“The Grass is Not Always Greener”
Although this site is focused primarily on weight loss, my priority is to help people achieve a healthy, active weight. From where I sit, nutrition and exercise are lifestyle issues – I couldn’t care less about being fashion-model thin. IMHO, the relentless promotion of unrealistically skinny (mostly female) bodies is both physically and psychologically harmful.
At any rate, I ran across this personal account on another blog, and thought it would be good to share, as it highlights just how twisted our veneration of thinness can be. It’s called “The Grass is Not Always Greener” by Amber Leab.
People have often told me—throughout a lifetime of being underweight—how great I look.
I confidently wear a bikini.
I’m one of those people you might love to hate: I can eat anything, and as much of it as I want, without gaining weight.
People, especially girls and women, praise my thinness, exclaiming “How do you stay so skinny?!” or “You’re so lucky.”
Other people envy me—a person whose thinness is due to cystic fibrosis, who has had regular, extended hospital stays since childhood, and whose daily medical regimen no one would ever envy.
It’s not overlong – it’s worth reading the whole thing.
(h/t Shakesville)
