Here’s some food for thought: you literally need food if you want to have substantial thoughts. In order for your brain to function, you need to eat. But in today’s society, that scientifically proven fact has been overshadowed by loads of propaganda put out by the media. From an early age, we have all sorts of negative messages drilled into our minds about something that we need in order to survive. We are taught that calories are something to fear, and that food and guilt should go hand-in-hand. Commercials like those put out by Special K imply that forcing yourself to restrict your diet is something to be proud of, and that the number on the scale holds some sort of special power. They imply that a lower weight leads to a happier life, asking us, “What will you gain when you lose?” to which paid actors reply, “Confidence!”
But in reality, that is hardly the case. No matter how much you change your outside, you will always be the same person on the inside – so if you don’t feel beautiful, it’s your brain that needs some work, not your body. To quote Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City, “The problem isn’t with your thighs, sweetie, it’s with your head.” The key to self-confidence isn’t in dropping weight, but in dropping the ridiculous standards we are expected to follow.
Now, I realize that for some people, losing weight truly is necessary in order for them to be medically healthy – and in that case, losing weight is not in itself a problem. However, many popular weight loss methods, and the unhealthy ideas that come with them, are. Take dieting, for example. When people go on diets, they tend to eat far less than their bodies need, which of course causes them to shed pounds. But once the diet is over, they are likely to gain back most or all of what they lost, and crave lots of food due to so much restriction. Once that happens, many people start yet another diet, thus beginning an unending cycle. 35% of “normal” dieters become pathological dieters, and of those, 20-25% develop full-blown eating disorders. In the end, focusing only on silly things like calories and restriction is not a healthy way to become healthier – in fact, it has the opposite effect. I mean, in what way is beating yourself up over numbers and obsessing over what you eat healthy? The better option (which is unfortunately seldom discussed) is learning moderation.
Unlike dieting, moderation is not about “good” foods and “bad” foods, but is instead about some of everything. Moderation is about having your fruits and vegetables, but sometimes having pizza and ice cream too. Now, you may be thinking, “but pizza and ice cream are so unhealthy!” The thing is, in moderation, they’re not. Sure, having pizza all day every day wouldn’t be the best idea, but the same thing applies to “healthy” foods, like carrots. If you only ever ate carrots, you wouldn’t’ be any better off than if you just ate pizza. But in moderation, both foods are completely fine. Ultimately, it is far healthier to let yourself eat so-called “junk foods” than it is to live your life in fear of them.
Another problem with today’s diet industry is that many people who think they need to shed weight really don’t. Super thin models on TV and in magazines set unrealistic standards of what an ideal weight should be. In reality, though, most models are thinner than 98% of the American population, and are ridiculously photoshopped as well. People think that just because they don’t look like a model, they aren’t thin enough – but that’s not true at all. There is not one single definition of what a healthy body is or looks like. A healthy BMI is generally anywhere between 20 and 25. And even then, there are people outside that range who are not only equally healthy, but equally beautiful as well. Although BMI is a more accurate estimate of health than just weight since it accounts for height, it does not account for body composition. This means that some people who are in fact healthy could be classified as “overweight” on the BMI chart. Take athletes, for example: many athletes have a higher BMI because of the amount of muscle they have. But despite being at a high BMI, they are not “unhealthy” – in fact, they are quite the opposite.
It seems that somewhere in history, someone decided that beauty and health could be measured in pounds, and over time that, belief has grown exponentially – but that doesn’t make it true. Beauty lies in who you are, not in what you weigh. The unfair beauty standards put upon us have gone on for far too long, and have had an unacceptable impact on today’s youth. 81% of 10 year-old girls are terrified of becoming “fat”, and 42% of girls in first through third grade want to be thinner. Children should spend their time playing with friends and learning how to bring their presence to this world, not worrying about how to shrink to unrealistic standards. From birth, children should be taught told that they are beautiful and valuable – but what happens is instead the opposite, and it is time for things to change.
So, treat yourself to that cupcake at the bakery and let yourself be confident in those new jeans, whether they’re a size 00 or a size 20. No matter what your bodies size is, you are gorgeous – and it’s high time you started letting yourself believe it.