Warning: This article contains purely my opinions, and you should always consult a doctor before making any drastic changes in your lifestyle, eating habits, etc. I am also aware that this is long and may be boring to some folks, so thanks for reading it.
Hey, Smurfette here! I haven't been on Whyville for a long time, but the first thing I did when I came back was read the Times. One story that caught my eye was Dieting by Lis22. I agreed with many things she said, but there were also some things almost offended me. She said she was in 9th grade, and basically she said people that age who are between 130 and 150 pounds at that age are overweight. I am in 8th grade. I am 14, and I weigh 140 pounds. She also talked about how the taller you are, the more you may weigh. I agree with that, but I am only average height for my age. So basically, it seemed she was calling me overweight.
When I started to go through puberty last year in the beginning of school, I gained a lot of weight, I think about 20 pounds. (To me that is a lot, because I'd stayed about the same weight for a long time.) When I went to see a doctor for my physical, I asked him if that was unusual, and he told me that I was not overweight. So you can see why that paragraph concerned me.
Now that that is out of the way, I would like to tell you a story about my mom. My mom is 45 years old (she is probably going to kill me for telling you her age, LoL). When I started gaining weight, my mom was already overweight. She wasn't obese, but she was overweight. At that time, she started dieting. She officially stopped eating unhealthy food. Except for on special occasions, of course. She also started exercising.
Each morning she gets off of work and heads over to the YMCA for 2 hours of swimming. She also takes many walks. As a result, a year later my mom had lost a lot of weight! She is not one of those paper-thin anorexic girls (sorry if that offends anyone), but is a healthy weight. She almost even wears the same size clothes as I do. I was so happy for her that I almost destroyed my life trying to be like her.
A couple weeks later, I set out on my trip of hell, as I call it. I basically starved myself. As a result, I would throw up whenever I ate, and not even because I was making my self do it, but because my body just made me feel so nauseous after eating that I would gag. I became very weak, and my mom recognized right away that something was wrong. She took me to a doctor, and he told me that if I kept starving my self that I would easily become sick, and may even die. Well, personally, that scared the *ahem* out of me. Next thing I knew, I was eating like crazy. I couldn't stop, and within 2 months I had gained all my weight back. This is where my mom comes in once again.
She sat me down for a talk and told me that if I really wanted to lose weight in a healthy way that I could simply try eating healthier foods, and maybe even exercising with her each morning. As a result, my mom makes me what I like to call my 'healthy lunch' each day, so that I will not have to eat the greasy fries or pizza at our school. I am also swimming and walking with her every other day now. I really hope this will help me, and I'll let you know how it all works out.
I realize that many people suffer from eating disorders, but please think about what you are doing toy our self. There is a difference between being what people call "fat" and being unhealthy. What is fat, anyway? How much do you really have to way before you are called "fat"? Don't you just think it is ridiculous how we beat ourselves up over our appearances? Everybody is self conscious about something about them. We all go through it, but it doesn't mean you need to destroy your life over it. Trust me, I know. I really hope you will all just think before you do something drastic.
Thanks for reading my article.
Smurfette
