The Skinny Itch

Get your thyroid checked, screamed my bestie,a mum of two kids under four,when I told her I weigh as much at 35 as I did at 20.

Get your thyroid checked, screamed my bestie,a mum of two kids under four,when I told her I weigh as much at 35 as I did at 20. In typically California-style (she lives in Frisco,eats only organic,has an amazing number of food allergies,you get the drift),she jumped out of the sofa and at her Macbook,telling me half-a-dozen reasons why I could be a ticking thy-bomb. Terrified,I had my blood tested the following week and all was fine. But it got me thinking: why does thin have to be automatically misunderstood as sick?

Marriage,child and a high-stress job havent made me pile on the kilos. I am just thin. I am a reasonably tall woman and the only time I weighed over 55 kg was during my second trimester. I lost my post-partum jiggles with a daily hour of walking. I eat all my meals,healthily I think. I skip carbs at night,but eat them for lunch. I dont like fried food but I will have at least one piece of chocolate every day. I dont take my slimness for granted. I swim at least four days a week,even when its cold outside. I cant live with any less exercise. Does that make me unwell? Or extremely well?

We live in a terribly judgmental world. While there is a lot of emphasis on being lean today,never before this has there been as much premium on fitness and healthy living. I have enough friends in their forties who run a couple of miles every day. It gives them a high,they sing. Theyre right; running causes the brain to produce Endocannabinoids,a lipid also produced when smoking pot.

A regular dawn at the Marine Drive crescent is filled with cyclists on their European bikes and neon biker helmets. The scene continues into rush hour too,some executives actually cycle to work.

Aishwarya Rai is mocked as auntyji by fashion blogs for not being able to shed her pregnancy weight five months after her daughter was born. If Lara Dutta is back to her svelte self in two months,why not Ash,they demand. A fashion magazine has on its cover the stunning wives of two uber-successful actors. Theyre glamourous,beautiful and slim,their legs taking up half the cover page.

A young girlfriend of mine dumped her rather handsome and successful suitor because he had a paunch. If he cant even care for himself she reasoned. If Kalli Puries Confessions of a Serial Dieter and Yana Guptas How to Love Your Body and Get the Body You Love,chronicles of their struggle with weight-loss,are instant bestsellers,obviously we are a nation striving to be healthier and more slender. (I love Puries idea of saving up for golden calories.)

But at the same time,our attitudes towards thin women is at once coloured with suspicion. Models smoke to kill their appetite. Anushka Sharma must be anorexic. Queenie Singh has surely had a tummy tuck. Are we confused/ hypocritical/ envious/ striving to be politically correct or all of the above?

Story continues below this ad

Just because we commend the efforts of women in getting the body they desire and then maintain,doesnt make us self-loathing creatures. Lets think about it,while on the treadmill.

namratanow@gmail.com

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

The Skinny Itch

Get your thyroid checked, screamed my bestie,a mum of two kids under four,when I told her I weigh as much at 35 as I did at 20.

Get your thyroid checked, screamed my bestie,a mum of two kids under four,when I told her I weigh as much at 35 as I did at 20.