I personally feel that many of the pressures to be thinner, or a more “ideal” body type comes from fellow women (although indirectly definitely from the patriarchy). Perhaps just from growing up basically my entire life in an era and environment where I was taught about feminism, I never really witnessed many boys who put down girls for what they looked like (although I may just be lucky) – but I sure did see a lot of girls pressure and put down other girls. I’ve always known to never take a boy’s opinions on my appearances to heart, but for some reason I would feel so much more insecure if it came from a girl.

I think the culture of girls putting down other girls exists due to a literal worldwide long history of women always being looked down upon, no matter by who. It also maybe comes from biology, or literal evolution, where women may have needed to compete with other women for their and their family’s own survival. So, as we teach our boys to become more careful with the words they say (which sadly don’t always reflect their actions), we also have to make an active approach to teach our girls to support each other! If women don’t even have each other’s backs, who will?

This topic is something I wish received more positive media attention. The ideal standards of beauty have become so far fetched and unrealistic. The lengths at which many women will go to achieve the look of their favorite celebrity or whatever happens to be “in” at the time is scary. Simply because so many people want the fastest solution without considering their health. High profile celebrities are paid immense amounts of money to promote “quick fix” dietary supplements, leaving their followers to believe that they really use the product they are promoting and it truly worked for them. For example, a very popular thing now is slimming herbal teas, or weight loss pills. These become dangerous when “said” celebrity promotes them and her followers that have all very different dietary needs, restrictions, and sensitivities all decide to try the product. Many have had to face the results of health complications or body reactivity if their body rejects the formula.

Generic, “one size fits all” diets have also become an issue. Society has adopted these notions that carbs are bad and we have to count and cut calories in order to lose weight. I wish more social media influencers promoted health, health concerns and the effects of unhealthy diets instead of constantly trying to sell these cookie cutter plans. All of our bodies are different and therefore require different things.

I’m a firm believer that until we each learn how our own personality body works (what it likes/doesn’t like, how it responds to physical activity and different eating routines), we will constantly be going in circles of trying to achieve this societal standard. Aside from society’s standard, we would continue going in circles trying to make ourselves happy. As women, we are reminded everyday of society’s standard of beauty. It’s everywhere-on buses, covers of magazines at the grocery store, daily blogs/news. And covers typically read something like, “try this diet” or “7 day detox to lose 10 lbs.” But the concept of actually living a sustainable and healthy lifestyle doesn’t see this kind of proactive attention.

I think people tend to stay away from diets or actively trying to lose weight, because they have the fear of never being able to eat anything they like ever again. I don’t believe in cold turkey only eating foods that will make you skinny, and forgetting every tasty meal you’ve ever ate that might not have been the healthiest, but I do believe in having everything in moderation. What I have found most helpful with trying to look my best, while feeling my best, is to eat things that come from the Earth, and read the labels to everything! If it’s processed, you don’t need it. If it has 100 grams of sugar, you don’t need it! Calories do not matter, but those sugar and carbs labels on things that probably should not even have sugar/carbs in them, will help make a little dent in becoming a healthier person. Do fun activities that involve a little bit of moving around, and if you need a cheat day, have a cheat day! But do not over indulge and ruin the five days before of eating and doing healthy things. I think the frenzy over looking like a twig is overrated, it’s all about feeling great in who you are, and eating foods that fuel your body.

Food has different effects on everyone, some obsess, other don’t have a problem with their relationship with food. Their are people who can eat whatever they choose yet never gain weight because of their metabolism. I fit in the category of gaining weight if I don’t watch what I eat. Often individuals find themselves dieting only to come to the conclusion that it doesn’t work. It’s all based on the relationship you have with food, and changing your entire mentality.Guy’s makes an interesting point, “Labeling foods as ‘bad’ just leads to obsession-you want what you can’t have.” Her statement is true, I’ve been on plenty of diets, and I failed 95% off the time because of restricting myself of foods I wanted. I would indulge in food then tell myself I would start fresh the next day, ultimately lying to myself. It’s best to see a nutritionist or do some homework on healthy foods to change your mind frame. People shouldn’t limit themselves to never eating a piece of candy or french fries rather do so sparingly as a little treat. In many scenarios people gain more weight while dieting, so stop dieting and live a healthy lifestyle; eventually the ponds will shed. Include exercise and drink plenty of water will help the process of losing weight or staying fit. Although knowing what to eat is half the battle it’s actually taking the initiative to do so which can be the obstacle most people have a problem with; I certainly do. I found this blog to informational the tips given in the post will help me with my struggle to lose weight.

I think one of the problems is that society has become obsessed with dieting; it’s very popular and a myriad of celebrities are known to have gone on specific diets. I completely agree with the fact that dieting isn’t the answer to losing weight but eating healthily is. To lose weight, there is no reason to eat less than 1000 calories on a daily basis. A reason diets are so alluring is that they’re in some ways easier and cheaper to go through with than eating balanced and healthy meals daily. Also, it seems to make sense that if you put less food in your body, you will put on less weight. This simplistic view doesn’t take into account all the other reasons individuals gain weight. If only everyone was knowledgeable about the facts in this article, such as to eat certain foods in moderation, do regular exercise, and get an ample amount of sleep. I believe that starvation isn’t the key to being attractive but being healthy is.

Most of the women are insecure, especially when it comes to weight. I totally agree with this post. Many people nowadays count on calories before each meal. They try to find an easy way to lose weight refuse to do any exercise. Basically, most of the diets recommend you to eat less. I love to eat fast foods, but on the other hand I knew I would regret after eating it. I’m not an expert, but I have tried many type of diets I’ve come to realize that rather than being on a diet I need to change my eating patterns and habits, by doing exercise, I could still lose weight without cutting off my favorite food.

I agree that dieting is very harmful, not even as much to your physical health, but to your mental health. When people diet and restrict their intake, they soon become obsessed about food. This makes life absolutely miserable. Social calendars go down the drain, as you have to schedule things around “meals”. People may not want to go out with friends and make up excuses, simply because they do not want to eat out. Furthermore, the healthiest and thinnest people I know have never been on a diet and do not even understand the concept of dieting. I have a family member who has the perfect body, but she does not make an effort to diet or work out. Instead, she eat what she loves and stops when she is full. She indulges in her favorite foods every single day, and does not even comprehend why a person would deprive herself of something that she wanted to eat. In the past when food was scarce, people would eat as much of they could because they did not know when it would come next. This is the mindset that a dieter takes upon. This leads to unhealthy binges and regret. There is a saying that French women weigh less because they do not have guilt over what they eat. This is absolutely true in my opinion. I know that I feel the worst about myself when I weigh myself, and when I do not my day is much better, regardless of what the actual number is. Weight fluctuates, the amount a person eats every single day fluctuates. The key to being happy is to not care about food. It should simply be a way to fuel your way through the day and to enjoy during that meal time.