There is a scene in Mean Girls where each of the perfect looking teenagers stands in front of the mirror and berates her body. The usual "My hips are too big, my stomach is fat, I hate my thighs" sort of stuff. Funny clip... because as women we all identify. But is it really so funny? I think we grow up trained to criticize ourselves. 80% of all women are dissatisfied with their appearance. 34% of women are willing to try dangerous diets in hopes of looking better - another 34% are willing to go under the knife. 93% of all women have made various and repeated attempts to lose weight to fit some distorted weight loss goal.
What standard of beauty is it that women are trying to attain? When you look in fashion magazines, you see women who are grossly underweight, with bodies more like adolescent males than curvy as women are designed to be. It's not like what we see in magazines is the "real" thing. This link is to a recent Redbook cover photo of Faith Hill...now Faith Hill is a beautiful woman, most would agree. However, that cover shot was doctored in numerous ways. Back fat was removed, her arms were made much slimmer, her butt was whittled down...at least 11 changes were made. Meanwhile, many magazines proclaim that Eva Longoria has the "perfect body" - has anyone seen a non-airbrushed picture of her? She is skin & bones, looks more like a 12 year old boy than she does a woman. I, for one, have no desire to look like that. Ick.
On Monday I was up at the skating rink and ran into a woman that I haven't seen in a while. I was sitting with my friend who gasped when she saw her and then complimented her on her appearance. The woman in question then began to tell us how she lost EIGHTY POUNDS in four months by following the Atkins Diet. She was standing before us proclaiming that she was now wearing a size 14 skirt. She then went on to express that she had another 40 lbs to lose and that the rapid weight loss had stopped, so she was going to do ANYTHING to get it off. It was 5pm and she had eaten 17 almonds and a cup of coffee that day, nothing else. To be perfectly honest, she did not look healthy. Skin hung loosely from her arms and face, she had circles under her eyes, her skin looked sallow. At what price was she losing the weight? And has she bought into the lie that life will miraculously be beautiful once she reaches her goal weight?
Another woman I know took an ephedrine-based weight loss supplement and smoked like a chimney to lose 50 lbs. She was a nervous wreck, her hair was falling out, she began having skin problems - but that was nothing compared to the heart palpitations and tingling sensations in her fingertips and scalp. She ended up at the urgent care center, stopped taking them...and the weight came back. As for wonder-life and happily-ever-after during the time this woman was at her goal weight, it didn't happen. Problems strike the thin, the fat, the in between.
Those are two people who went to extremes because they had an actual health issue - excess weight. But speaking to both of them, health had nothing to do with their weight loss plans...it was all about body image, all about feeling good about themselves.
What about when it's all in your own head? Most women can identify with this. You can be wearing an outfit one day that makes you feel radiant...and the moment you start PMSing, you're at the mirror calling yourself an ugly cow. Somehow hormones and emotions color our vision, distorting what we see reflected back at us. The mirror can lie, it can whisper nasty criticisms, condemning observations. Our own hormones fuel the fire and our brainwashed minds soak it all in as truth. Perhaps if we were measuring ourselves by our brains, our friendliness, our creativity, our helpfulness, something other than our weight or if it was a good hair day - having a bad PMS mirror experience wouldn't wreck a week.
At the bridal shop yesterday, my beautiful daughter was trying on dresses. She's a size 6. Now in this large chain store, sizes 2, 4, 6, 8 had the least amount of dresses because the average woman wears a size 14 or larger. There were ROWS of dresses size 14 on up. With that in mind, here is my gorgeous daughter trying on dresses and in tears because she thinks she looks fat. It is impossible to be 5'6", wear a size 6 and look fat... but it doesn't matter what we see or tell her, the mirror was lying to her and making her cry. My middle daughter tried on a bridesmaid dress, also a size 6, which looked adorable. She was convinced that she looked "flabby" and with no muscle tone. Mind you, these are fit girls with muscle and no flab. As for me, I saw that poison was in the air. One glimpse in the mirror transformed the jeans and shirt I had felt good in to a horror show. (I wore this last week and got complimented 3X, yet in that brief encounter with the mirror, POOF! away went self-confidence). I decided, heck no, I'm not trying on anything, not with PMS ruling my vision. It wasn't worth risking the trauma. Yep, and my jeans were...size 6, too. We're not tube shaped. We have more in common with Jessica Simpson than Kate Moss. We have healthy upper arms. We're fit and athletic... but we're not immune to body image distortion and the agony that it delivers. When it strikes, it doesn't matter if you're wearing a size 6 or a 20W...a black fog rolls in and suffocates self-esteem.
Two body image assessment quizzes:
http://www.healthybodyimage.com/image.htm
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sclark68.htm
Men are not immune - more and more men are developing eating disorders and a condition being called "Bigorexia" An obsession with six-pack abs, brawny biceps and a preoccupation with physical appearance. Muscle dysmorphia - while many of us women are seeing ourselves heavier than we are, there are men out there who are seeing muscles that aren't big enough, developed enough.
A video about Body Image:
And, completed unrelated... the White Stripes new video, "You Don't Know What Love Is." I love the White Stripes. :)
Today's Workout:
10 minutes on the treadmill, 4.2 mph, 8.2% incline. 45 minutes of circuit training. 30 minutes HIIT on the Octane (I gave myself a fat lip with this on Monday, I went to get a drink from my water bottle, forgot about the arms on it and whacked the bottle right into my upper lip. Ouch). 10 minutes treadmill, 4.0 mph, 8.2% incline.
The Circuit for today
Barbell squat 15/90
prone pull up 5
tricep pressdown 15/100
REPEAT for total of 3 sets
--Sci-fit 1 minute sprint
leg extension 15/95, 10/100, 8/105
thigh adduction 15/125, 10/130, 8/135
machine chest press 15/85, 10/90, 8/95
--Sci-fit 1 minute sprint
squat swing with medicine ball 15/8
dropsie off 10" step with medicine ball 30/8
plank row, 12/15
REPEAT for total of 3 sets
--1 minute football run on 10" step
crossover lunge with hammer curl, 20/15
side lunge delt raise 20/20
plank, hold 40 seconds
REPEAT for total of 2 sets
--40 seconds football run on 10" step
hanging abs 12
V-up 15
REPEAT for 3 sets
