Food, non-food, and its repercussions.
Ok, so I've recently drastically changed my diet.
Much less cheese-centric, and a lot less carbs and meat.
It's not a particular diet, more just sensible healthy eating.
I'd put on a bit of weight that I didn't feel happy about, so I figured a change was worth a shot. Now, I don't weigh myself. That just makes me fixate on my weight, and is most likely to make me slip back into harmful eating habits (or non-eating habits). Which is, obviously, not helpful. So I tend to go by how I look, and how I feel.
Well, I've definitely seen a difference with this change. I'm looking better, and I have a HELL of a lot more energy. These give me more self-confidence, which makes my general mood better. All in all, it's going well, and I'm happy with it.
Which leads me to...
Whilst reading the Metro newspaper yesterday, I stumbled across this article.
I have three words for you, readers:
WHAT. THE. HELL?
Up to 97 per cent of women consider a size 12 to be fat and 58 per cent are convinced men also find size zero women attractive.
Now, I'm telling myself that they have to be using the US sizings here. Because no fucking way is that the UK sizings. Either way, WHAT THE HELL?
I didn't realise that 'up to' 97% of UK women were brain dead.
I have so many problems with this attitude. This body-hatred. This food-hatred. What is WRONG with us that emaciation is seen as a goal?
Yes, the irony is not lost on me - me who has a history of eating disorders, me who has been talking above about eating more healthily in order to feel better about my body. But all things in moderation. I have no problems with people's body sizes. I don't mock people for being large or small. But when women - adult, full grown women, with adult brains - are ASPIRING to become malnourished? That's when it gets scary, in my opinion.
It seems to me that these women don't want to be teeny for attractiveness sake, in and of itself. They have convinced themselves that men will not find them attractive if they're 'fat', and have created for themselves ever more rigid interpretations of the word. And that's really disheartening.
posted by Hieronymous Anonymous @ 6:35 pm
8 comments
8 Comments:
Death chic is so very in.
You know my thoughts on what a woman should look like, so I will taunt you severely if you ever approach a size zero. But wouldn't that mean you wouldn't actually exist, though?
My personal preference is for a woman who many of that mindset would consider "fat"... I will not even begin to try to compare dress size with body size...
let it be known that you are perfect just the way you are...
That the sum total of who you are brought you to being as you are right now... and the "outside" portion of that person is but a tiny fraction of the whole. That is not to say that change is not good or desirable... perfect doesn't mean impossible to improve upon - at least not in this definition of it. It just means that you should be able to find some level of comfort with yourself and learn love your self image as it is (while striving to shed some excess weight since that is your ultimate goal).
Your "What the hell" is over the classic blunder of many of the masses.... following the herd... listening to "them"... placing "their" opinion above your own. Ok... so what if SOME (or even MOST) of the women in the survey felt that way - WE DON'T!
Just a bit of advice on something that worked for me... counting calories. Ultimately, you can only gain weight if you take in more calories than you body burns. www.calorie-count.com was a good place for me.
Very sensible eating plan Boo.
As for the size thing, well I hope that was US sizes too, although it still is ridiculous.
If you want to get REALLY mad, watch America's Next Top Model and look at the contestants that they refer to as "plus sized models" or "big girls" :-0.
Size 0??? There are places out there that have a size 0? I'm pretty sure the smallest we go down to over here is a 4 and you can't even buy those in everyday shops. I think an 8 is the smallest in the normal shops and in some dress shops like Hiltons and Intagible they go down to a 6 but a size 0??? Do women like that have to buy infants wear?
I know I've just ranted on my blog about that girl who was muffin topping but that was a rant about how she was wearing clothes too small, not over how she looked. But I guess though it kind of makes a statement backing up that article. A lot of women are really deadset on being a smaller clothing size.
And Joe, I totally agree with you on the calorie thing. I've tried a hell of a lot of ways to lose weight before and ultimately this has been by far the easiest. I've lost 5 kilos in three weeks and I may have been working my arse off at the gym but I believe it's mainly down to the fact I've been keeping track of calories. It really makes you realise just how many calories are in the stuff you used to eat.
I've never really personally felt that there was any absolute correlation between size and attractiveness. Slim doesn't always mean attractive, and pudgy doesn't always mean off-putting. It's sort of like being black haired or brunette: a girl can be one or the other and still be attractive. Some girls look better one way, some better the other. And some can look great whichever way.
Going to extremes either way is generally unattractive, though. And too many girls seem to be seeing extremely thin as being desirable. It actually annoys me a bit, such as when I'm in the mall or walking around by the university or in other places where there are lots of young ladies wandering around strutting their stuff; I'll see a girl who has the potential to be good-looking, but she's gone and trimmed away everything and has the legs of a goose. I understand that some girls are that way naturally and can't help it due to their genes or metabolisms, but there's no way that that many of the girls here are that way genetically.
Wanting to cut down on your weight in order to feel healthier is one thing, wanting to get rid of ALL your weight to fit some mass-marketed ideal is another matter altogether.
Of course, I'm sort of stuck in the opposite problem right now. I lost a lot of weight from overexertion and sickness over a year ago, and have been trying to gain some of it back. And believe me, it's as much of a challenge and frustration to me as is losing weight to any of you girls. My body does not produce fat. My body fat index is around 0.3%, while the "normal" for healthy men is something like 5%. So the only way I can gain mass is by gaining muscle, and we all know how much more difficult it is to gain and keep muscle than it is to gain fat. Plus my muscle tends to just grow denser rather than bulkier. There is literally no way that I could increase my intake of calories, protein, or other nutrients without doing myself considerable damage; if I increase my levels of one thing, I'll have to cut back on something else. I've been verrrrrrrry slowly gaining in weight over the months, but I don't know when/if I'll be back to what I was before.
just remember there is such a thing as fashion sizing
Isn't the UK average a size 16? I believe. But they are probably talking about UK sizes, there's girls in my classes *ashamed* of being a size 10 or 12 because they think they're obese or something.
Hmm.
Well, I'm around a size 44, Thunder. . .
;-)
Post a Comment
<< Home