Studying WWII has made me wonder.....

j_courter

In the past several months I've watched several documentaries on WWII and read a few survivors' biographies as well. As a person who has struggled in the past with deciding just how much weight I want to lose, it really gave me a fresh perspective on those 5+ "vanity pounds" I wouldn't mind shedding. I am at a healthy weight for my age and frame size and I am in the best physical shape I've ever been in. The competitive spirit inside me says if I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it all the way... so I have been disheartened in the past when I can't seem to shed those last few pounds and drop below 16%-17% body fat.

As I watched and read about the people in concentration camps and in hiding who were literally starving to death, I realized that our bodies were meant to hang on to those last few pounds for a reason, we NEED some fat to fall back on. This realization has opened my eyes to explore a totally new view on diet and exercise. The numbers on the scales, body fat or weight, don't mean a thing. The goal is not to weigh the 110 pounds I weighed in high school, or to drop below 15% body fat... the goal is good health, which means having something to fall back on for a time should the need arise. I would like to think we have come a long way as a species since the atrocities of WWII, but when I look around at other illness and diseases that plague our people, I see yet another reason to have at least some extra energy stored...just in case.

Perhaps I'm just rambling incoherent thoughts, but I wanted to share a fresh perspective for those of you, like me, who have found yourselves "hung up" on a certain number on the scales. Our bodies are smarter than we give them credit for, maybe, just maybe, we should listen.

cNhobbes

i love everything you said in here. excellent points. i've thought the same thing myself.

j_courter

cnh- i guess we're the only ones. :ohwell:

:flowerforyou: i you!

30yearssincebikini

People get caught up in today's society, and in this society those last few pounds mean a lot.

My grandfather was on the beach at Normandy on that fateful day. He was a military doctor who traveled everywhere, mainly Europe and Africa during the war healing. He healed that day and he was too late for many. He had seen many of the atrocities that you speak of, so for me, who has a family very much in the thick of that war it is very dear to my heart.

My mother is French, and she barely survived the war. Because of some sneaky dealings with the Nazi's, my grandfather was able to spare her the concentration camps, but many of her friends died in them. There was no electriciy, food or gas(the Nazi's took everything) so they had to secretly make gardens and the neighborhood folk would take turns cultivating them. They made bread in the basement so the smell would not let on that they had food. I could go on and on, in fact, I told my mother she should write a book.

She didn't see her father until she was nine years old, the year 1945, when the war ended and he came home. Her mother had left, couldn't get along with his parents, I suppose. When she was 10, her mother finally called on her to visit summers.
Her mother had remarried someone rich. So as children, we went to see her in a huge mansion with servants haha! But really, it isn't how we really were. My mother married a sailor from the States and we came to the U.S. in early sixties. But my father also served in the war, in one of the bloodiest fights in the Pacific - Guam. If you are still studying, look up this war. I don't know how he made it out alive, but he never would talk about it.

Well, sorry about the long answer, but I get very wistful thinking about what my family has gone through during this terrible war, and how, through sheer luck, both of my parents survived.

But back to what you were saying about starvation, I think it's wonderful that you can see that your body needs that few extra pounds. They are there for a reason!

j_courter

30years- thank you for your input. you can only learn so much from the history books... the stories of the survivors are a much better barometer of how the events really occurred. i do think your mother should write a book. too many people have already forgotten...

i can't imagine being a medic in normandy. i'm sure your grandfather was a HUGE blessing to many of the injured soldiers. from what i've read, guam was a horrific place to be. i just can't imagine the midset of the japanese soldiers at that time, even after the war was over. incredible...