Sunday, April 1, 2012

Fat? Not me.

I was reading a homeopathic care book earlier today and came across the section titled, "Emotional Problems- Anorexia and Bulimia". I was intriged by the idea that those severe lies could be antidoted with herbs, so I continued reading. About half way through the first paragraph it said, "The disorder usually occurs in adolescent girls who fear becoming fat and develop a distorted impression of their own body image."  I was nearly shocked with an epiphany for my own life. These eating diorders (both of which I have struggled with in the past) are not a fix, they're a prevetative! Then I asked myself, how can a girl be so sure that she will become fat that she'll starve herself to prevent it? She may maintain a healthy weight her whole life. Why would she automatically assume that she is destined for obesity?
And then it hit me- like a Mack truck. Moms. These girls hear their mothers time and time again say, "I have no self-control", "I've gotta lose weight", "I never did lose that baby-weight", etc. So it's only natural that they would adapt the same mind-set or, even scarier, go the opposite direction to make sure they never have to feel that way about themselves. The past generations wonder why my generation is so twisted with eating disorders and suicide- it's not us. We are reeling from the generations before us and trying to stop these lies in their tracks. But how do we try and stop these lies? Well, generally we go to men. We try and find our self-worth in boys instead of food and then backslide when these boys let us down- Leading us straight to food, obesity or the feeling that we are too fat and that's why guys don't love us. So then we slim down and flirt like there's no tomorrow just to get feedback.  It's a crazy cycle that has to stop!

Mom's what do you say in front of your children? Not just your daughters, but also your sons! Do you realize that you are shaping their view on women and they will go a seek out the girls with eating disorders?? How about instead of, "Man I need to lose weight" just go and actually do something about it! Get yourself on a schedule, change the food you buy and have self-control!

~Get some accountability. Make some changes. Just small ones- they don't have to be giant!

~Studies show that not eating after 7:00 PM can help you lose 10 pounds a month!

~Switch to Almond or Coconut milk instead of Dairy since dairy will bloat you and is not naturally healthy. Think of it this way- A; You're drinking a cows breast milk. Ew!  and B; A cow feeds her calf a type of milk that is meant to fatten that baby up- and FAST! It will do the same to you.

~Your body will often send the same message when it's thirsty as it does when it's hungry- aka drink instead of snack! More than likely you are just thirsty!

There are SO many ways to help your self image as well as your children's. I feel sick when I think of the crap I went through because of some of the women in my life- who I thought were mentors no less- who completely distorted my self image through their own self-image. Don't be that person. Be an influence of positivity and confidence on my generation! You are needed. And you are wanted!

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