I was in my car running errands the other day and I heard a radio ad for a weight loss company. They were interviewing one of their "success stories" and she was saying that until this program she had back problems, was tired all of the time and over all wasn't enjoying her life (that was the message she gave, at least). Then they asked the big question...how much did she lose? Her answer was "I went from a size 8 to a size 2."
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?! My GOAL is a size 8.
I get that these companies target overweight people (mostly women). I understand that when you are 20, 30, 50, 80 pounds overweight that those extra pounds do things to your body that you don't even realize they are doing. But unless you are under 3 feet tall, a size 8 is a healthy weight. A beautiful weight. And to target women who are at a healthy weight...to imply that unless you are a size 2 you need to lose weight...well, that's bullshit. (Sorry mom!)
A couple of years ago I made a vow on this very blog to stop talking about my body issues. And I'm not going to start again now. But I am going to say this... I eat a gluten-free, almost sugar free diet. I exercise 5 - 6 days week for 1 1/2 hours. I can't say that none of that is for my weight, but I can say that each day that passes it's less and less about my weight and more about how I feel. I may not have reached my goal (I'm close!), but for anyone to imply that my size 8 isn't good enough...isn't thin enough...that because I'm not a size 2 I need to lose another 40 pounds, that really gets my goat.
I'm sure you've all seen this by now, but it's something that I think all women, not just young girls, need to see. We have unrealistic expectations for ourselves and for others and it's destroying healthy female self-esteem throughout our entire country.
http://www.upworthy.com/see-why-we-have-an-absolutely-ridiculous-standard-of-beauty-in-just-37-seconds
I'm going to forget about what the scale says and what size pants I buy...my new goal is to teach my daughters (and son, too) to eat healthy and to love their bodies and the beautiful array of bodies God has created. Even bodies that aren't a size 2.
