Peace Be With You

Sometimes I tire over the constant chatter about fitness and nutrition. I get the importance of being healthy, but the mania and pressure of “high school skinny” - ehh. Been there, tried that, I’m ready to coast on common sense. I want to eat delicious, healthy food, as opposed to choking down powdery mixes, and I want to do workouts that make me happy, not the ones I dread more than a dental drill.

We all know it’s hard to fight off the pressure and comparison. In my life, I have been cursed, blessed, whichever, to have a slew of close friends who are inexplicably thin and fit. They work out like fiends and eat super clean every day. Explain that to me. There are no double chins, not even during their pregnancies, and bikinis always, even during their pregnancies. As if a fit exterior isn’t enough, these friends of mine are thoughtful, funny and supportive. I hate them.

I wonder if you are truly bonded with a friend if you can’t occasionally lament about the challenge of choosing kale over the #1 combo. If you’ve never muttered expletives at a scale or identified with a classic “Cathy” comic strip, you may not understand. My friends and I who have weathered Weight Watchers, paleo, keto, boot camps, wasted gym memberships, from couch to 5k programs and glorious binges followed by guilt - we’ve been through the trenches. “I’ll start Monday” is our battle cry and sometimes we really do start Monday.

No matter shape, size, cravings or physical prowess, something all my friends understand and agree on are leggings- follow me here, I have a point. We never thought we’d see leggings circle back from the 80s and become a wardrobe staple, but here we are with drawers full. The obvious reasons we wear them are that they are comfortable, much more so than jeans, and they’re versatile. They’re the antithesis to the bridesmaid dress that “you can totally wear again.” We wear leggings all the time: to bed, to work, to the gym, on a date. They’re as varietal as underwear, offering cuts, colors and fabrics to fit your fancy. They’re Superpants! Spandex by day, pleather by night! Note to user: Please bend over to test the transparency of your Superpants. The great Leonard Cohen once said “there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” He is exactly right.

The athleisure variety of leggings is a fan favorite. We know them as “yoga pants.” Though we may be unsure if a chaturanga is a Mexican dish or a pose, we reserve the right to call our leggings yoga pants. That name implies promise and intent, as if yoga is where we’re headed right after the Chick-Fil-A drive through. The Catch 22 with yoga pants, and most leggings, is that they’re like the friend who doesn’t tell you the truth for fear of hurting your feelings. Maybe you wonder if your constant snacking during the Great Quarantine of 2020 has taken a toll. Maybe your favorite shirt feels snug…is it time to wind down your Wine Wednesdays? But the leggings, bless them, they still fit! They’re as forgiving as priests, stretching to accommodate you just as you are, “come on in, extra 5 pounds, peace be with you.”

Leggings are our uniform, our go-to for comfort, style and fitness. They are fashion in 2020. It’s the biggest trend I can remember since low-rider jeans, when our butt cracks were on display for a decade. In a time when body image and comparison is such a constant, perhaps we should lean (or stretch? bend?) into leggings as stewards of acceptance. They’re really on to something- that bit of common sense we all need. They’re as much a symbol of fitness as they are of the “all bodies are beautiful” movement. Whether you’re 5 pounds up, 5 pounds down or could care less, leggings, like good friends, are supportive. Nutrition and fitness are so important, but so is sanity. Always remember the Superpants credo: “Get moving, give yourself grace and don’t worry…we’ve got your crack.”