This poor girl.... the horror of it all! (sarcasm there)
By TessWhite
@TessWhite (3146)
United States
January 7, 2009 11:11am CST
Thanks to another New Year's resolution I'm trying to lose weight. I'm eating healthy and I'm beginning an exercise program. To help keep me motivated I've been reading all kinds of health and diet magazines. But sometimes they just make me angry rather than motivated.
Today while reading one magazine this poor girl said "I was so fat I was embaressed to be seen in public"! I thought oh good, a story to motivate me. NOT! 
This "poor girl" weighed 132 lbs when she started. When she lost the "ton of weight" she weighed 95 lbs. Come on, give me a break and be a bit realistic people! Why do magazines and ads try to make us feel we need to be paper thin? Why can't they be more realistic and show ads and stories with average sized people? Stories like this just make me want to track her down, sit on her, and force feed her donuts and french fries until she "balloons" up to 133 lbs!
This is the kind of unrealistic pressure that our children and our grandchildren are growing up with. Even my own 6 year old granddaughter thinks she needs to diet. (If the child was any thinner I'd call her twiggy) Why can't the world today understand that women are SUPPOSED to have curves? I'm not saying we should be a fat and unhealthy world. But I also don't think we have to starve ourselves to become rail thin.
What do you think of stories and ads like this? Do they motivate you to look that way? Or do they make you angry because its unrealistic and actually unhealthy as well? Do you feel people should all be twig thin and look like models? Or do you feel that average people have natural healthy curves?
This "poor girl" weighed 132 lbs when she started. When she lost the "ton of weight" she weighed 95 lbs. Come on, give me a break and be a bit realistic people! Why do magazines and ads try to make us feel we need to be paper thin? Why can't they be more realistic and show ads and stories with average sized people? Stories like this just make me want to track her down, sit on her, and force feed her donuts and french fries until she "balloons" up to 133 lbs!
This is the kind of unrealistic pressure that our children and our grandchildren are growing up with. Even my own 6 year old granddaughter thinks she needs to diet. (If the child was any thinner I'd call her twiggy) Why can't the world today understand that women are SUPPOSED to have curves? I'm not saying we should be a fat and unhealthy world. But I also don't think we have to starve ourselves to become rail thin.
What do you think of stories and ads like this? Do they motivate you to look that way? Or do they make you angry because its unrealistic and actually unhealthy as well? Do you feel people should all be twig thin and look like models? Or do you feel that average people have natural healthy curves?1 person likes this
15 responses
@tyc415 (5706)
• United States
7 Jan 09
I actually can't believe that the magazine would even publish something like that. I hate to see these models also who are so skinny and think they are still too fat. I used to always be real thin and would try to find ways to put some weight on me, oh how I wish for those days again. hahaha
I do think that magazines and TV should be real about these things. That is what I like about the show The Biggest Loser, they are real people.
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
7 Jan 09
Yes, I love the Biggest Loser and watched the new season last night. At least its realistic. Thanks for the reply. :)
@kprofgames (3091)
• United States
8 Jan 09
The biggest loser is that with the high school kids? I've seen that and think it's wonderful because not only does it help these kids, it really gives people a bird's eye view on how these kids struggle with weight and thier self image.
@us2owls (1681)
• United States
8 Jan 09
I don't consider myself fat but I sure wish I weighed 132 lbs. I was reading the Sun newspaper here in the UK this morning and there was an article about this young man 19 years old whose Mother has served him nothing but junk food his whole life and he now weighs 60 stone (1/2 ton) 840 lbs. The boy was in hospital having surgery in order to get his weight down. Now that is what I call FAT.
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
8 Jan 09
Yes, I think I've seen his story on TV. If not his someone else that young and that fat. Thanks for the reply.
@netmom27 (51)
• United States
11 Jan 09
That is terrible. I hope that they are able to help the young man. I don't understand how people can wait that long. I was up to 345 pounds before I had my bariatric surgery. I was having trouble even walking. I've lost only about 115 pounds but I am much healthier now. I just hope that they can help the boy in the hospital. You have to exercise after the surgery to help get the fat off which was a problem for me. All I was able to do was water aerobics. I used to walk with a can & not very far like that either. Now I'm able to walk around more but I'm still having some knee problems. I also had both knees replaced last year.
@cutepenguin (6431)
• Canada
8 Jan 09
ummm...wow. I weigh about 135 and there's no way I think I'm overweight. I am planning on exercising a lot more this year, but that's because I'm too sedentary - I can barely keep up with others on bike rides or hikes.
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
8 Jan 09
Good that you plan to exercise for health benefits then. And lucky you for being a normal weight! :)
@positiveminded1977 (7072)
• India
8 Jan 09
LOL! I get what you mean. I have plenty of curves. Possibly, I am slightly overweight. I don't care. No diets and no exercises for me. I do plenty of hard work at home and out the garden. I have two dogs that wear me out. And I love my food too much to bother with "dieting." And when I see wafer thin girls, I wonder where they will get the energy from to get pregnant, deliver kids, and take care of them. Girls ought to be strong and healthy first, not wafer thin. ;)
Cheers and happy Mylotting
You've got the right attitude there. Thanks for sharing.
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
8 Jan 09
Articles like that make me extremely angry. They don't motivate me to loose weight, but the impact they have on the younger generations is powerful. If you aren't all skin and bones, you're fat. No wonder bulimia and anorexia are rampant. And all this just so the diet food industry can make a buck. Come on, they don't care what you look like, only how much of their phoney product you buy. (most of them are actually fattening and/or contain unhealthy additives and preservatives)
You keep up a healthy lifestyle, eat right and exercise. You'll feel better whether you lose "a ton of weight" or just tone up your muscles and get your system working like it should.
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
8 Jan 09
Yup, they make me angry too. Enough so that I've emailed the magazine to give my opinion! Thanks for the reply.
@netmom27 (51)
• United States
11 Jan 09
I think that people are too obsessed with weight. If you are a few pounds overweight it's okay. If you are morbidly obese where the weight is causing health problems then you really need to consider working on losing weight. Making healthy eating choices and continued exercise is what people should worry about for health reasons. Whether or not you can fit into a size 6 isn't important. It should be all about the health. I had bariatric surgery because my weight was causing health problems. I'm much healthier now but I'm still overweight. I'm still working on the exercise thing because I have problems with my knees also. I am trying to get back into going to the gym at least 3 times a week. I eat much healthier & much smaller portions now. Although, I don't always make the best food choices either. I'm not obsessed with my weight though, as long as I keep myself healthy I'm fine.
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
11 Jan 09
Thats the way to look at it. As long as you are healthy, thats the main concern. Like you I need to lose weight for health reasons. But, I'd also like to fit into some nice jeans one day. So, I'll keep working at it. Four lbs lost since the 1st, so I'm doing it. :) Good luck with your weight loss journey.
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
11 Jan 09
HI TessWhite, I do agree that the media is putting a lot of pressure on us regarding weight and to appear thin. However the girl was expressing her feelings and I don't blame her. There are lots of people who are overweight and obese who joke about their pyshical condition but would like to go down on weight. Right now I am following a diet eating healthy and doidng exercise. i really hope taht I do go down in weight. I wold like to be healthy .
(c) ronaldinu 2009 - the more people I meet-the more I love my dog
@checapricorn (16061)
• United States
7 Jan 09
[i]Hi Tess,
I grew up in the Philippines where every parents love to see their young kids to be fat, it's cute for us! And being thin there is alarming like the kid might be malnourished and the like! So, I was pressured in the sense that I am thin and I eat a lot! So, I remember my Mom will always buy vitamins for my sister and I!
About that magazine, I will also hate to read and see that! I agree with you about talking the realistic situation since 132 lbs is not a problem! I will go for a women who has curves and not that looks and stand like a stick![/i]
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
8 Jan 09
When I was a child I was like you - very thin. But I wasn't pressured to gain weight but the doctors were often worried because I was so thin. It wasn't until I was around 13 that they discovered my appendix was bad. And the infection I'd had for years with it had caused my weight loss as well as frequent school sick days and fevers. Once that was removed I became "normal" weight. That is until I had my son in my 20s. Since then its been a battle every year. And each year I want to lose, only to gain more. 
@craftcatcher (3699)
• United States
7 Jan 09
Jeez, I'm back on my healthy eating plan now that the holidays are done and my goal weight is 130! I'd be tickled pink purple and red if I weighed 132 right now!
In all fairness though she is probably young. When I was 19 yrs old 132 lbs would have been outrageously fat to me... just like I thought 40 yrs old was REALLY old! LOL! But now that I'm pushing 50 yrs old 130 lbs seems just about my perfect weight and 90 is old.
I have seen a trend in younger girls wanting to be super skinny and I find that very sad and extremely unhealthy. They are doing so much damage to themselves. I have a bad feeling there is going to be a sharp rise if not epidemic in cases of osteoporosis in about 30 yrs along with several other conditions caused by vitamin and mineral deficiencies. I hope the mainstream media will do more to promote a happy healthy medium weight and get away from extremes.
I have seen a trend in younger girls wanting to be super skinny and I find that very sad and extremely unhealthy. They are doing so much damage to themselves. I have a bad feeling there is going to be a sharp rise if not epidemic in cases of osteoporosis in about 30 yrs along with several other conditions caused by vitamin and mineral deficiencies. I hope the mainstream media will do more to promote a happy healthy medium weight and get away from extremes.@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
7 Jan 09
Good luck with the weight loss! This woman was in her mid twenties - young by my age, but no teenager. 
I don't understand the fascination with looking like a twig.
I don't understand the fascination with looking like a twig.
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
7 Jan 09
I think that stories like this tend to lead teenage girls into eating disorders. My 8 yr old talks about her weight daily. I tell her that she is just perfect and weighs exactly what she is suppose to weigh.
I would love to weigh 133!! So just think what that girl must think of me!
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
7 Jan 09
Well I won't begin to say how much I weigh. Sorry, thats like standing up on stage and anouncing it to the world. LOL But lets just say I haven't been 132 lbs in well over 20 years.
@gemini_rose (16264)
•
7 Jan 09
Yeah unfortunately I am one of the ones that grew up in an environment where to be fat was a no no. It has led to years of me binging, starving and not eating properly in a bid to be thin. Unfortunately what we dont realise when we are young is that all this has an adverse affect on us when we are older, I now suffer with IBS as a result of years of not eating properly or not eating at all I am literally intolerant to everything.So I will never be big again but at the same time will never enjoy a proper meal again. I have a daughter of my own now and I worry for her, luckily I do know what foods are good and what not so I am trying to start her in a healthy eating way while she is young, like me she is never going to be thin its just not in her build but hopefully I can help her to not see herself as being fat like I always di.
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
7 Jan 09
My sympathies with the IBS. I battle that too, but it hasn't made me skinny. Just often sick. I've dieted I feel like most of my adult life. As a teen I could eat whatever I wanted and not gain. But once my son came along everything changed with my body and weight. I swear I can just look at food and gain. LOL Glad you are teaching your daughter early. I wish I'd worked harder on that with my son, because he has been trying drastic diets this last year, even though I've told him its unhealthy.
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
7 Jan 09
Hey tess! And Happy New Year to you! I happen to agree with
you and I also get very angry when I read stories like this!
Why do they even publish such stupidity! That weight is not
even slightly overweight! All it does for people who do want
to lose weight is make them angrier! I agree with you about
wanting to find this person and force feed her some donuts
and french fries and let her see what it feels like to really
have to lose some weight! How dare she think that 95 pounds
is a "normal" weight! The problem with society is that they
show models who are too thin and it makes people think that
is what they are supposed to like when the "normal" weight
and size is nothing close to what they look like!
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
8 Jan 09
Hiya Opal - exactly how I feel. It makes me so frustrated. Thanks for the reply.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
7 Jan 09
Actually, stories like this make me angry. Whilew yo were foce feeding that girl with donuts and french fries I would be the one pouring chocolate milk down her throat! LOL what is wrong with the fashion world? They have a lot to answer for. Look at the young people with eating disorders? It is just crazy. Are you old enough to remember Marilyn Monroe? Now she had curves but today would be considered overweight as she was a size 12. she had a fantstic curvy figure and looked like a woman should look with hips ten inches larger than the waist. I think that I got that right, or was it supposed to be 12 inches larger than the waist? Now they are just sticks. Very very sad. It destroys the self image of so many young people. People should try to be healthy and not overweight but it would be nicde to see women with curves again. Blessings
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
8 Jan 09
Oh yea, at 49 I remember Marilyn Monroe. And yes she did have a good figure. Before I gained some weight I was that kind of curvy. Like a normal woman should be. Now I'm still curvy - but not all the curves are ones I like! LOL
@LaurenInLA (2270)
• United States
7 Jan 09
Isn't this ridiculous. As women, we are constantly manipulated by everyone else's vision of what we should look like and what is beautiful. Our body structure is unique and dictates what body weight is right for us. I can't change my body structure. I will always be curvy and I will never be able to wear most of the clothes that models wear. I'm just now built that way. Even though I know that, it doesn't stop me from feeling like there's something wrong with me because I can't werar those clothes. I've always felt like I had a weight problem. When I look at old pictures of myself, I don't sometimes recognize the person in the picture. I am thin yet I've never thought of myself as thin. This is the last year that losing weight will be a resolution for me. I am committed to getting myself to a healthy weight and staying there! One of the Mylot members set up a group for mylotters who want to lose weight this year on Sparkpeople. Feel free to join us if you would like.
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
7 Jan 09
Well thanks for the invite, but I've been a member there for two years. LOL Silly huh? But I've had reasons for not "getting there" before now. Nursed my dying mom, her loss was traumatic, a bad accident that ended me in surgery and on and on. My latest "excuse" was the stress of my impending move. But, I'm working on it anyway. Good luck with SparkPeople - its a great site! @murugezh (273)
• India
8 Jan 09
Weight loosing is good for each and every one to protect ourselves to become healthier and more active like others.
