Clinique altermed
Nutrition
DOWN WITH THE ''STANDARDS'' OF BEAUTY!
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The thinness does not make the beauty...
Eating disorders are a bio-psycho-social problem (genetics-personality-our environment).
I would like to discuss the 'social' side of this problem because in magazines, news, and even when people around us give us compliments, beauty is always linked to thinness, and vice versa.
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Here is a situation that happened to me a few weeks ago, and that shows the very narrow vision in our society of beauty.
Her: Wow, you look really beautiful today, have you lost weight?
Me: Thanks for the compliment, but no, I haven't lost any weight.
Her: But yes, look at you, you lost weight, you look really beautiful tonight!
Me: Okay, but no, I haven't lost any weight.
Her: Okay...if you say so. Anyway, you're doing something! I'm sure you've lost weight.
I still find this situation uncomfortable. It's like my friend doesn't believe me, like no other reason is valid.
Maybe I did my hair differently...Maybe I slept well...Maybe I went to the pool and got a little color...
But no, she insisted that it was my weight, just my weight, that made me beautiful....
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But why is it that beauty is always linked to weight loss?
I'm not beautiful today, I feel fat', 'I'm beautiful today, I'm glad I lost weight', 'If I lost weight, I would be more beautiful'...
Dialogues that I hear all too often in my environment, and also in my consultations with my clients.
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Weight and beauty go hand in hand.
But this way of thinking is unhealthy and too often feeds our food obsessions and other destructive behaviors.
Our self-esteem revolves around our weight, and we forget ourselves in diets, in exercise, in purgative behaviors. A vicious circle that is harmful to our health.
Your weight does not make you beautiful. Your smile, your sense of humor, your laughter, your way of seeing life, your simplicity, your passions...and the list goes on.
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How do you change these ways of thinking?
Every morning, give yourself a compliment. Never leave the house without valuing some aspect of yourself not related to your weight. And, say it out loud.
The next time you tell yourself that you don't look good and feel bad about your body, go for a walk or do something fun. When you return, write down everything you feel in a journal. Get the bad out to let the good in.
The next time you see someone and they look good, don't focus on their weight. Focus on nothing. The purpose of a compliment is to make the other person feel good without saying anything more. Simplicity in everything, even positive comments.
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