Curves: Claire got her figure back

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Curves: They’re back and I love them!

Two years ago this week I weighed in at 119 pounds. (I am 5’6″ and a medium build). That’s a BMI of 19.1.

This week I weigh in at 129 pounds. That’s a BMI of 21.3.

Yes, that is 10 pounds more than I weighed two years ago. In addition, my body fat percentage has increased from 17 percent to 19 percent.

Am I upset, frustrated or angry?

Nope, because I am feeling fitter and healthier than ever before as I approach the milestone of being 40. And I got me some curves back.

And guess who’s actually even happier than I am … yep, my husband!

My stomach before my intense fitness regime started.
My stomach before my intense fitness regime started.

“You are too skinny,” he said to me two years ago.

“You look better than ever,” he said to me just this week.

And you know what, I think he might be right. We can pursue skinniness or we can pursue health and for a while I think I forgot that it was about being fit and healthy and concentrated on abs and arms and legs and muscle — and on the scale. And then I began to have fun again, because, let’s face it, when your mission is solely about exercise and eating turkey breast and broccoli your life isn’t all that fun.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love my exercise and I advocate nutritious food and clean and lean eating, but I also enjoy my wine and eating out and cocktails and I often burn the candle, not getting enough sleep, but that’s called, if I’m not wrong, “having a life.” And the scale is but a number and it does not and cannot show how I feel in my body, how I feel in my head, how happy I am, nor how much I have changed for the better.

My clothes still fit great, I have muscle tone, I have energy and am committed to having a healthy lifestyle, but it’s 70/30 now (that is 70 percent committed and 30 percent fun!).

At my lightest and in my fitness frenzy days
At my lightest and in my fitness frenzy days

I stay on the level with nutrition (that’s the priority), eating whole foods, exercising and making health and enjoyment a priority when I can, but Naughty Spice pops up every now and then and I let her have her moment! With my body and my body image, I think I’ve found my balance, my set point, my happy medium. And life is not about dieting, it’s not about counting calories and it’s certainly not about obsessing to the point that it has a negative impact on you, your family or your life.

Those 10 extra pounds might have come from the tacos I ate on vacation in California over looking the Pacific and the mojitos I drank as the sun set, but I have no regrets about any of those things, because THEY are the experiences that I will have in my life and memory forever.

To be frank, I have hips and boobs again, and that, I am told by my other half is a good thing on a woman, so listen up ladies! The whole process of getting fit has made me realise once and for all that it is not about vanity, and not about the scale, but about your health.

And the best thing of all? I like it and I’m happy, and my husband likes it and he very, very happy! So, the curves are back and they are here to stay. 🙂

I love this motivational quote by Coach Calorie: To not feel imprisoned by our bodies, for our food and exercise choices to set us free and help us to feel our very best, and to not have the stress of possible diet-related illness sitting heavy on our shoulders every moment that goes by. Good health, both mental and physical, is FREEDOM.