Why are we so obsessed with losing weight?

While doing some posting on a few forums that I am a member of, I was reading posts about people trying to lose weight and some of the ladies who were saying they still needed to lose 10-20 pounds look so skinny right now they look like skeletons!

 

So why is

America so obsessed about their weight?  Could it be because of all the commercials, MTV, the skinny stars and sports fanatics who are constantly bombarding us with their idea of an attractive person?  The TV or movie commercials that say if you are not a size 4 you are overweight!

 

I was watching The Devil Loves Prada the other night and was so upset when they told the secretary that she was a pig at a size 4!  I couldn’t imagine being in a size 4, let alone being told I needed to lose weight to be in a size 0 in order to look good!  Come on!

 

Why are we so obsessed?

 

Why can’t we love ourselves for ourselves?

 

I too am doing a “healthy living lifestyle” change…I have found for myself if I focus on losing weight I want to eat more items that are bad for me. I refuse to tell myself I am losing weight…I don’t need to lose weight I just need to become healthier and tone up, sure there may be a few pounds I could lose BUT that should not be the main focus, becoming healthy should be.

 

What I have been doing, as it works for me, is eating more raw fruits and vegetables. I have a salad already made up during the day. Since this is already made up I don’t have to stand there at the fridge with the door open and wonder what I am going to eat.  Working from home and being a mom you know how hard it is to eat healthy or even remember to eat, so having snacks that are already prepared and healthy will help you during those busy times when you feel you do not have time to cook.

 

I added more water to my diet, when I get hungry and its not meal or snack time I reach for the water. Did you know that when you are thirsty your body can give you signals that are the same as hunger pains?  Try drinking water first to see if that curbs your hunger pains if it doesn’t then you are hungry.

 

Another thing I have been doing is finding DVD’s that I enjoy some of you may laugh at the one I do that I just find so much fun to do and the time just melts away (no pun intended lol) I bought Carmen Electra’s Strip Tease aerobics…I know but you know what it is so much fun!  I also vary it with Turbo Jam and Yoga Booty Ballet all of them are fun and have great music that keeps me going.

 

Cutting out the real sugars I can’t do as far as using items like Splenda etc because I don’t feel they are safe, so I just cut down on how much real sugar I use in my coffee which I have also cut back from 2 pots, yep 2 pots a day, to 2 cups a day which is a feat in and of itself for me a coffee addict.

 

Everyone says to stop eating when you are not hungry, that’s simple if you have the will power or are not using food to deal with other issues.  Being an emotional overeater I find this task hardest to stop. For a while I was eating and didn’t realize I was, my son pointed out to me one day when he asked me why I was so hungry today.  I looked at him and said “What do you mean?” he said “Mom, you have been eating all day long.” Whoa!  I didn’t realize I had been, I was worrying about a project and just started nibbling while I was trying to work the problem out in my head.

 

I was anorexic and bulimic once and I know all about eating and emotional disorders.  If you look at food as either the enemy or a comfort food you need to see your doctor about those issues so you can get those resolved before you start any diet…trust me I have been on both sides: so skinny I looked like I was dying, I was…and being overweight it was affecting my entire health and mental well being and for me both sides I was dealing with emotional problems and the only way I felt in control was with food.

 

Good luck to those who are trying to lose weight, for me this year my goal is healthy living!  I did this once 10 years ago, just watched what I ate and exercised 5 days out of 7 and lost 30 pounds while hubby was in

Korea.  So I know I can do it again.

 

You need to be at a healthy weight and not a skinny minny…who needs to look like a model or those ladies on tv who everyone loves and wants to be like.

 

If you are happy with the way you look or know your goal weight so you can feel better is to only lose 10 pounds then go for the 10 pounds and not the 20 pounds to fit societies image…sorry this is a hot topic for me, I have two nieces right now that are so thin they would blow away if the wind picks up and they are starving themselves because they want to look like the stars or sports people they know when I look at them all I see is what I did to myself and my body and how many of my health issue right now stem from not loving myself for me.

 

So what if you weigh 145 are you in good shape?  Do you love what you see?  If not you need to explore whether it is really for health reasons or emotional reasons why you want to lose weight…

 

 

 

Rebecca White is the host for Heal Yourself Talk Radio.  HYTR was started to help teach others to learn how to heal their mind, body and soul.  Be sure to sign up for the newsletter for weekly inspirations, podcast releases and more.  Visit HYTR today at http://www.healyourselftalk.com