So as I was browsing through my Google Reader, I came across a note about today being International No Diet Day.
Wait…isn’t that my life EVERY day??
But then I did just a bit of reading on it…and it isn’t nearly as silly as it sounds.
International No Diet Day (INDD) is an annual celebration of body acceptance and body shape diversity. This day is also dedicated to raise awareness of the dangers in diets.
See? Not so crazy, is it?
The problem is that we live in a society where your physical appearance is scrutinized…and scrutinized by practically everybody. It’s a society where our kids are having a brutally difficult time: the boys are getting fatter at an earlier age because they’re not doing any physical activity other than using their fingers and thumbs on their games; and the girls are scared to be considered anything less than rail-thin and so they starve themselves in order to look a certain way.
It was bad when I was young…I feel it’s worse for kids today.
Examples?
Kim Kardashian is considered FAT by everybody from random bloggers to popular websites like TMZ. Seriously. I’m sorry…but I do not consider this to be a fat woman (in the slightest):
The constant attention that this woman receives is beyond me anyway. I mean, she’s a talentless hack who’s only real claim to fame is having a sex tape with a 2nd-rate rap star. But at the end of the day, this woman is NOT fat.
Yet the media continues to dump all over her. The media also appears to glamorize skinny. REALLY skinny.
The current media darling is Megan Fox. And no…it’s not like I can blame anybody:
Megan is, indeed, a fox
Ummm...yeah.
But this isn’t a realistic portrayal of what most women look like, is it? Sure…most women would probably want to look like this, I suppose. Hell…I know that I’d absolutely love to look like this:
Yeah...like THIS is ever gonna happen to me.
But at the end of the day, most people aren’t built like this. Most people are just…dare I say it…NORMAL. And really, that’s what this day is all about.
I’ve never had very much self esteem. I’ve never been “thin”. I’ve always done my best to rely on my personality to win the favor of women because they never really gave me much of a second look. Over the past year, however, I’ve learned to like myself…and I’m certainly on the way to finally (no pun intended) loving myself. I’m older…chubbier…but I know that I’m a good person. And that, my friends, is what really matters the most.
Be proud of who you are inside.
I hope you enjoyed your International No Diet Day (even if it may be over…lol). Continue to diet if you’d like…but just know that at the end of the day, what’s on the outside DOES NOT MATTER.
If blogging has taught me anything, it’s that I don’t need to see what somebody looks like in order to like them. A lot.
Cheers!
May 6th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
LOVE this post. You’re so right on! Wish there were more men like you in my neck of the woods.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Very true!! Also ironic b/c I’m starting a diet (actually, “lifestyle change” would be more accurate) myself.
For me though, it’s more about feeling better than anything else…and that’s what it’s all about, in my opinion!!
May 6th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
You go!! I love this post!
And no diet is the best diet of all! Thank you, CBG, for keepin’ it real.
And for sharing with us when you love yourself.
May 7th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Well said! As a woman who is desperately trying to lose the last 3 pounds of her baby weight, it can be so hard feeling like people won’t think the same of me if I don’t look exactly like I did before I had my two kids. Sometimes I stop and wonder – is it really so bad to weigh 3 more pounds? I have two fabulous kids to show for it. WTF?
This post was like a little weight off my shoulders today. Thanks!
May 7th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
From my point of view? I would rather cuddle up to someone with a few extra pounds – any day of the week.
May 7th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Oh and by the way, Kim Kardashian is fat? I guess I’m way too far from the mainstream. She looks pretty hot to me. I love her wide hips and ass.
And no… I don’t look like that either. But I could with proper airbrushing. That’s how most of these people look so damn perfect.
I had to come revisit this post because I was thinking about it. All of us have our sore spots when it comes to how we look. But its only our perception of ourselves. We are our own worst critics.
Again, thank you for the reminder that self-acceptance is the most attractive trait of all.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I hate that I am constantly wondering if I look good enough. Right now I am on a diet of sorts but as a pp said it is more of a “lifestyle change” because, for me, food & depression are linked together. Unlike most people I’m trying to increase the numbers on the scale by putting on muscle so that I stop hurting myself when I play airplane with my daughter. I usually keep the fact that I am trying to gain weight a secret because that seems unacceptable in our society and yet – AND YET – I still feel like I’m not thin enough or good enough when I look at fashion magazines. That is pretty sick if you ask me – although I don’t spend much time with fashion magazines because of their fakeness. I hope I can teach my daughter to be proud of her body and to be proud of who she is. And if this makes no sense it is because the little b@#ch kept me up ALL NIGHT.
May 7th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
great post…. we should accept who we are and how we are shaped, more! And they aren’t fat…people are just lame and have nothing more to do in their lives, if they are spending their time pointing fingers at attractive women in the news – and claiming they are fat.
Thanks for stopping by my blog btw.
Have a great day.
May 7th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Thank heavens cuz honey, what I ate yesterday was def. a no-no! LOL
But seriously, your insights are right on….thank heavens for men with views like yours!
May 7th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Love love love this post!
I’ve struggled with self-esteem issues my whole life. Since I became a mother, I see my body differently. It’s an awesome machine that made a human from scratch and nourished it for months. What’s not to love about that?
Here’s to loving oneself
May 7th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Sheila — I appreciate that, thanks.
Janet — You’re 100% right on. It’s all about you feeling better about yourself. And if that means a diet, or if that just means a slight lifestyle change…then go for it. But never forget to like who you are before you start that diet…just so you can put everything in perspective.
T — Hey now…you just behave. You and your double entendres…
Kris — Well, are you happy with who you are even with those 3 pounds? Do the 3 pounds even matter? Will people stand back and say, “DAMN GIRL…DID YOU JUST LOSE 3 POUNDS???
You’re a beautiful person inside and out. Those 3 little pounds should be seen as a “badge of honor” for having two children. And really, at the end of the day…those kids will love you regardless of those 3 pounds, right?
QTMama — Heh…why aren’t there more of you in MY neck of the woods?
T (again…lol) — Kardashian…while talentless…is absolutely hot. I just hate going to websites and forums and seeing people sh*t all over women and calling them fat or telling them they need to lose weight when they really don’t.
And you’re 100% right. WE are our own worst critics. Once you get over that hump, then life can seem a lot easier to enjoy.
melanie — I’m totally like you in that depression and food have always been linked together. I was depressed because I was overweight…I’d use food as a way to mask my depression because tasting food made me feel better…then I’d get depressed over eating and then adding on to my weight again. Vicious cycle.
Those fashion magazines are much like TMZ…they glamorize only the most beautiful and then act like it’s the norm when it’s really not even close.
I, too, hope to teach my daughter that she’s really amazing just the way she is.
Katherine — The sad part is that “lame” sells. How many times have you been in line at the grocery store and have seen the Star or Enquirer making fun of celebrities because they’re not “picture perfect”? Unfortunately, it’s just part of our society…which is why I think this “holiday” is a great thing.
littlemansmom — I appreciate that, thank you.
junctionmama — Hey…I’ve seen pictures of you, D. I think you’re a beautiful woman who should have NOTHING to be concerned about when it comes to self-esteem.
Just my 2 cents.
May 9th, 2009 at 2:11 am
It’s so sad that our kids have to see all the dysfunction that Hollywood portrays about body images. It pisses me off when magazines and TV say that so and so is ‘fat’ when there isn’t the tiniest little roll on their body. I’ve always struggled with body image and my weight and it’s because I’ve always been taught that you can’t be loved if you aren’t skinny. Pretty warped that I was taught this by certain family members. It’s taken a looong time to get to the point that I’m just now starting to like me for who I am. And it’s sad to see all the Hollywood girls that are super super skinny and they still get picked on – it’s no wonder there are so many eating disorders out there.