I would find it so refreshing to open up a magazine and read an article on why you should stop worrying about your weight, rather than ways you can lose it. I am sick of reading so much more about the ways to avoid food, when what I really want to be doing is eating it. I want to be healthy, of course I do - but the pressure we put on ourselves to look a certain way and the obsession in the media with the 'perfect body' is unarguably not healthy. So, after reading another article urging me to cut out sugar, and gluten, and wheat completely (and I LIKE those things), I wanted to write a post on why it's time to stop worrying about your weight and stop making ourselves miserable.
I don't think you will ever stop worrying about your weight unless you embrace this. I think the most important thing to press here is that we all have different body shapes and sizes - so if we all subscribe to the same ideal, it isn't going to work. You have to be aware of your body shape and work towards your own ideal. Don't start out by imagining you're going to end up with someone else's body.
The thing that makes the whole obsession with dieting so toxic is our eagerness to judge others on their weight and compare ourselves to the people around us. Some people are naturally bigger than others. If you're healthy, that doesn't matter. Same as with slim people - just because someone is slim, it doesn't give you an excuse to criticize them for it. Some people struggle to put on weight just as some people struggle to lose it. Accept yourself for what you are and accept others for how they are.
You know what's more important than fitting into a size 6 dress? Being healthy! Have you ever noticed that the key to all these eating regimes is losing weight, not improving your overall health? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
When I'm looking in the mirror and I think 'I wish my thighs were smaller' etc., I try to think but actually, would I be any happier if they were? I'm sure I would just find something else to pick at. And if we're never going to be completely worry- and doubt-free, why waste so much time on it?
How many women do you actually know, in real life, who have time for all the specially prepared food and strictly organised fitness routines? We read about people who do have time for that, but they're either celebrities or it's their job. In reality, life gets in the way. You have to work late, you want to spend the evening with your children, you're stressed and go out for a couple of drinks with friends. That's real life, not cycling home for two hours of yoga and a green juice.
Food is WONDERFUL. All of it, from crunchy, healthy asparagus to delicious, melty brownies. We need food to survive, so why turn it into something to be afraid of? Just be aware of what is good for you and what isn't. Food is something to be enjoyed, not feared.
Finally, do you know what I think the most important thing is? It's enjoying life. The people I know that fast two days a week or refuse to eat a slice of cake, even on their OWN BIRTHDAY, also tend to be quite irritable most of the time. Stop worrying about calories long enough to enjoy where you actually are. Please!
Obviously, there are people with genuine weight problems that need to be addressed, but those people have probably been told so by a medical professional. A bit of a tummy does not qualify. I just think we would all be a lot happier if we were more accepting as a society. What about you? Are you sick of our obsession with weight?