Starving to be thin

Avatar for cl_shywon
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Starving to be thin
16
Fri, 08-18-2006 - 7:15pm

I just have to rant a bit.


I have two collegues/friends who are on this near-starvation diet at the moment, and it's really getting to me.

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Avatar for cl_shywon
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-20-2003
Mon, 08-21-2006 - 7:25pm

I think my right thigh might be a size three, but I can understand.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2004
Tue, 08-22-2006 - 10:46am

It is difficult to find a happy medium between starving yourself to be thin and yet feeling confident in your looks. I will say this - I don't subscribe to those starvation diets or grapefruit diets or low carb diets or any of that crap which, ultimately, provide shortcuts which allow us to be lazy. I lost 30 pounds doing Weight Watchers (which is basically a program which just teaches us to eat in a balanced, healthy way) and by working out. Because of the nature of Weight Watchers, I have undergone a lifestyle change and honestly think that I will have a much easier time keeping the weight off.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-14-2006
Tue, 08-22-2006 - 11:18am

Weight Watchers is an amazing program! Congrats on loosing 30 pounds with it too!

It is very hard to find a happy medium when it comes to weight. There are days i feel great about myself and days when i hate the way i look. As much as i like to think that this is some new generation Y phenomenon it really isn't. I recall my mother who is almost 60 telling me stories of her teenaged years and early 20's and her own starvation diets.

Men aren't immune to this either. If anyone wants to watch a good educational movie on the hegemonic masuline ideals watch tough guise......most amazing movie ever and it really opens your eyes to see how pop culture and the media affects young men and women.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-31-2003
Tue, 08-22-2006 - 5:18pm

I certainly agree with you that it is sad and irritating that so many women and young girls are on starvation diets. It seems the goal is not just to be thin but to be EMACIATED. I don't mean to pick on her, but check out the pics of Nicole Ritchie in STAR magazine currently on the newsstand. She's a skeleton.

I also am sorry to hear that your younger sister is caught up in the thin obsession. I truly hope she learns to accept herself, and that she is not bulimic or anorexic, and that she finds her own healthy path to a positive body image.

But let's be realistic -- just because a person eats "real food" does not mean she eats anything in any amount. I think it's still about watching your eating habits and reducing your caloric intake. Some of us will gain weight from the cup of mashed potatoes we ate last night while others won't because we just burn it off naturally. It's not fair... it's heredity and metabolism.

If you're regularly consuming things like cheeseburgers, french fries, fried chicken, gravy, SODAS, lasagna and donuts, chances are you're going to be heavier. Most people should only be eating these foods occasionally, rather than almost every day the way Americans do.

It's all up to the individual as to how she wants to live. If you're skinny, it's either your choice or it's the way God made you. But most of us are not built that way. We cannot be a size 0 - 3 without being unhealthy. We might, however, be a fitter size 10 if we cut way back on empty calories. And, of course, some sort of exercise is needed, as Chamey said.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2006
Tue, 08-22-2006 - 6:44pm
Hi,
I have a twin sister who is vegan/vegetarian, and I eat meat.
I like fruit, and veggies too, but I'm not gonna starve myself.
I'm a size 7/8, my twin is a 5/6. I don't envy her. My Husband likes my "Junk in the trunk" if you will, and so do I!
Katie;)
Avatar for filiasan
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-29-2004
Tue, 08-22-2006 - 6:44pm
You should tell them that starving themselves will make their metabolism drop. Actually, any form of dieting will do that. Changing you diet (you know--to eat healthy foods made for your body type, but not cut back) is the best thing to do. I used to starve myself, when I was 14, 15, and 16. I was thin, and desperate to be thinner (size 4 wasn't good enough for me). Doing that really messed up my stomach. And I have too much visceral fat that makes slimming my waistline nearly impossible.

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