Skinny B-tch

Yay for provocative titles. Now I’m going to put this out there and you can decide for yourself how you feel about it.

There’s something bothering me lately. You can find it on Pinterest. It’s called the “Fitness” section.

Now I realize that Pinterest, like all power, can be used for good or bad. You can pin anything from the internet you want (btw they said no nude pictures please, and yes I do report them) but here’s what I find really disturbing:

                       
   
 

    

That last one is just a flat out lie. Strawberry shortcake is delicious. I bet that girl in the picture doesn’t even know what strawberry shortcake looks like.




Many of these pictures link to Pro-Ana websites or even Pro-Ana pinboards. (If you don’t know what Ana is, it’s code for anorexia, used by people who struggle with anorexia, kind of a personification.) Does anyone else see that these girls (the ones in the pictures and the ones posting them as “thinspiration”) need help? And maybe a sandwich?

I’ve never struggled with an eating disorder but I’ve had friends who have. I’ll never forget the first time a friend told me about Ana and I had no idea she was going through something like that. So I have no judgment against people who struggle with this disease. I do however have problems with the mentality that Ana is Sexy. Because she’s not. She absolutely is not.

This might sound condescending from a girl who never struggled with her weight, but I’m not trying to be. I just wanted to express my belief that “Thin” does not mean “Healthy” and Healthy is what everyone should be going for. In high school I think I weighed 115 pounds give or take and when I went to college I gained the freshman 15 that stuck around. I’ve never lived a particularly active lifestyle and I certainly don’t eat enough fruits and veggies. I’m not sharing these stats for any other reason than to be forthright about who I am and where I’m coming from. I can’t say that I know what it’s like to be overweight but I can tell you that just because you’re “skinny” doesn’t mean you’re healthy.  Someday, unless I get off my butt and start moving, my metabolism is going to slow down or I’m going to develop some kind of disease that you get from too much laying around all day. I’ve already had some trouble in my legs because of it. So while you might look at my body and see “thin” please don’t forget that everyone’s life is a story. Just because you’ve looked at the cover doesn’t mean you’ve read it.

So that’s where I’m coming from.

I do love a lot of people though, and those people come in all shapes and sizes. My Mom officially went on a diet program about a year ago and lost 30 pounds. Before she dieted she had struggled to control her weight and experienced a lower self esteem because of it. Of course, I didn’t see it, because all I saw was my mom, one of the most beautiful and loving people I know. Every once in a while, I would hear someone comment on her weight and it would anger me. So when she decided to start dieting I supported her 100 percent. Not so that she can fit into smaller jeans, but because for me she is one of the Top 3 Most Important People on the Planet, and I want her to be around for a long time. I want her to feel comfortable with her body and happy in her life. And I want anyone who ever said a negative thing about her size to… well, I’ll keep my thoughts to myself. You can definitely tell a difference in the way she looks and feels now, especially when looking at pictures. But what’s more important is that she’s going to be in a lot more pictures for years to come.

Everyone has things about their body that they don’t like, no matter what size we are. If you’ve been unhappy with how your body feels then you should do something about it. And remember that we are all beautiful, we are more than our size, we are more than what a mirror can show us.

We need to take care of our bodies. We need to be healthy. Not for a lower number on a scale or so that we can look like an airbrushed model (who probably eats 3 cubed meals a day, and by cubed I mean ice. Get it?) We need to do it so that we can enjoy this beautiful life with the people we love for as long as possible.

Sexy has nothing to do with it.

This is one of my favorite poems by a beautiful lady named Tomi who has struggled with her self-image. It’s called I Am.

Have a beautiful day :)


** I'd also like to say that I hope the people who struggle with eating disorders and self-image can find help and support. In no way did I mean to be flippant about their struggles (the "need a sandwich part" etc.)