Today, I'm Normal

I hate the word normal. I much prefer average. Yes, they mean different things, though you can sometime substitute one for the other. But the idea that by losing 1 lb the BMI has decided that I'm normal is off-putting. Especially in this circumstance, you would think that healthy and unhealthy would apply. I was at an unhealthy weight for my height and age, and now I'm at a healthy weight. To be fair, an average weight for my height and age, may not be a healthy weight. America is now known for its problems with obesity, so average isn't necessarily good news. But normal?  All normal means is conforming to standard or common type. I can see standard, but who wants to be common?

My problem has always been associated with normal. Being normal in NYC is not the same as it is in Boston or anywhere else. I work in Soho where model sightings are an hourly occurrence. Bless them, those women are not a normal size. My yoga teacher's daughter models for Hilfiger internationally -- she's 14. While I can strive to improve myself, I cannot achieve the body of a 14 year old. Padma Lakshmi goes to the same gym as I. On TV and in photos, Padma looks thin, but shapely. In person, she is incredibly thin. In fact, I only noticed her because she was so thin. I will watch the women at the gym who are quite obviously gym-junkies. They're not buff, they're bones. They will work out 3+ hours a day taking strenous classes that they do their best to make harder. I've studied at Ailey, I know what a dancer's body looks like, and that's not what these women aspire to. Dancers must have muscle tone. But these women are nothing more than skin and bone.

Padma spoke to a reporter from "PopEater" about her daily routine. “I woke up at 6AM, I nursed. Then I ran up and down 70 flights of stairs. Then I had breakfast, then went to the gym and lifted weights for an hour. Then I walked home.” Um. . . besides the fact that most people don't have that kind of time, 70 flights!?! 70!?! Firefighters don't train that hard, and they run up flights of stairs professionally. And she does it before breakfast? Am I the odd one to think this is extreme? Or is this normal???

P.S.
Made it through dinner last night but sadly no one ordered anything that smelled particularly good to me. Smelling has become my replacement at meal time. My director's noodles at rehearsal smelled great! (Soba noodles with tofu.) The poor dear was trying to munch down her dinner, and I was fanning my script at it to get a better whiff. But dessert didn't smell at all, and that was disappointing because it looked good. Chocolate bread pudding and fried donuts with ice cream should smell a lot stronger please!

Daily Breakdown: Thursday

JuicesConsumed: Pineapple Juice; Acai for Me, Vega/Water/Banana

Weight Loss:  1 lb (Juice Feast Total: 14.5 lbs)

Bodily Functions:  Normal

Exercise: Diesel, with a substitute teacher. (My guy is vacationing in India.)