The cost of weight obsession

Toyin

My search for me

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• women's health

For generations women have found themselves amidst an eating & dieting frenzy where our constant obsession has led us down a path of self loathing, blind devotion and lost dreams.

Countless studies in the last 2 decades have come to the same conclusion that diets don’t work, they cause bingeing, low self esteem and dire health problems. When will we learn that this isn’t the way forward, it’s not the way for us to educate the next generation.

I battled weight issues for many years and still do; the damage to my self confidence is only now being repaired. Although I’m not where I want or should be, I’ve now come to realise the true cost I’ve incurred over the years.

The burning issues and problems women face across the world are being eclipsed by the need to be thin. Who hasn’t heard themselves, their family and friends say “When I’ve lost a few pounds I’ll do….….Or if I was a bit thinner I would have more confidence, more money, and more friends. What about HEY you know what, why wait, I’m doing it now, I’m going to enrich my life NOW!

It pains me that this perhaps will never change; we will never remove the shackles of what society demand of us.

I delight in hearing about what women are doing across the world to help others and their environment, activist who lead the way in social change. It’s quite obvious that the power of women is awesome.

I also feel sad that women like me are trapped in a bubble where their only concern has been their weight and how others view them.

I say to all women like me, do one thing today, look in the mirror and say - I’M FANTASTIC JUST THE WAY I AM.

I highly recommend this book - “When women stop hating their bodies” - by Jane Hirschmann & Carol.H. Munter.