Good’ay mates!
Great hockey game last night. It is so nice to have some of my favourite Canadian players all on the same team!
I received a great response to one of my answers in yesterday’s FAQ post.
Someone asked me what size I am and I responded, ‘Size Healthy’
Since I recovered from disordered eating, I have tried to stay away from numbers. I never liked the number on clothing. It is so inconsistent and it varies so much by the store. I could walk into a clothing store and leave upset because I wasn’t the size I thought I should be. Some stores have vanity sizing and in some stores the clothing runs really small. You just can’t win!
I think it is important to realize that sometimes the number really is just a number. The number on my clothing does not reflect how happy I am. When I was struggling the most with my eating disorder and when I was the smallest in body size, I was also the most unhappy I have ever been. A small number on one’s clothing does not necessarily equal happiness.
The tag on my pants now reads healthy because I know that I am being good to my body and that is all that I need. I know that the size my body is at today, is the size that it should be. I eat when I am hungry and I stay active and challenge my fitness. My confidence has also gone way up since I started being nice to myself and not expect perfection.
I thought it would be a really fun idea to write this message on my pants!
I took a black permanent marker and went to town. It was actually really liberating and fun…
Size Healthy Contest:
I thought it would be fun to have a little contest today!
My challenge to you is to take a permanent marker, write ‘size healthy’ on your clothing tag(s)!
TO ENTER:
1) Email the picture to me: angela [at] ohsheglows.com. Make sure the subject says SIZE HEALTHY CONTEST.
OR
2) Post about it on your blog and email me the link to your post: angela [at] ohsheglows.com. Make sure the subject says SIZE HEALTHY CONTEST.
The prize:
THREE lucky people will receive a gift certificate worth $15 CAD for Glo Bars!!! Draw will be random.
Contest ends: Friday Feb 19th, 2010 at 8pm EST.
I’m going to have a big size healthy blow out post after the contest is over featuring your pictures!
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I’m curious about your thoughts on these questions:
- Do you think there is too much pressure on women today to attain that size 0 or even 00?
- What do you think about vanity sizing?
- Have you ever been asked by someone what size you are?
The next time you are asked what size you are…you can say with a big grin on your face ‘SIZE HEALTHY!’ :)
I love, love, love this!!!! Good for you!!! I also love that if you look at all your tags….they already said…long and lean, curvy, regular/normal…..all those sound great to me too!!!!!
-emily www.emilyeatsclean.wordpress.com
I think it’s neat that most of your clothes (at least the size healthy ones!) are Made in Canada. It’s pretty hard to find Made in USA clothes unless I hit up the pricey stores like Barneys. Even the Gap stuff in the US are mostly imports from China/Mexico/etc.
Angela, thank you for doing this. I actually was a size 0 a year and a half ago and was so happy to be emaciated, despite my failing health. My recovery has brought 20 lbs. back on my body and I am back to the curvy person I was before I starved myself. Every day I look at the size label on my skirts, and feel bad about the hundreds of dollars of size 0 clothes in my closet that don’t fit anymore.
Thank you- I needed this.
I’m in recovery from an ED as well and it’s a long AND hard process. I go to therapy weekly and I love the ‘healthy size’ campaign you have going on.
I know what size I am now and it’s not the Abercrombie 00 I though would bring me happiness (i threw it out don’t worry) but half of my pants actually have the size cut out of them. I donated my ED sizes and i’m at a healthy size now… its hard not to fall victim to sizes and sometimes I do get down on myself but i’m so much happier these days. I still slip up, but its not about perfection, its about progress.
I love your blog and this just confirmed that you are an awesome role model
Such a great idea! When I was working on recovering from my disordered eating, I cut the tags out of all of my clothing so I would stop obsessing over the numbers. It made such a difference!
I love, love, love this idea! I definitely wrestle with size and my weight a lot. I always say that it doesn’t matter and that I’ll cut the size labels out of my clothes when I get them, but that number really does mean a lot to me. Which is so silly, because it’s meaningless! I’m taking the plunge when I get home!
I have recently come to the conclusion that size is SOOOO overrated. I used to imagine there is a perfect size and have to admit that after a year of losing weight.. changing sizes got me giddy. NOW I know that life isn’t about your size… neither is weight loss. I changed my focus from “Losing weight” to GAINING HEALTH!! And that’s where I’m at! I LOVE THIS CONTEST!! Isn’t being healthy what its REALLY about?
Apparently I am a size 2 at Old Navy! Their sizing is wack!
I really like your “size healthy” idea because my healthy is different than your healthy. I’m short with curves, you seem taller than me and have a leaner shape – both are perfect. It is unrealistic to compare our pant sizes because our bodies are shaped differently. I really like “size healthy.” Totally using it :)
youre so full of wonderful ideas!! i love this! the sizes are so crazy! Its very frustrating! You feel so great buying pants at old navy (they run large) and so f*t and *gly buying pants at Guess, bcbg (their sizes run SMALL) its just craziness….
I LOVE THIS IDEA! I’m so sick of the “size” emphasis. I’m pretty thin, and I’ve had so many people asking me what my size is…an acquaintance of mine actually pulled my tag out once when I wouldn’t tell her what it was! Can’t wait to do this!
I LOVE this post! I think size is ridiculous and we should all just focus on nourishing our bodies and not stressing ourselves out on little details that don’t matter
Such a great idea! I have to remember to do this when I get home tonight (after my healthy workout!).
My professor in nutrition class always reminded us to stay a healthy, strong size and would (amidst the BMI calculations, determining calories, etc.) remind us to think of our clients that way too! She would always ask, at what size did you feel healthy? strong? confident? Great way to see it!
There is a gorgeous size 8 TV presenter who did a documentary on what it takes to become a size zero. It is really mind opening and very depressing to see how much some women put at risk to be a smaller size. She starts to feel dumber, lonely, distant from her family, and all she thinks about is food. At the end of the documentary she is angry towards it all. You can check it out here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4XWGvGYFRQ
LOVE this!! Amazing contest. It’s true — your size doesn’t define you. Having worked in retail I’ve seen how women REFUSE to go “up” a size even if the clothes will flatter them…especially when the clothes in my store ran at least 1 size small. I also love that you brought up vanity sizing!!
This is awesome!
I’m definitely going to say that I am a size healthy from now on! Whoohoo!
This was so fabulous!!!!
http://livewellfit.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/size-healthy/
You are simply amazing. I will post a blog with the picture tonight and probably do a video about it, as I already told you on twitter.
Our societ is so obsessed with numbers and it’s hard to get away from it but positive posts like yours make us AWARE of it and I love you for it!
This is a wonderful idea and message, Angela! I sometimes feel down when it comes to my body image, especially when buying jeans. But, you are right…there is no one right size for everyone and stores are ALWAYS different with their sizing! I am going to participate in this challenge, for sure! :)