The Right Reasons to Lose Weight.

Hello Lovlies!

Now I'm not sure about you, but I have always struggled with my weight. I was always the chunky little girl who was harassed about her weight. In desperation to get my weight down, my parents placed me on a diet. They had good intentions but the diet didn't really help. They simply wanted me to be healthy. Throughout my childhood my parents were open about their concerns with my weight, but my weight was really a hot topic amongst everyone in my extended family though it was never openly and constructively discussed with me. It was always about me.

Naturally, this had a lasting impact on me. I really became obsessed with my weight. I weighed my self approximately six times a day. Exercises for seven hours a day. Eat little. And eventually,I even began taking laxatives for the sake of being thin and getting the result. I did get the result. I was thin, so I must have been beautiful. At least that was what I believed. Now, I will never be that size zero lady. Well, maybe I could be if I went to a surgeon and said, "Hey doc, you wanna remove some ribs and shave my hips?" Otherwise I will never be that small. 

Now though, I don't want to be that small. I want to be healthy and at a healthy weight. Healthy is what it truly beautiful. 

So, for what reasons should we lose weight?

1. For yourself.
2. To be healthy and increase your own personal overall wellness.

Reasons that we should not lose weight.

1. To get the love and acceptance of others.
2. For others.
3. To meet the beauty standards that are constantly imposed upon us.

Often, women loose weight for the wrong reasons! I believe that many women loose weight in the hopes of receiving love and acceptance of others. They, myself included, go through this stage where we worry about our weight for the sake of others and to meet beauty standards. 

The latest trend seems to be the thigh gap. If you haven't seen college humor's video on the "evolution of the thigh gap" take a look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omAb1Cgvg7A

While the video mocks the idea of the thigh gap, I feel that its point still stands. The whole idea of aiming for the thigh gap is frankly, ridiculous. In fact, we often believe that if we have a thigh gap that men will be more attracted to us. I too used to believe this until one day I was having a conversation with my ex.

We had just gone to the movies and seen Monsters University. On the way back to his apartment, I asked him what his opinion was on the thigh gap. At first he just gave me this kind of confused look and said, "What the hell is that?" I explained to him that it's literately just a gap between the thighs. He wasn't able to really wrap his head around it.    

Then it hit me. If men were really into the thigh gap, then wouldn't he have had a very distinct opinion on the thigh gap?

To give you another example, I recently asked a male friend of my mine his thoughts on the thigh gap. You know what he said? "It's useless."

Now I understand that this may be an over generalization of all men's thoughts on the thigh gap. And for some men, the thigh gap is truly a must but then again if he was really that into the tThigh gap, then he probably isn't worth your time.

I remember being a young teenager and looking at all of the actresses and how thin and beautiful they were. Have you ever seen a magazine cover that really celebrated a woman for her natural beauty? I can honestly say that I have never seen one.  

So with all the media advertisement of being super thin it can be really difficult to determine when thin is too thin. I can't tell you when too thin is for you. There are some questions you  can ask yourself however before you even begin to loose weight.

• Am I doing this for me and noone else?
• What is my goal weight? Is it reasonable and in a healthy range?
• Why do I want to loose weight? What is my intent?
• What am I chasing in loosing weight?

In my struggle to loose and maintain my weight, I have discovered a few key insights.

1. When looking to loose weight it should come from a place of love for yourself.
2. In order to loose weight and keep it off, it requires a complete life change.
• What I mean by this is that to keep off the weight we must be willing to moderate what we eat, how much we eat, and become active on a regular basis.

This may seem like a "Well no shit sherlock kind of deal" but for common sense it sure seems like we have forgotten it. Or perhaps we have buried it away so deeply that we simply don't want to acknowledge it.

What are your thoughts on the beauty standards? The thigh gap? Leave a comment below!