Mesomorphs

My sister has come to the remarkable conclusion that she, and probably I, are mesomorphs. For those who aren't familiar with the terminology, ectomorphs are naturally thin. You've seen these people: they can eat fast food and potato chips all day and all that happens is they end up with a teeny little pot belly. Endomorphs are those who run naturally to fat--they can loose all the weight in the world and they'll still just look big, somehow. Mesomorphs are the in-between folks, who run to muscle.

She says it took her a long time to come to this conclusion, but as soon as she said it, I immediately applied it to myself. I've always been plump, even as a kid. On the other hand, as a kid, I was eating two bowls of cereal for breakfast, high-fat cafeteria slop for lunch, and a good-sized dinner. It has to do with, as Kendra once observed, still cooking for the farm even though none of us live on a farm anymore. I probably ate more as a kid than I do now. And yet . . . I've always been one of the most flexible people I know, regardless of weight. Likewise, I've never had trouble meeting the 50 lb. lifting requirement of some jobs. A friend once said that Nina and I were the strongest women she knew. (Nina is 4'11" and can out-lift me any day of the week).

And now that the weight is coming off and I'm starting to see myself again, I'm starting to realize that all the markers I thought meant I must be an endomorph are actually more indicative of mesomorph: broad shoulders, a tendency to look unhealthy if I get under about a size 12, and the fact that I weigh more than average at any given dress size. I'm told the "average" woman weighs 140 lbs. and wears a size 14 dress. When I was 15 and weighted 140 lbs., I was a size 8 closing hard on a size 6.

I can't say it's never been my goal to be thin. I was fifteen and stupid, once. But for years now, it's been my goal to be strong. The other day I walked out of the bathroom at work and two women were dithering around the water cooler. They'd just emptied it and they were looking for someone with muscles (their word, not mine) to change the bottle. So they grabbed me. And I changed the 5-gallon bottle of water, which I do quite routinely in this suite. Not a big deal. And one of them said to the other, "See, there are advantages to being a wimp."

I so totally don't understand that attitude, any more than I understand women who want men to hold doors for them. You're a grown up. Don't you feel good about being able to do things for yourself?

Last week's weigh-in: 186 lbs.