Skinny Genes Part II.

 I can't ever imagine being on a diet, or having to stop myself from eating something I crave.  For that I consider myself extremely lucky and spoiled by Mother Nature.  I ignore the angry and sometimes jealous looks I get from people around me, when consuming a juicy steak. Or one of my favorite, a hot dog.  Then top it with some tasty, sugary dessert.  I'm pretty used to people asking me, if i have to diet to keep this shape.  Or accusing me living off only on salads.

 I don't eat fast food, but I do like Fatburger.  Which is a very popular burger joint on the West Coast, it advertises itself as "The Last Great Hamburger Stand", and it's actually very tasty.  As I sit there waiting form my order, I notice a man starring at me.  And after much pacing around finally bursting out about how surprised he is to see such an unusually skinny sight - me - in a burger joint.  Other times I would see women looking at me eating a hearty meal.  And getting the wrong idea, when I go to the restroom at the end of dinner.  It's almost like they want their theory of "being skinny can be only achieved in an unhealthy way" to be right.  I feel sad for those people, and their comments make me even more eager to prove that they are in fact completely wrong.  And spreading they anger and ideas about skinny people is unfair.  We should all know it by now that there are three types of skinny people:

1. Naturally, inherited skinny genes.
2. With hard work out routine, and a healthy diet.
3. And obviously if you are sick - which i don't recommend!

 Being naturally skinny still doesn't mean that you are in a good shape or in fact healthy.  I've seen the thinnest models walking around with such floppy asses, that even a 90 years old could envy.
Basically, no matter what shape or size you are, you still need to work out to look good and firm to achieve a healthy look.  Skinny or not skinny that might be.  I know that every person reading this now would go:"Oh, i know this".  Then why is there still such a controversy about being skinny out there, in the media, accusing the thin of being a bad example and making young kids anorexic.

 I knew an anorexic girl, and she wasn't a model, just a regular girl in my high school class.  She was never really heavy, or even mildly overweight, just a normal 16-year-old girl slowly developing into a young woman.  She had a totally normal figure, with an average height.  And we - her classmates - slowly watched her getting thinner and thinner, as months went on.  Nobody had any idea what might have triggered her.  She was always the quiet type, nobody watched over her eating habits.  We didn't know what anorexia was, and didn't realize she was way too thin.  Until one day she collapsed on the street front of the school, and was hospitalized.  We found out later that she was living on a couple of apples a week, and her stomach had shrunken to such a small size, that it actually closed.  Refusing to let in and digest even the little food she had.  I remember our teacher came in that afternoon, explaining the situation, and we were all shocked.  I was so naive it didn't even occur to me that it might have been me, who was the reason for her to do such a drastic thing.  I'm still not sure of course, and I hope that wasn't the case.  As i'd feel terrible to be responsible for something I obviously couldn't control.  Thankfully she had survived the incident recovering completely.  I recently found and befriended her on a Hungarian social network site, and was glad to see her happy and healthy.

 I know that these days skinny models give a bad idea about what a healthy image should be for a young girl, and in a way I agree.  Many of those painful images we see on some of today's catwalk should not be the inspiration for anyone.  I do think fashion went way too far.  A lot of emphasis has been put on how thin these models are, but the thing that a lot of people forget to mention is a lot of them are teenagers still, and they are thinner because they're teenagers.  And knowing that I looked like that when I was 16-17 years old makes me realize that most of those girls are naturally skinny, and don't have any form of eating disorder.  Unfortunately in America, most kids are already overweight by the time they reach puberty, or even much earlier.  No wonder that even today most young models come from Eastern Europe or other parts of the World.
 When it comes down to it, I believe that designers who are hiring the models deserve to pick whichever kind of models they want.  You watch these girls who are built like race horses that are over six feet tall coming out in shoes that make them even taller.  It's and incredible effect, so I can't ever blame them for not putting real women in their shows all the time.  It's about fantasy and spectacle.  We shouldn't judge any woman whether she's skinny or young or big or voluptuous and you shouldn't judge skinny girls either because there's a lot of skinny girls who can't help it, too.  Again, I don't tend to generalize as most people do.  I'm sure some of those young models do have to suffer to keep the size their agents require, and i do feel sorry for them.  And wish for fashion to take a turn to a healthier look, like it was back in the 90's.

 Instead of accusing others for being too big or too thin.  We should just acknowledge the fact, that people naturally come in all shapes and sizes.  And while for some people it's easy to be thin and never have to worry about their weight.  For others it might take a lifetime of dieting and long hours at the gym to achieve the desired size they want.

 Every era has its ideal female form and beauty.  Today the skinny look is in, but it hasn't always been that way.  The "in style" keeps changing, and we have to deal with it, whichever direction it might take.  It's like fashion styles that change every season.  The best we can do is to find what works for ourselves and embrace it, rather then following aimlessly and desperately trying to fit the trend.

 How terrible would be if we all looked the same?  First of all, entertainment and fashion business would disappear all together with many others.  And life would be extremely boring.  We can't all be skinny, or curvy, or have big breasts, long luscious hair, or whatever is that women today want to look like.  We have to embrace the fact that people come in ALL shapes and sizes, and make the best of it.  I know it's easier said than done.  But still try to be healthy and happy, and take care of your body!

Skinny Genes Part I.

 
 Talking about food draws attention to people's view on body image.  And I feel like it has to be mentioned, as I know it is a very controversial subject.  Not only in today's media or fashion World, but in our every day lives as well.</span>

 When I was in my teens, I continuously struggled with my self-image for being overly thin.  Of course it wasn’t my fault, even if I’d had eaten 10 juicy burgers a day, I wouldn’t have looked any different, it was in my genes to be skinny, as did my mom, my sister and many generations in my family before them.

 I was teased and mocked for the longest time in elementary and high school, was called names such as toothpick etc.  It was obviously no fun.  While my schoolmates had dates and young boy heads turning after them as they adolescent body developed into curvier, sexy figures.  My body stayed the same, only it stretched in a more vertical direction.

 I remember when in the 90’s those stretchy pans came into style, or at least they did in Hungary:).  My mom bought a bunch for me and my sister, who – despite the skinny genes – had some mild curves on the bottom and on the top as well.  While I, – even though she had two years plus on me – was completely left behind with almost nothing, but skin and bone.  And a little bit of muscle from my years spent in gymnast class, and practicing on the swim team.  So anyways, the pants fit her great, she was still pretty skinny, but it wasn’t sickening to look at her or anything like that.  While I – trying on the smallest size possible – still had a significant amount of airspace left between my tiny legs and the pants.  But thinking it was the fashion of the time, I MUST wear them, so I did.  Big mistake!  I was teased immediately and repeatedly by my classmates and some others around.  I hardly made it through the day, and remember running home after school.  My mom opening the door, and me breaking down crying, and complaining about how ugly and skinny I am.  Let me just tell you, those weren’t happy times.

 When I look back at old pictures I am surprised to see what a chubby baby I was.  An unusually chubby one.  Then a pretty little girl with a triple chin, and fat rolls on my butt and thighs.  But I didn’t develop in the same way as my other friends.

 Around the age of 11-12 I suddenly grew almost 5 inches.  I remember at the age of 14-15 getting into high school I was already over 5’7”, of course the tallest of not only the girls but amongst the boys as well.  I remember thinking, that’s it, I don’t want to grow anymore, this is plenty enough for me.  I didn’t know then, that somewhere another 4 inches were impatiently waiting to grow on me.

 I come from a generally tall family.  Most people would say what good genes I have, but believe me it’s not that comforting when you are a 15-year-old girl, trying to fit in.

 I know now that standing out of a crowd with my weight and height was the reason why I am, where I’m today, and I can’t complain.  Modeling had found me at the right time, and gave me the confidence i needed.  I have been extremely lucky not having to ever go on a diet, and make an entire carrier and great living with my looks.  I love eating, and as my boyfriend’s mother says, some people eat to live, and some live to eat.  I definitely belong to the latter group.  

 Growing up in Hungary, where pretty much every dish contains pork and potato in some form or another makes it hard to eat lean.  And being a vegetarian is almost out of the question.  Believe me I had tried it for a week just to see how I’d do, let’s just say it didn’t work out.  When me and my boyfriend Jason (no pork guy) traveled home together the first time to visit my family, it was hard to find a meal that he could eat.  As even such foods as a simple pasta dish of some sort will have pork in it.  So when my mom made an extra effort to leave pork out of the cooking and was proudly presenting her pork-free dinner dish, we realized it was cooked in pork fat.  I – of course - eat it up with much excitement.

 Hungary was never known of its lean cuisine, and its heavy eastern European dishes might be hearty and heavy sometimes, but also rich and tasty with flavors like paprika.

 So being on a diet is not the easiest thing to do, even though my mom’s cooking have gone healthier as years past on.  Food in her kitchen could still be much heavier then is some other nations.  And eating smoked sausage with warm white bread is still an every day habit.