Big in Japan

I love this song...my kids and I listen to it often, especially in the car...
we turn it up loud, roll down the windows and sing.

Though the song has nothing to do with weight, every time I hear it, I can't help but think about how I hate to feel "Big in Japan"...

I've never really had a Japanese body type. I'm taller than any of the women on my Japanese side and have always had way more curves. I have gone through periods when I have been thinner and others when I am thicker (like now) but I have never been a stick figure...I have always had thicker legs, a rounder rump and more bosom than my mom and aunt put together. Unfortunately this different body type caused much frustration growing up, because I always thought that something was wrong with me.

It really wasn't until I met my husband that I gained a new appreciation for the fact that my body type will always be different from my Japanese relatives. My husband loves to revel at the fact that I have inherited an "Irish" body type (from the other side of my genetic pool). Lucky for me, he loves curvy... All the things that I always thought were genetic abnormalities are precisely the things that he loves about me.

It feels good to be validated for who I am.

And on that note, I realize that the ideal for me is not to look like my mom or any average Japanese person for that matter. I am perfectly fine with the fact that even at my thinnest weight, I am still considered plus sized in Japan (one year I went to Japan and I was the smallest I had ever been...about a size 6/8 US... and even then, I could not find a pair of jeans that weren't in the "plus size section!!!)

Honestly, I have come to terms with my body...sure, I want to lose some weight (right now I am definitely at the larger end of my size spectrum) but I do not want to feel bad about who I am...

That said...I am going to work on getting myself into shape...the way I see fit. And though I will still be considered "Big in Japan", I won't care because I am happy with me!

Thank you to my dear hubby aka "He who shall not be named".