it’s time for another gues post by my assistant, alex. she’s a young woman who looks at the “thin fad” from a different perspective.
what is it like to be thin?
i am 5’5″ and exactly 100 pounds.
all around me there is the constant reminder of how lucky i am to have the body i do. this disturbs me because as much as it seems like life being thin is perfect, changing your body is not the quick fix.
in the media most of the pictures i see of celebrities have the same body type as i but that doesn’t mean that i feel like i measure up, it just means that i have a reminder of the standard that other teenagers feel they have to live up to. it saddens me to know that am seen as the “lucky” one. but i didn’t have to do anything for it and i don’t feel as lucky as i probably should, or people would have me feel.
i am so frustrated with going to the grocery store and seeing fat-free everything. it’s really hard to find anything that’s not been reduced or changed in some way. there used to be a normal type of product that was original and un-altered and then there would usually be one weight loss choice.
now there is the original product, which is hard to find, and then at least two weight loss choices as well. the frustrating part for me is the emphasis on the fact that there is a need to change your body. maybe i am being hypocritical but i don’t think eating fat free food is going to change your body as much as listening to it when it gives you signals and reacting accordingly.
i understand that a lot of people have trouble losing weight but where is the issue of weight gain or maintenance addressed?
i am told that i don’t ‘understand’ what it’s like to struggle with weight, but i definitely do, it’s just not recognized by others because it’s such a hidden problem. i was comforted to find practical way of gaining weight. it’s frustrating to try and maintain my weight when there are no reliable resources that are well known.