Has anyone heard of the TV show Make It or Break It? It was sort of a B-list gymnastics drama that came on ABC Family between Secret Thing of the American Whatsit and Glee. It dragged two very long seasons out over a few years. Anyway, it's been one of my favorite shows for awhile. The acting isn't great, but I've always been a fan of Olympic gymnastics and swimming; that's where the four main characters are headed, if more episodes are ever aired! It's expected to return in March of this year. I've got my fingers crossed!
The show incorporates anorexia, bulimia, constant pressure to lose weight and keep it off, extremely restricted dieting, twice-daily weigh-ins, and a host of other dangerous behaviors impressionable girls have been known to model. The actresses, particularly Josie Loren (who plays Kaylie Cruz), appear in commercials and post-episode health campaigns about the dangers of disordered eating and the pressures women feel in today's society to be ridiculously thin. Nonetheless, it's hard not to get caught up in these girls' on-air struggles.
That being said...
I've noticed among my friends and peers recently that losing weight is on a big surge again. All these crazy fad diets are being popularized, and girls are freaking out about Spring Break. One of my friends (who granted me permission for this post) even announced the other day that she plans to lose twenty pounds this month in order to "look hot" in her new itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka dot bikini. Kidding. But she does intend to lose that much weight in such a short period of time.
I'm like, Whoa, whoa whoa! Pump the brakes! Twenty pounds in a month?! That in no way sounds healthy. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, as well as immediate weight gain during/after Spring Break. I don't need anyone to affirm for me that I'm doing what's right for my body, or that I should feel beautiful in my own skin. I don't need the new Coke Diet or the newest beach cleanse or a magic pill that will make me insta-thin.
Talk like that puts a lot of pressure on people like me or aren't and have never been toothpicks. I want to look good and feel confident in my bathing suit, too. It sure as hell won't be a bikini, but why should I let that stop me? I'm going to enjoy myself in Mexico just as much in my tasteful one-piece, and I'm going to be body proud (@IAmBodyProud via Twitter) while I eat well and exercise in the meantime. I'll leave the crazy diets and the weight roller coaster to the ABC Family gymnasts and the increasingly insane Spring Breakers.
Okay, I'll come down from my soapbox now. Whew!
Ta ta!
One of my favorite salad combos -- Very Veggie mix, diced tomato, cucumber slices, feta cheese crumbles, a few green olives, chopped shiitake mushroom, sliced avocado, pine nuts, and a drizzle of Balsamic vinaigrette
2 comments:
Don't worry, my friend! I'm on the "Let's just maintain this weight" train. 20 pounds in a month?! That ca-razy!
I would like to lose weight, but I want to do it gradually and healthily. Twenty pounds in one month?! No way, Jose! Thanks for your comment!! :)
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