So here I am, twenty-three years of age, lost in a world of plummeting economy, technological advances, increasing media pressure, and reality television. It's really no surprise that the obesity rates for the United States have dramatically increased. By 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia retained obesity rates of less than 20% (http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html).
Our rapidly advancing society makes it all too easy to expend less energy and eat foods that eventually lead to serious health complications, and yet we gather arms so vigilantly against obesity and idolize models who wear clothes that should fit a twelve year old. Depression rates in the United States have become more and more prevalent over the years as the media has become a prominent presence in our lives - depression itself affects more than 21 million Americans and is the cause of 30,000 deaths a year (http://www.nmha.org/go/state-ranking). Studies have linked much of this depression to body image issues, specifically in teens and young adults (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060606224541.htm).
What's the point of this exercise, you ask? Call me motivated, age twenty two, borderline diabetic, two-hundred and sixty one pounds, size twenty, and I have fallen into this trap. This is my journey to break free, seek truth behind the media's influence, beyond the diet fads and pills, and into a realm where living healthy doesn't mean sacrificing my identity and becoming a slave to the image that the media has imposed on me.
My self image issues stem far back into my childhood. A combination of discovering the glories of the internet, wandering into the world of piano performance, and eating quick and easy meals has affected my health negatively. I remember, at the age of eight, looking at a picture of myself standing outside of my best friend's house, bearing an arm-cast from a Halloween accident, and thinking, "Wow, I'm fat." People close to me have constantly barraged me with little comments like "You shouldn't eat that, put it back" or "You're a fat, ugly, jerk, and you'll never be loved." These comments, coupled with the constant flashes of beautiful women on TV and in advertisements has slowly chipped away at my self-confidence. I tried so many diets, all of which failed miserably because my motivation slips away the moment someone accuses me of "cheating on the diet," and realizing that I would have to stick to celery and water until the day I died, or else gain the weight back.
Now, I'm not trying to point the blame all at the media and external influences. I am a firm believer that the power to your own confidence lies completely within yourself, but I also think that too many Americans as a whole need to get up and move. The media likes to emphasize eating healthy and dieting; how many fad diets have you tried, yourself? While Americans need to start eating healthier, I don't necessarily agree they should eat less. Too many people try to starve themselves and resign to depressing meals of salad day and night, week after week. Food is there to enjoy, and how can anyone do that when you feel guilty every time you crave a potato with sour cream?
As I said before, Americans need to get up and move. They think that losing weight means diet pills and two weeks of Slim Fasts. What they don't realize is that their entire lifestyles are in serious need of change and that keeping your body clean and healthy is a task you have to dedicate yourself to. This truth is something that I have come to realize through my weight loss journey, and I am finally ready to commit and help others like me along the way.
So here I am, standing at the beginning of the longest part of my weight loss journey, yearning to break free of media-imposed images of beauty, ready to cast off the burden of my health complications, and discover the person that I was meant to become. My highest hope is that my journey through weight loss will be a guide to others like me, whether they find help in the recipes I share, the tips I post, or the support that my words may give them.
Over and out,
Steph
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I lost around 20lbs last year. It was mostly from being depressed, but I've since gotten gradually less depressed and have still kept the weight off. Here are some tricks I've learned:
ReplyDelete1. Consume most of your calories earlier in the day. This jump starts your metabolism and you don't feel as hungry during the day so you can get away with a very light dinner.
2. Drink a lot. People say you should drink water, but I prefer the bottled diet tea since it's practically water anyway, plus it has flavor and is a natural diuretic (so you'll be carrying around less water weight).
3. If you get that antsy feeling where you need to eat but aren't truly hungry, drink something with flavor or eat some jello. I adore jello and swear by it. The sugar free kind has virtually no calories, plus it's fun to eat and actually kind of soothing. Smoothie King is also good because you can get smoothies that have protein and fill you like a meal and are less than 200 calories. They are kind of expensive, but you can ask friends and family for gift cards.
I hope some of this helps. Best of luck, my Stephsparklerni!
I'm with you all the way, Stephy! I've never seen you as anything but a brilliant and beautiful person. <3
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