Can I be Fat AND Healthy?

The other day I saw a post on Facebook from a friend telling a cute story about her young daughter using the word "fat". My friend let her daughter know that the word "fat" isn't very nice and she should use the term "unhealthy". There was more to the story, and it was actually very cute, but the more I got to thinking about it, it actually started to bother me. I'm fat. Maybe that's not the PC term, and I'm sure I'm damaging some young girls' self esteem by making that remark, but let's be real here. I have excess amounts of fat cells around my entire body. I am fat. I'm also happy, creative, smart, witty, loved, and more importantly....healthy. I'm glad there are parents out there letting their children know that some comments are not appropriate, but to tell a child that fat = unhealthy drives me insane! Regardless of what society tells us, fat does not equal unhealthy, just as skinny does not equal healthy. Your blood pressure does not care what size your jeans are.

I am not saying we should be promoting obesity, or celebrating it. And all 222 lbs of me knows that I need to weigh less in order to maintain my long term health and my current weight is not ideal. But this fat girl has excellent blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. My oxygen efficiency is in the mid-athletic range. I run. I do strength training. I do cardio.

A good day at the gym looks like this for me:

And even the average day at the gym looks like this: 

And even a bad day at the gym looks like this: 

And every morning before 7 am, I get in at least 30 minutes of cardio. 

And my diet is amazing. I probably eat more vegetables in one day than most people do in a week. And I probably eat less refined grains in a week than most people do in a day. Processed foods are nearly absent from my diet. Instead, we eat whole foods, rich in vitamins and nutrients, focusing on seasonal and locally produced items, many of which come from our backyard.

My lunch from one day last week. Leftovers from the night before-Pork chop, asparagus and brussel sprouts. 

Part of my dinner from the other night...veggie kabobs on the grill

And I still get in my desserts because I love chocolate.

Chocolate, peanut butter "Ice cream" made from frozen bananas, peanut butter and cocoa. 

And I do all of it looking like this.

And to give some perspective, here's me 12 lbs heavier. Photos on the left are the "before". Photos on the right are 4 months later. I'm less fat now that I was before, but still healthy in both pictures.