4 years ago I was someone who suffered from an eating disorder. Many of those people closest to me would tell me time and time again that I looked unhealthy and that I needed to stop losing weight. There were days where I would eat the bare minimum just to be able to function and then would go do endless amounts of cardio. I remember countless nights falling asleep starving with my stomach growling at me for food. At that point, looking and being healthy was almost a negative concept for me. I took peoples concerns as compliments. I enjoyed being stick skinny and did not see myself the way others saw me. I was fading away. It took fainting spells, anemia and scaring my family to death to realize I needed a change. I won't lie and say that I don't still sometimes struggle with body image dysmorphia. But I have found and hope to continue a healthy lifestyle change. Here are some things I would like to point out that I hate seeing girls fall victim to in todays society.
1. Dieting
I am so sick of people telling me they are dieting. First of all diets are awful for you, second they do not stick. Going on a no carb diet for example, is awful for your health and hormonal levels but also will not stick and result in binge eating. Ads such as weight watchers and Jenny Craig are only marketing a diet plan that will inevitably not work with foods that are not even filled with the nutrients we need in our everyday life.
2. Starving themselves
Letting themselves starve because eating is so stressful for them. When you are hungry, eat. When you begin to not eat when you are hungry this is a serious problem and is not something to be remotely proud of. Starving yourself is a temporary solution for a much bigger problem. Losing weight and being healthy requires fueling your body with healthy and wholesome foods that gives you enough energy to go about your day.
3. Doing endless amounts of cardio
Doing cardio the entire hour at the gym and not even going towards the weights. Lifting weights is what increases muscle so by running on the treadmill for hours all you are doing is wasting time. I used to do this. Going to the gym was not only dreadful but I never saw any positive results. The gym now is something I crave and that is because I enjoy the workouts I do.
4. Obsessing over every single thing they eat and how much they eat.
If the piece of pizza you had two days ago is still making you feel awful about yourself this is a problem. Everyone deserves to treat themselves and enjoy the foods they love It is a serious problem when these things start to affect your mental and physical well being.
5. Criticizing others for not sharing their eating habits.
Criticizing those who eat what they want and are still healthy. Criticizing those for eating the piece of pizza or cake. This is not only extremely rude but is just a sign of mental insecurities that someone else's eating habits take over your own life.
6. Constantly judging themselves.
Never being completely satisfied with how they look. Believe me I have been there and still often will feel this way. Self confidence is just way too important and by constantly bashing on yourself you will never achieve the goals you want to. With models who are 6 feet tall and weigh maybe 105 pounds it is hard to feel that our bodies are perfect the way they are. Anorexia is not at all a fashion statement and it is almost disgusting to me that this society promotes that idea of beauty in the world today.
7. Constantly wanting to see a lower number on the scale.
A scale does not tell you how healthy you are. By constantly losing weight there is absolutely no chance you are gaining muscle. This is something that is not only unhealthy for your mental health but is also unhealthy physically. If the number on a scale determines your self worth and self love then this is a serious problem.
I felt compelled to write this article because lately I am so sick of hearing girls tell me these things and care so much about losing weight. This is a mental illness and it is not something to just cross off as being "skinny". I am all for eating healthy and exercising but when it becomes an obsession and prohibits people from enjoying life it is extremely unhealthy and actual depressing to see. Being skin and bones not only looks bad but is damaging to your physical health in the long run. I wish society would stop putting this image in young girls minds that being stick thin is the only thing that matters in life. Being strong is the new skinny and enjoying your life is way too important to risk all for a stick thin figure. I love healthy eating and fitness but the key word is "healthy." Having an eating disorder is not a positive or healthy thing and this world needs to stop putting that idea into young girls heads. Choose strong not skinny.
