I heard an interesting statistic today.
50% of women in America are on a diet at any given time. Not to mention that up to 90% of TEENAGERS are dieting regularly. Yet over 60% of American adults are overweight or obese.
Isn't the whole point of a diet to make one skinnier/healthier/prettier/happier/whatever else they claim to do??? This might just be a mere instance of correlation without causation, but something tells me that's not the case.
Don't get me wrong, I don't look down on anyone for dieting, but I do think the majority of America is misinformed. And slightly delusional ;) And in all seriousness it makes me really sad. In my humble opinion, dieting is not the answer to a happier, healthier, or even "skinnier" life.
Let us examine those three adjectives for a moment:
HAPPY
HEALTHY
SKINNY
Many think that the latter of these will transform their lives into the former two, but I believe the exact opposite. It is only when we find peace with our bodies and the food we love to eat that all three adjectives can become reality. And to be clear, I don't even like acknowledging the last one because without the first two, our bodies will never find their healthy, comfortable weight. Instead, our weight will yo-yo up and down from year to year and eventually end higher than we started. And the notion that skinny=healthy is just not realistic for the vast array body types in the world.
It takes courage to transform a mindset that has been engraved in us from such young ages. But dieting is a trap. It's not a long-term solution to a healthy lifestyle. Let us start by listening to our body's signals, learning to honor our hunger and satiety levels, and enjoying the fuel that energizes our bodies to accomplish so much. And most of all, let us keep fighting against false expectations and pressures that society puts on us every day.
Let's QUIET the DIETS
(Yeah, I immediately regretted that cheesy line, but oh well)
K
