciate what I have and the work I’d done so far. No, I hadn’t gone to Rio yet, but I had some awesome trips to Cancun and Puerto Rico. The same thing can happen on your weight-loss journey. You may not have lost all 50 of those pounds, but 30 is an amazing achievement. What I’ve found is that you can’t have blinders on as you go on this adventure; you’ll miss out on a lot.

At first, my goal was to lose an undetermined amount of weight before Puerto Rico. I lost about 20 before I got on the plane and my travel buddy saw me. She was more excited by appearance than I was. While I hadn’t set a firm goal for myself, the progress I was making showed me that I could do more than what I had so far. I couldn’t appreciate the little victory because it was, in my mind, a small step up a big mountain.  What I didn’t realize then was that it was still a step.

I’ve written before on this blog about perception vs. reality in terms of how others see you. One of the obstacles you’re going to have to overcome on your journey is facing your own perception. You may not be able to see all of the progress you’ve made, but you can feel it. You can feel how easily you breathe when climbing a flight of steps. You can feel your muscles working to curl the 8-pound weights when you started with the 3-pounders.

Along your journey you’ll have to learn to appreciate the small victories. One of the first for me came from a Facebook photo.  A couple of summers ago, I’d made some friends who were commenting on old photos on my page. When I replied that I didn’t look the same, I was asked to post some new pics. Jump to that weekend while out celebrating a friend’s birthday, I posted a club photo. It was posted in the middle of the night, the photo was slightly grainy and I was posed a little awkward (my days of “Top Model” viewing did not come in handy at two in the morning). The next day I awoke to dozens of likes and comments, all praising my “new” look. I didn’t know what to make of it, because I had grown used to the slimmed-down frame that was still 10 pounds away from goal weight.

What happened to me happens to a lot of people trying to lose weight. It’s the whole “a watched pot doesn’t boil” thing. You’re too wrapped up in the big goal, that you can’t appreciate the little victories you’ve achieved along the way.

Hard work is key to achieving your goal, and I don’t knock anyone who accepts that. My advice is to occasionally take a break, sit back and think about how far you’ve come. With determination, you’ll get to the top of your mountain and still appreciate the minor victories along the way.

photo credit: TroyMason via photopin cc

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Biggest Losers and Winners

10 Feb
photo courtesy of NBC

photo courtesy of NBC

Last week, NBC’s “The Biggest Loser” crowned the winner of its 15th season, Rachel Frederickson. Congrats, Rachel! Along with your $250,000 payout, you also win: criticism!

Rachel, who is 24 years old, dropped an astounding 155 pounds from her 5-foot-4 frame to weigh in at 105 pounds. When she was announced the winner, Rachel was met with this reaction by the trainers.

*I wouldn’t call her weight-loss disturbing (unless I had other information), but I’ll get to that later

You’d expect those faces from upset competitors, not the people who were helping you along the way.

Had Rachel lost too much weight?

The reactions were semi-justified. When Rachel left the competition, she was 150 pounds. She returned after dropping another 45 pounds, therefore losing 60% of her body weight for the show. To put that in perspective, past winners have dropped an average of 48.6%.

I have my own issues with the format for “The Biggest Loser.” I appreciate any venue that allows people to address health issues. I’d appreciate them even more if they were addressed an a healthy manner. The show isn’t practical, as most reality competitions aren’t. We don’t all lip sync for our lives or design dresses out of garbage to get a leg up in life. “The Biggest Loser” takes people’s health issues and makes a game out of it, which I find unnerving. It is unrealistic for Jane Shmo to expect to drop that amount of weight in such a short period of time without causing serious damage to herself.

The other problem I have with the show is that the feats performed by the contestants aren’t sustainable. No one works out for eight to 10 hours a day and survives on kale smoothies. People have jobs, kids, mortgages and other responsibilities. It is highly unlikely for even the above average person to sustain workouts of that intensity coupled with diets so low-cal that rabbits gawk.

Which brings me back to Rachel. I applaud her efforts. She’s a young woman who wanted to get her life back on track, starting with her weight. She said she’d been stress eating after a bad breakup (I can relate) and joined the show to get a fresh start. Kudos to her.

But Rachel is damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t. Society has judged her for being overweight. Society has judged her for taking her struggle public on a reality show. Then society has decided to add a little more judgement because now she may have lost too much weight.

If you’re concerned with BMI results, then she’s slightly underweight. But that’s all relative. BMI doesn’t take into account muscle mass, water weight and activity level. It’s just a guideline.

When she appeared on the “Today” show to discuss her results, she was greeted with low-ball questions, none addressing her the criticism she’s received for her drastic weight loss. But is that necessary?

I don’t want to shame her results because that would make me a hypocrite. She was a swimmer in her youth, so she had an athletic background that helped her along the way. I am, however, curious as to what motivated her to go so far. What was it that pushed her to this level? Where did she find the time to do it?

Like many of you, I get a bad case of the I-don’t-wannas and have to find my motivation wherever I can. Rachel found hers within the show, but she took it to a heightened level, and that scares me sometimes. I don’t want to get so focused by my goals—be they weight, career, love life, etc.—that it makes me obsessed.

I hope that if she’s happy with the way she looks, she uses healthy measures to maintain it. Maintenance is the absolute hardest part of this process and it is the true test of will. I trust that you all will find the point that makes you happiest and keep up the good work to stay there.

BTWs: There has also been talk of whether Rachel had a little extra help to reach this point. Anything’s possible, but I don’t think so. She still has a little arm waddle when she waves. I just think she got super-focused on losing even more weight that she might not have seen where she was going.

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Full-Figured Fashion Week

5 Feb

uptown-rick-owens-2Diversity on the runway has always been a big issue in the fashion industry. Designers have every right to place the clothes they’ve constructed on a model that fits with their aesthetic. But what does it say about the designer when all of their models look the same?

I can go on for days about the lack of racial diversity on the runways. There are others who do it on a regular basis. What I’d like to focus on is size diversity. We all come in multitude of sizes and we all can appreciate beautiful works of art. Fashion Week, for me, is a time when stunning works of art are put on display for our critique and enjoyment.

With Mercedes Benz Fashion week in New York starting tomorrow, I’m realistically hopeful to see different sizes on the runway this year. Last fall, designer Rick Owens stunned Paris audiences with multi-cuved, multi-hued models performing a stepshow on the runway. The women stomped down the catwalk with fierce aggression showcasing some pretty unique items. There were thigh jiggles, big boobs, little boobs and hair of every texture. It awe inspiring.

When I first stumbled on the show, I couldn’t help but rewatch it. And then it hit me that I was seeing something different, but not different. I see women like that all the time—at work, on the train, on the street. They’re everywhere…except the runway.

Yes, I’m “skinny now,” but I haven’t always been this way. I’m not not that skinny. I’ve said several times on this blog, my thighs jiggle and I’ve got a pooch of a stomach. And guess what else? I wear clothes. I like fashion. I get excited for fashion week.

Can the barrier that was broken last fall in Paris carry over this week in New York? Will designers look to other boy types to market their wares?

Fashion Week began as an opportunity for designers to showcase their goods to buyers. The commercial aspect of the event didn’t grow to its current height until recent memory. Buyers are still at the shows, they’ve just been pushed back a few seats to make room for the Kardashians. That’s fine. But the Kardashians aren’t the rail-thin girls we only see walking the runway.

I don’t take issue with the current crop of models being hired to strut. Personally, my favorite model these days is Joan Smalls. There is, however, room for designers to show buyers what a woman curvier frame would buy.

The fashion industry can be exclusive, but it doesn’t have to be. I only hope designers will recognize that a diverse runway will only help them in the long run.

It was a personal exercise to consider curves and size ranges in the clothes I sell. This was a great way for us in the studio to study more ways to make clothes available to more people. It was as simple as that.
—Rick Owens in Vogue Turkey

What do you think about diversity in the fashion industry? What other types of models would you like to see draped in your favorite designer’s clothes?

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