“It’s okay, worst comes to worst I’ll go to Mexico and go on the tapeworm diet.”
This was said on national television on the popular reality show Say Yes to the Dress, and although the woman may have meant it as a joke, the sad truth is that the diet actually exists. You travel to Mexico and pay around $2000 dollars to ingest a beef tapeworm cyst, which proceeds to go into your intestinal system and steals a great deal of the food you eat. So, basically all you have to do is consume a parasite and go on with your normal eating habits, right? Wrong. The tapeworm ultimately feeds off of your energy and health and you end up becoming sickly with rapid weight loss. Needless to say, it is not the healthiest way to lose weight, although it may be efficient.
(Photo via Prevention)
There are many fads nowadays that take the “easy way out” of losing weight. However, it is also often ridiculously unhealthy. There are pills you can get online that are hunger-suppressants, cleanses you can go on and diets in which you only consume 500 calories a day. And all for what? For that perfect summer body?
Simply the existence of these simple yet dangerous ways to slim down is like catnip for those who are perpetually insecure or suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder (a disease in which one sees their body as much as 15% larger than it actually is). The way diets and cleanses and even eating disorders are talked about nowadays make them seem more like fads, like high-waisted shorts that are in style this season. The media promotes this stick-skinny version of women, and sells lingerie and swimsuits worn by models that if they turned sideways you’d wonder where they vanished to.
(Famous model Karlie Kloss, before & after photoshopping // Photo via Shape.com)
Although technically eating disorders are often only classified by Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binging and Purging, an unhealthy diet can be considered one too. If you are not consuming enough in a day to keep your energy up and to keep your body functioning the way it needs to, you are putting it at risk. So what is more important? Fitting into a size 2 and looking sickly, or being the size your body wants to be and feeling healthy and revived? Contrary to what magazines depict, a size zero or two is not normal. It depends on your body type; some are built larger than others, but that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t define who they are - each person has a different “healthy weight” for themselves. Sure, someone can be a size 2 and be completely healthy because that is what is determined by their body type. They are just as beautiful as someone who is a size 6, or a size 12. As long as you’re taking care of your body, size is just an arbitrary number.
Saying that it "doesn't really mean anything" sounds a lot simpler than it is, and it doesn’t discount that people often remain unhappy with their bodies. People will still suffer from eating disorders and various diseases that aid in them seeing themselves as worth less than they actually are. But instead of promoting these diets and cleanses, it is important to promote a healthy lifestyle. Everyone has a little bit of pudge, the same way everyone has their little quirks that make them the individuals that they are. It is important to embrace that. If you want to lose weight, eat healthy and exercise. Make sure you have a good sleep schedule and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Because ultimately, that’s what matters.
It's also important to consider that when attempting to change your body in some way is who you are doing it for; is it for you or someone else? If someone is judging you based off of your weight, then they clearly are not worth your time; as the great Dr. Seuss once said, "Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." It may be cliche, but it’s personality that matters most, so don’t let someone else dictate what you put in your body or what you put on it.
