By Anna Meany
Crazed dieting and weight loss obsession have made a mockery of American women. Ladies are consumed by extreme tactics to avoid love handles. As cliché as the “love your body” articles are, while telling women to ignore Hollywood models, they are completely right.
Firstly, I completely understand the desire to control your outward appearance. It’s a reasonable goal to be more attractive, to please yourself or another person. But forbidding yourself the world’s delicacies is irrational. In a world of turmoil, our body is one aspect we can control. Work and school are stressful and overwhelming and are driving women to distract themselves with weight loss techniques. Why worry about solving world hunger when you can instead focus on getting rid of those cankles?
The first people we blame for our insecurity are models and actresses. These women have perfect bodies that make us cringe at the sight of our own. Of course, we are really dying to know how Heidi Klum got her figure back, but why let that run our life? They’re on magazine covers, bragging about their personal trainers and organic food. Society probes us to want to be prettier, thinner and better. Truthfully, we feel a constant desire to be better, but at what cost?
Diets, such as the cookie and cottage cheese diets, prove ineffective when trying to lose weight. Perhaps the worst method of weight loss is the purchase and consumption of parasites. According to Lee Woo-young, writer for Asiaone Health, women actually ingest tapeworms to eat the excess food in their bodies, which can lead to death if organs are blocked by eggs. This is insanity! Parasites should never be endorsed or ingested by anyone, especially just to lose weight. How is risking your life an appropriate step toward becoming healthier?
Extreme dieting tactics will never lose their appeal. Such fast weight loss is intriguing and well worth the effort to some women who can’t ignore foolishness. Don’t let your thoughts be consumed by weight loss and perfection. Eating right and exercise are important, but starvation and excessive workouts can lead to lifelong disease. I often hear girls denying cookies and cake, must-have soul foods in my book. Food is delicious, ladies, and indulging in a few extra slices of cake is OK.
