Hello Everyone: The attached article is from Ediets News today, written by a man who has himself lost 55 pounds. He's aware, intelligent, and cares. He's also right. We do need to stop the madness, so I'm going to stay put at my own 54 pound weight loss right here at 5'5" and 141 pounds. Have
a great day.
What's So Beautiful About Being Thin?
A “coyote” is a person who has learned the hard lessons of life and has grown from mistakes and difficulties. A coyote cuts through confusion and phoniness with heartfelt honesty, never pulls punches and always makes room for compassion. My Coyote Wisdom columns are attempts to draw from the wisdom of the coyote and offer practical advice for insight, motivation and inspiration.
An eDiets.com Exclusive
by Dr. Matthew Anderson
I don’t know what title my editor will give this article. The one I chose (Why Thin People Have No Reason To Live) is probably too much on the edge for him, but I squeezed it into parenthesis just in case.
I'm celebrating my one-year anniversary with eDiets and I've been a good boy all this time. I've controlled myself and not said anything too provocative in my column. You have no idea how hard that can be for someone with a mind like mine. However, today I am going to take a bit of a risk and push the envelope.
I was watching the Style network the other night and saw a fashion program that made me nauseous. The outfits were OK, but the models were downright sickening. Where did the modeling agencies have to go to find such bird-like, stick-legged, bony breasted, hollow-cheeked, skeleton-framed excuses for femininity?
Who decided that this is fashionable? Am I the only child on the fashion block that can see that the empress is not only naked but is also nothing but skin and bones? Hello! I am a man who loves and appreciates women. I have a mother, two sisters, a wife and three daughters. I have been surrounded by women all my life. A woman (my wife) is my best friend. These models are not women. They are the ghosts of women and they are not attractive by any normal, healthy, functional or realistic standard.
Besides, who does the fashion industry think it's fooling? Who is really going to buy a $5,000 dress that only looks OK on a six-foot tall bulimia victim? I know plenty of women who could afford the dress (you would be surprised who I hang out with), but God bless them. Not one of them is within 40 pounds of these skeletal creatures.
Guess what? Nobody is listening to my protests. These waifs dominate the TV every night. The program I was watching is on every weekday evening. People are paying big bucks to advertise on these programs because they are so popular. What does that tell you? It tells you that we have lost all perspective on what makes a beautiful body. We are nuts... and blind. (Can I get an amen here?)
We are sending a message to ourselves and to our children that is destructive and harmful. Don’t get me wrong. I am not advocating censorship. I'm saying that it's time to open our eyes and vote with our remote controls. Being frighteningly thin is not cool or beautiful. It's just plain unsightly. Worse than that, it encourages the rest of us to lose healthy perspective on what is good for our bodies.
Being too thin can be as unhealthy as obesity. Someone needs to tell Calista Flockhart and the rest of her fatless cronies to have a few Big Macs. She has more letters in her name than she has pounds on her body.
Tell me this. If the majority of Americans are overweight, then who is really in control here? Why are we allowing ourselves to be brainwashed into believing that beauty exists in a body type that we have not had since we were 11 years old? Why do we tolerate such silliness? Maybe we should stop for a moment and realize that we have become masochistic. We have set an impossible standard for ourselves and instead of questioning the wisdom behind that decision, we are all trying to imitate runway freaks.
Some of you may think I am out in leftfield here, but I bet the majority of my readers agree with my position on this matter. Many of you suffer daily from the American obsession with thinness. You look in a mirror and hate what you see because you are not a size zero. You live with spouses, family members and coworkers who see you the same way. I ask you: Is this right? Is this the best we can do? I hope to God not!
Am I telling you to forget your diet? Am I saying that it doesn’t matter if you lose weight? Not at all. I am simply arguing for a little reason and a little clear vision. Being skeletally thin is not pretty or healthy. It is unattractive and it can be dangerous to your physical, emotional and mental health. It is time that we woke up to this obvious truth and took responsibility for what we project as beauty and good health.
If you agree with me, don’t send me an email. Send one to the Style network and give them an earful. At least some of us will feel better. Thanks for listening.
Matthew Anderson, D. Min., is a counselor, organizational consultant and seminar leader. He lives and works in Boca Raton, Florida. Contact him at
[email protected].
