Yes, Overweight People Work Out Too!

I'm sure you've all seen the Women's Running cover this month, which features a plus-sized runner. As an often plus-sized person who has found pretty much all forms of exercise intimidating at some point in my life (even dating back to grade school gym class, ugh), I do think it's awesome to finally acknowledge that plus-sized people can and do exercise too.

The editor-in-chief, Jessica Sebor, said as much:

"There's a stereotype that all runners are skinny, and that's just not the case," Sebor said. "Runners come in all shapes and sizes. You can go [to] any race finish line, from a 5K to a marathon, and see that. It was important for us to celebrate that. I think that every woman goes to the magazine rack sometimes and feels like she can't see herself in the cover images. We wanted our readers to feel like they could see themselves in our cover." {source}

And I am happy to finally see someone who looks "like me" gracing the cover of a fitness magazine, or occasionally modeling clothes for some of the online retailers I shop at (not many, mind you, but some at least). But I also think it's a little sad that this is big, breaking news. A magazine having a plus-sized woman on their cover shouldn't be a "powerful statement," but in our society, it is. If we just accepted our bodies--no matter the shape or size--in the first place, this kind of thing wouldn't be a big deal.

And it's this lack of overall acceptance that makes some people think they shouldn't run or be active in the first place:

"Some women believe that since they have curves they can’t run or shouldn’t run. Running is for every body anytime." {source}

I remember being so nervous the first time I went for a run around my old neighborhood. Would people see me and know I'm not a runner because I don't have a "runner's body?" Except that if I'm running, I am a runner. And surely people at the gym must have thought I didn't belong there when I first started working out because I wasn't already ripped. I even had the same thought the first few times I swam laps at a Park District pool - these high school-aged lifeguards are going to know I have no clue what I'm doing and probably laugh at my horrible form because I don't look like the typical swimmer. But I quickly got past feeling self-conscious and kept doing all of these things because I enjoyed them. Who cares if I'm a little heavier than the person on the treadmill next to me, or if I don't have a six-pack like someone else in my gym class? Why can't we all just be comfortable in our own skin?

It's not loving our bodies for what they are that also makes so many of us double and triple check photos of ourselves before posting online, because someone may notice what we perceive to be our flaws. Oh no, if I post a picture of myself in a sleeveless shirt, people are going to notice right away that I have arms that aren't super-toned! Do I wish my arms were more toned, like they used to be? Yes, of course I do. But that's on me to change. And chances are most people aren't going to notice or care about my arms, because I know I don't care about anyone else's arms.

*Gasp* please don't look at my arms, stomach or thighs!
Or do, whatever, IDGAF

I guess what I'm getting at here is that anyone at any shape or size can work out, run, wear sleeveless tops, etc. if they'd just stop worrying so much about what others think and love their bodies the way that they are, not the way that they want them to be. Maybe if more of us started doing this it wouldn't be so inspiring or news-making to feature a plus-sized runner on a magazine cover.