Buy Walking VideosThe Diet Mentality
Here is yet another article about Spain’s rejection of models that are too thin, but with a twist. It suggests that the United States has an obsession with weight loss and that our energies could be focused elsewhere.
Kim states that all of our bodies are different and trying to make us all look like super-models is unrealistic.
“In reality, a wide variety of body types are normal, depending on one’s bone structure, metabolism and genetics. It is fruitless and misleading to expect everyone to conform to the same weight. Whether you are naturally muscular, chunky, twiggy, curvy or tiny, trying to change your body can be frustrating and even dangerous. When people try to make the body thinner than it is genetically programmed to be, it retaliates by becoming ravenous and vulnerable to binge eating, according to ANRED (Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders), a nonprofit organization against eating disorders. “
Kim has a point. The diet industry rakes in at least $30 billion a year. How many museums could we build with 30 billion bucks? Think of that huge number next time you’re tempted to buy some exercise gadget or weight loss pill. What should we do instead?
“Rather than focusing on weight loss at any cost, we should aim for good health at any size. Too many dieters harm their bodies and psyches by skipping meals, purging and popping pills in the quest for skinniness. We should eat for nutrition and well-being, not solely to lose weight. Amidst all the deprivation and guilt associated with eating, we often forget that fresh, simple food is a joy in itself.”
You can have a healthy and strong body and you still may never look like you want. It’s a sad truth, but learning to love your body now is the best way to loving it when you have reached a healthy goal weight.
Previous: Question of the Week: Fall Food
Next: Nike+iPod Failure
October 11th, 2006 at 12:14 am
I think the whole nothing tastes better than thin is a lie. Food taste better and health tastes better. I do not want to get thin in exchange of my health. I lost weight for health reasons.
October 11th, 2006 at 12:16 am
I also found out my body needs more weight than my BMI allows.
October 11th, 2006 at 5:42 am
“Kim states that all of our bodies are different and trying to make us all look like super-models is unrealistic.”
Who’s trying to make everyone look like supermodels? I’d settle for just having fewer fat people, like maybe the level of 1980 or so. Where are all these supermodel-looking Americans? They’re not at the Claim Jumper. Is there really a clear and present danger of sudden increase in skinny people? I certainly don’t see it.
“Different bodies” doesn’t mean fat bodies. You can be tall or short or long waisted, but “fat” isn’t a body type — it’s fat overlaid on whatever the basic body type is, caused and maintained by overeating.
“We should aim for good health at any size.”
Like good health at 350 pounds? You can be fairly healthy up to a certain BMI, but at “any size”? Not hardly.
October 11th, 2006 at 10:50 am
I know a lot of tricks to stay thin, but the main thing that works is exercise and limiting your amount of food intake, and I do have a body most women would die for from what I’ve been told, I am a gymnast. I still don’t think there is any way to stay thin except to exercise and decrease the amount of food but I wouldn’t do anything dangerous to try to stay thin.
July 20th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
i weight 150 and im 11 how do i get skinny and FAST????
February 11th, 2008 at 11:39 am
I still don’t understand why people pay thousands of dollars to go on a diet. It should actually cost you LESS money because you’re eating less.