I’m always looking in the mirror.

What do I see? I see a way my hair can be adjusted, I see some make-up errors, but most importantly I see some extra pounds. It is an undeniable obsession of American women to diet, lose weight, and frequently do so at the detriment of their health and self-value.

In my past two years of college I have done it all. Atkins, South Beach, Slim Fast, Hollywood, Trim Spa . . . and no the weight loss never lasted. Oddly enough, I have discovered that despite the apparent obesity epidemic sweeping America, Orange County seems to be facing a problem on the other side of the spectrum. Taking extreme dieting measures in hopes of achieving perfection have become a social norm.

I hear my friends discuss their dieting on nearly a daily basis and I know that they associate being thin with happiness. I am guilty of these ideals too and yet absolutely disgusted by this perpetuation of PERFECTION. When you live in a society that thrives on compliments such as, “Have you lost weight?” or “She looks great this year . . . then how can one suggest change?Obsessive dieting has become an all too common practice of the American people. 91 percent of college girls have taken part in dieting. Two out of five women and one out of five men would trade three-five years of their life to achieve their weight goals. Twenty years ago, the average model weighed 8 percent less than the average woman—but today’s models weigh 23 percent less.

What is a diet and who exactly is it working for? The answer is no one. Dieting has merely become another way of effective commoditization that plays upon our naivety. As a result of so much restriction it becomes a never-ending cycle which generally equals temporary weight loss followed by gain. It will take a realization that food should not control you to escape a lifestyle which is destructing our self-esteems, our body images, and our health.

I’m tired of false promises and a dependence on unrealistic images. I’m tired of comparing myself to everyone else. I’m so tired of counting calories and late night chocolate binges. My continuing quest will uncover the imposing parties responsible for America’s skewed body image and is intended to help women free themselves from self-destruction.