Is our dieting obsession
resulting in perfect bodies?
In a word – NO. The dieting obsession is causing more people to suffer from eating disorders, depression, negative self image AND certainly not perfect bodies. The obsession for many people stems from a conditioned belief that something external from ourselves is what will produce happiness when in fact it is our internal thoughts that control happiness.
I am not unique when I say this but my dieting obsession has controlled my life for too many years and enough is enough. For those who follow my blog, I made a confession recently about my battle with Bulimia when I was younger. My dieting obsession started when I was 8 years old and it was silly school yard banter that started me on a down hill spiral.
I had shed many tears.
I hated the image reflected in the mirror.
I have seen the inside of many toilet bowls.
I punished myself too many times to count.
I lived many years in shame.
Growing up I believed that I needed something external from myself to create happiness inside. When you are constantly bombarded with images from the media that being skinny will make you happy, or wearing these sexy jeans will make you happy or drinking ‘healthy’ shakes will bring happiness, the young mind begins to believe it. To add proof to my thought that skinny meant happiness, my mother had a dieting obsession that caused her to say negative comments about her body – but in my eyes she perfect just the way she was.
The dieting obsession has infiltrated the younger generations – just read some of these scary statistics:
- Body image is the No.1 concern with girls in Australia
- Body image is the No.3 concern with boys in Australia
- 3/4 of all food advertising on television in children’s viewing hours is high in fats and sugars.
- 95% of people with eating disorders are aged between 12yrs to 25 yrs.
- Parents who focus on their child’s size actually increase weight issues, whereas parents who focus on eating for health, decrease weight issues.
- Almost 60% of teenage girls feel pressured to be a certain weight
- 50% of primary school children want to weigh less.
- Food advertisers are using the words “guilt free” to replace ‘fat free’ putting a negative connotation on food.
We are surrounded by negative food advertising, unrealistic reality television, photo shopped pictures and celebrities who do not live in the real world. No wonder this dieting obsession is slowing breaking down our resilience and only proving the conditioned beliefs many people have about the way they look. The only area WE have control is the way we think about ourselves. Thoughts are a result from the way facts are interpreted and we have total control on the interpretation. For example:
One person can eat a salad roll and think they are healthy and giving their body what it needs. This thought will influence their emotions and probably make then feel energetic and proud. Another person eats a salad roll for lunch but when they have finished they feel guilty and disgusted with themselves because the thought in their head is bread if full of carbs and carbs are the enemy. Same circumstance – two very different results.
“Your Weight Does Not Determine Your Self-Worth”
It is never too early to teach alter your mindset on food which will cause a different felling about the way you start to see yourself. When you feel motivated, positive actions are taken to continue feeling this way and this often results in having a healthier body image. Learning to love the skin you are in is not easy but you have total control – your thoughts, your choice. We all come in different shapes and sizes and one isn’t better than another. Skinny people are unhappy just like people who over eat. The dieting obsession is slowly killing us – take back some control and start with self mindset coaching.
Love
Linking up with Kylie for #IBOT
Nice post and those stats are quite scary!
Not very healthy are they?
Scary numbers here. I hate the idea that ‘fat’ is the absolute worst thing that you can be.
Absolutely. How on earth did the size of your body determine your worth, your intelligence, your lovability and importance.
It’s sad that so many of us have this dieting obsession.
It is interesting the two differing thoughts people can have about eating the same salad roll!
Ingrid
http://www.fabulousandfunlife.blogspot.com.au
It only proves that it is simply a conditioned belief that you have and if it is not serving you, it may be time to change it.
I think it’s very important to rely on positive education about health – why are we* all so happy to talk diets on the internet but not talk to someone actually qualified to give advice?
*generic we, not anyone specific
I hate the word diet – it is anchored to me being unworthy and the association is a continual practice for me, even today. I choose to eat the foods I eat and treat my body the way I want – I do not diet and deny myself.
Horrible statistics! No dieting in our house, A: I can’t be bothered, and B: My kids are too important to me for me to allow them to see me fussing over such issues. We did have to change the way we all eat a few years back, and we focused on it being a life change for our health.
Changing for health is the only way to go. Kids watch and listen to things we don’t even realise.
Scary stats! Eeek.
Those stats are scary! This is definitely something I’m conscious of, raising 3 girls, and try very hard to be body positive around the girls, even if I’m not quite positive in my head!
#teamIBOT
That’s a great way to start Kylie. Even if you are still a work in progress, it’s not something we want to infiltrate our kids with