We're defined by so many numbers in our society. From our height and weight to our GPA and SAT score, we are surrounded by numbers that tell us what category we fall into. Tall and skinny makes you a model, a 4.0 and high IQ make you gifted. The thing about numbers, though, is that they don't mean anything.

During my sophomore year of high school, I was at the peak of my athletic career. I was in the best shape of my life, and probably more importantly, I was happy. I was the heaviest I had ever been, but I was the happiest I had ever been with my body. We won our state championship and we went to nationals. I was ecstatic. I never once thought about my weight, I was too busy relishing the success my body brought me. My body was a tool I could use to create my own success.

My junior and senior year, I lost about 30 pounds. Once the season had ended my sophomore year, I suddenly became self-conscious of my body. I didn't like the way my stomach stuck out a little bit, the way my thighs looked thicker than my boyfriend's or the way a small double chin had formed under my original chin. So I started eating less and working out more. It probably didn't help that I was surrounded by other girls that not only distorted their own image of a healthy body but constantly would stand in front of the only mirrors in the boathouse and criticize every part of their bodies.

Weight is just the attractive forces between you and the planet you're on, and the numerical value is honestly quite arbitrary. You would weigh one-sixth of what you weigh on Earth on the moon! Even in different stages of the day and different altitudes, our weight is subject to change. Our weight is the one thing in our life that constantly changes not only throughout our entire lives but every second of every day.

How can we even define who we are by a number that changes every time you brush your hair or drink a glass of water? Wouldn't it be better to define our worth and beauty based on the number of people we make smile from our sense of humor, the people who love us, what we love to study, how many languages we know, how many people whose lives we've changed, how much of the Earth we've seen, what we want to master next? Those things will all change over time, but our weight will change so much more that its fluctuation is not the end of the world or a reason to put your own health in danger.

Hearing some of my best friends around me say they're going on a juice "cleanse" in the middle of a sports season, or they need to cut out carbs completely to squeeze into their size-too-small prom dress, or even hearing women who are my role models say something negative about their bodies relative to their weight breaks my heart. They make the split decision to drop ten pounds that they didn't even need to lose in the first place.

The only reason you should lose weight is if you clear it with your doctor or another medical professional. They know better than we do about how our bodies are doing health-wise. Even then, they'll give you a plan to do it in a healthy and safe way.

What I want you to take away from this is that your body is perfect as long as it is healthy. Being underweight is just as problematic as being overweight. The most important thing you can do in your life is to treat your body with respect and love, it's the only one you have.

Much love from,

The girl who thought losing weight would solve her all problems.