"Have you lost weight yet?"

I've posted a couple of workouts on Facebook and mentioned to people that I've taken up running. I'm wondering if I should stop doing that. My natural enthusiasm and excitement about finally digging my heels into the sport I love may need to be taken down a bit. Why? Because no one gets it. If I swallowed a jar of tapeworms and added the caveat that I'm doing it for weight loss, people would nod and just say "Oh." It would probably be followed with some unsolicited dieting advice.

But if you say you are running because you like running, and you are doing a tough exercise program because you want to be stronger to be a better runner, people think you've lost your mind. They can't seem to wrap their heads around it. I went to a luncheon and didn't eat anything. Why? Because I had already eaten before I found out about the luncheon, and frankly, I'm sick of stuffing my face for the sake of being polite. When I said I was on an eating plan for a workout program, the first question is "Have you lost weight yet?" When I told them it was so I could be a better runner, they became a table of deer and I was the headlights.

Someone asked me how was I doing at a reception. I mentioned that I was getting ready for my first 10K. The response was, "Oh, you're running...have you lost weight yet?" I'm starting to view that question to be up there with "Aren't you going to get married?" and "Don't you think you should have a child before you get too old?" I even had to snap at my niece because she decided to critique my grocery list, stating "You can't have that...you're on a diet." I replied, "I'm not on a diet, you are just projecting your own issues." She's 18 and she was asking for it.

I'm not in this for weight loss. Being a human bobble head is not the objective. I'm doing this because I want to be stronger, I want to be healthier, and dammit, I want to run farther and faster. My No. 1 priority is to become a better runner. I view weight loss as a side effect, nothing more. I'm not on an effing diet, I'm morphing my lifestyle. Girls go on diets, women push for healthier lifestyles and I'm a WOMAN, dammit!

I'm fat. I know that. No one needs to tell me that. But I'm checking calories because I want to maximize the fuel I put in my body so I can move faster and stronger. Do I want to get smaller? Of course? Why? Because I'll move faster and it's effing impossible to find run gear in my size.

But that's it. That is as far as the weight concerns go. You can go on a diet if you want, but don't expect me to come along for the ride. I've evolved beyond that.