THE DECISION TO OBSESS OR TO PROGRESS



This is an interesting diagram explaining the two pathes which drive healthy eating and unhealthy eating behaviors. I found this on a fitness website, however I think it holds a lot of truth. It contributes to the idea that our society wants perfection NOW and those who arent prepared to face the long-term progress that comes with permanent weight-loss, can fall into a cycle of obsessive or disordered eating.

Despite my complaints there is a sense of hope. People are recognizing the diet obsession and providing alternatives to it. Check it out:
Several universities are creating programs to help adolescents create a healthy aim as opposed to weight-driven aim in lifestyle choices. http://ucanr.org/spotlight/eatfit.shtml

They call themselves fat activists.

Now just to make something clear … I am in no way condoning an unhealthy lifestyle in the direction of obesity. What I am attempting to imply is a distorted image and an unhealthy obsession as the WRONG way to approach eating. However, I did stumble upon several pro-fat groups, which I happened to find a great outlet for anyone who is fed up with living up to perfection.

Kelly Bliss, a self-described "full-figured fitness instructor" from Lansdowne, Pa, subscribes to a philosophy called "health at every size" - preaching that health, fitness and self-esteem can be achieved independent of weight.

Yes, I’m positive there are some people involved in the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) who are indeed just tired of being ridiculed and perhaps too lazy to do what is right for their health. However, there truly are people who are naturally heavier and lead perfectly healthy lives free from diseases associated with fat.

You might say that these groups are as much at fault for accepting being overweight and encouraging it as are the disordered eating groups found in my previous post. However, because they are taking a direct stab at everything which society tells them they SHOULD be, I am giving them some props.
Check it out.
http://www.naafa.org

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You must look at this.

As I was reading up on eating disorders I came across PRO-ANA and PRO-MIA websites and journals. When googling for eating disorder articles I read a press release detailing Oprah's coverage of this recent online phenomena that encourages and supports the development of eating disorders.

These terms refer to the so-called crusade or movement which is taking place in order to allow women who suffer from these illnesses to develop a support system for their disorder and talk about their problems.

This disgusting surprise prompted me to search live journal for the starvation support groups. If your at all like me, you were completely in the dark about the existence of these sites until now. There are hundreds of sites and journals with daily updated posts and obsessive fasting behaviors. Livejournal and xanga have literally hundreds of these forums. Young women display pictures of disgustingly thin models and actresses and write genuinely about their beauty. THIN is associated with BEAUTIFUL in the mind's of these young women. Could this be a revelation to the evils of the internet and blogger's freedoms to influence and encourage these behaviors? Obviously so.

PLEASE READ THESE . . . its a slap in the face to anyone who feels our society does not have an unhealthy obsession with weight.
http://www.pro-ana-nation.com/v1/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=2
http://community.livejournal.com/__10dayfast__/
http://www.livejournal.com/interests.bml?int=pro-ana (there are a ton of journals here)
http://forum.ringsworld.com/members-journal.html

Drawing from my previous post . . .these hundreds of college-age women who are dieting on a constant basis may also often fall into various forms of eating disorders. These may include but are not limited to; anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Obsessions over body image can lead to depression, a low self-esteem and even these mental illnesses associated with diet. It is estimated that 1 in 100 college women suffer from anorexia, and 4 out of 100 have bulimia. Other sites claim up to 1 in 4 women between the ages of 17-24 have a form of disordered eating.
The following are brief descriptions of the disorders according to the National Institute of Mental Health:
Anorexia: People with this disorder see themselves as overweight even though they are dangerously thin. The process of eating becomes an obsession. Unusual eating habits develop, such as avoiding food and meals, picking out a few foods and eating these in small quantities, or carefully weighing and portioning food. People with anorexia may repeatedly check their body weight, and many engage in other techniques to control their weight, such as intense and compulsive exercise, or purging by means of vomiting and abuse of laxatives, enemas, and diuretics.
Bulimia: Recurrent episodes of binge eating, characterized by eating an excessive amount of food within a discrete period of time and by a sense of lack of control over eating during the episode. Because purging or other compensatory behavior follows the binge-eating episodes, people with bulimia usually weigh within the normal range for their age and height. However, like individuals with anorexia, they may fear gaining weight, desire to lose weight, and feel intensely dissatisfied with their bodies. People with bulimia often perform the behaviors in secrecy, feeling disgusted and ashamed when they binge, yet relieved once they purge.
Binge-Eating Disorder: People with binge-eating disorder experience frequent episodes of out-of-control eating, with the same binge-eating symptoms as those with bulimia. The main difference is that individuals with binge-eating disorder do not purge their bodies of excess calories. Therefore, many with the disorder are overweight for their age and height. Feelings of self-disgust and shame associated with this illness can lead to bingeing again, creating a cycle of binge eating.

There are a lot of warning signs when it comes to an eating disorder. Since coming to college I have met a few people who suffer from one of these disorders . . .its effects have been devastating on the once happy and healthy girl's lives.
Has your friend lost or gain a significant amount of weight recently?
Does she avoid eating meals or snacks when you are together?
Does she categorize food into "good foods" or "bad foods"?
Does she calculate the number of fat grams and calories in eat bite?-Does she talk or worry about her size and shape?
Does she weigh herself often?
Does she exercise because she feels like she has to, not because she wants to?
These are just a few of the several warning signs listed on the site, for more signs visit: http://www.anred.com/warn.html

The following is a link, to an interesting quiz to discover if you may be at risk for developing an eating disorder:http://teenadvice.about.com/library/teenquiz/15/bleatingdisorders.htm

So what can you do if you or someone you know is experiencing the symptoms of an eating disorder? A positive attitude is the easiest prevention tool!

-Consider and be aware of the ways your beliefs and attitudes about your body and others' bodies are influenced by our society and culture.
-Be a good role model in your attitudes about food, body image, and weight-related issues. Avoid making negative comments about your body or anyone else's. Remember that your comments impact other even when you may not intend them to.
-Take good care of yourself. This includes eating well, getting plenty of rest, enjoying a bit of exercise, and interacting with people you love and enjoy being with. (Maybe even talking to a counselor about your worries.)
-Talk to others about the natural differences in body types and the body's powerful attempts to maintain these various shapes and sizes.
-Learn about and tell family and friends about the dangers of dieting, the importance of eating a variety or foods, and enjoying a moderate exercise to feel healthy and strong. Avoid overemphasizing a person's beauty and shape.
-Do and say whatever you can to support and encourage the self-esteem and self-respect of your friends, family, classmates, teammates, and roommates in personal, social, athletic, and intellectual endeavors. Provide males and females with the same opportunities and encouragement!

Who has the dieting craze hit hardest?
As a young woman in college I argue that it is me who has been affected most by the American dieting obsession. Young college women age 20-24, that's my thesis. College is a time that many young women experience weight gain as a result of stress, development of unhealthy eating habbits or perhaps the lack of home cooked meals many students face. Personally, it was a complete social climate change that hurdled me towards the weight obsession.
I moved from Portland, Oregon having been a fairly confident young woman with an ambitious career plan. I admit, I'm still that same young woman with a drive to succeed . . .but somewhere in between I let the importance of image override who I was. Entering freshman year of college I was completely shocked to find girls who (despite being thin) were following some fort of diet plan. These young women felt compeled to "dress the part," of the orange county female on a daily basis. This meant . .wearing high heels to an eight a.m. class, socializing on a nightly basis in the dormitories and placing a higher importance on their looks than on their coursework. Despite their obvious ridiculousness . . . I got the urge to get hot. By get hot I mean lose weight, get my hair done, buy new clothes and put makeup on just to go eat at the cafeteria!
This is where my dieting quest probably began. What came after my freshman year was nothing but weight gain, weight loss and no happy medium. The materialism overload didn't stick with me. It took for me a realization that this society is merely a bubble, not a legitmate representation of society as a whole, to get over it.
Luckily for me Chapman university population is not comparable to the real world. White, thin, upper middle-class, prada owning, beamer drivers?
Not exactly what one would expect of a 20 year old female But, in the OC its typical. Places such as orange county, where plastic surgeries are commonplace and shows such as laguna beach represent youth, are more hurtful than encouraging. It is embarassing when my friends from home equate the television show The OC with where I go to school.
My roommate grew up on a street in Mission Viejo where the "stay-at-home mothers all have their boobs done." So contrary to my street in northeast Portland, Oregon, where moms and dads work and we only laugh about fake boobs. Perhaps materialistic societies are a worser enemy than are the diet schemes which appease them.
I have met more dieters in this area than I ever met at home . . . and no one is any fatter in Oregon. Lets get our priorities straight please.

For this entry I decided to take a step away from the body image topic and move towards some findings on health risks and legitimacy of diets. According to the International Food Information Council, "fad diet book authors take a scientific half-truth that is complex and use that as the basis for their arguments." Authors may simplify or expand upon biochemistry and physiology in an effort to help support their theories and provide a plethora of scientific jargon that people do not understand but that seems to make sense

Following a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet will encourage the body to burn its own fat. Without carbohydrates, however, fat is not burned completely and substances called ketones are formed and released into the bloodstream. Abnormally high ketone levels in the body, or ketosis, may indeed make dieting easier, since they typically decrease appetite and cause nausea. However, ketosis also increases the levels of uric acid in the blood, which is a risk factor for gout and kidney disease in susceptible people. Additionally, according to Director of nutrition and University of Nevada Dr. St. Jeor, "following these diets can result in dehydration, diarrhea, weakness, headaches, dizziness, and bad breath, and over the long term, can also increase risk of atherosclerosis and osteoporosis."
How about the zone diet? According to the Food and Drug Administration, "it relies upon unproven claims based on case histories, testimonials, and uncontrolled studies that are not published in peer-reviewed journals."

After looking on several scientific websites almost all of them claimed the popular low carb and glycemic index diets to rely on testimonial and innacurate science. No diet or diet pill has ever been reccomended by the FCC, IFIC or FDA.

In my history, no health professional has every reccomended any diet to me. One nutritionist told me that if there were one diet which were at all credible it would be the plan of "weight watchers." His reasoning for this was that is does not restrict foods but rather promotes portion control, balance, and calorie intake based on your weight.

We need to start listening to the doctors and scientists of the field and stop falling for the false claims that bombard us when we have the weight gain blues.

Careful reading also led me to tips on how to spot a fad diet!

• 
  Claims or implies a large or quick weight loss of more than 1 to 2 pounds per week. Slow, gradual weight loss increases the chance of weight loss success and of keeping weight off over the long term.
• 
  Promotes magical or miracle foods. No foods can undo the long-term effects of overeating and not exercising or melt away fat.
• 
  Restricts or eliminates certain foods, recommends certain foods in large quantities, insists on eating specific food combinations, or offers rigid, inflexible menus.
• 
  Implies that weight can be lost and maintained without exercise and other lifestyle changes.
  Relies heavily on undocumented case histories, testimonials, and anecdotes but has no scientific research to back claims.
• 
  Contradicts what most trusted health professional groups say, or makes promises that sound too good to be true.

It is sometimes a hard truth to face, but maintaining and/or becoming healthy never comes easily. Once society begins to accept adequate nutrition and exercise as the ONLY lifestyle approporiate for health, the dieting corporations will start to sizzle out.

Fat girls feel skinny, skinny girls feel fat.

I just dont get it. It seems that there are so many thin people out there who consistently bring up their "I'm getting fat" status or their "I'm so fat" comments. Why are these perfectly thin people rubbing on the worlds face their thinness? Is is really possible that our society suffers from such body dysmorphia that they genuinely see an overweight woman when they look at their 110 pound body in the mirror?
An obsession with body image is said to be had by all body types.
A recent study administered by a psychologist Debby Burgard of Radiance Magazine (500 women of various ages) had the following findings:
Finding #1: It is possible to "accept" your body size regardless of weight. About half the women in the study said that as far as weight was concerned, their bodies were basically acceptable as they were. Respondents' weights ranged up to 485, with an average of 160. There was no relationship between a person's weight and her degree of acceptance: it was just as likely for a woman weighing 450 to accept her body size as a woman weighing 235.

Finding #2: Higher self-esteem was associated with giving up the attempt to lose weight.
The belief that women who "give up" dieting are "giving up" on themselves was strongly challenged by this finding. Almost all of the personality and self-esteem measures were significan'tly healthier for the women who claimed they would not try to lose weight again.

One participant from the study had this to say, I find it very inspirational and direct:
"I know so many people who want to be "perfect" and think that when they are "perfect" then they'll love themselves. They think that if they accept themselves as they are, they'll never change. . . . I can't think of anything that I accomplished that was real, lasting, and healthy that was motivated by self-hatred. . . . I suspect the whole thing is backwards, i.e., if you are truly self- accepting, weight is not an issue. If you are not self-accepting, you'll find lots of things to be unhappy about and weight is likely to be one of them."

Finding #3: Women who felt they had little control over their weight in particular felt greater feelings of self-control in general.
This finding mean to say that those women who felt they were naturally a higer weight tended to have better self control as a result of non-compulsive or obsessive behaviors about dieting.
This is expressed in the following quote I found in the study:
"In 1978 I gave up weight-loss dieting and therefore stopped binging. I stopped feeling compulsive, so I started feeling in control. At an earlier age, self-control meant not to engage in any sexual behavior (Catholic background), and as I got older, it meant not eating or drinking "too much," maintaining a strict diet. The more that control was an issue, the more I swung wildly between compulsive overcontrol to out of control. When control became a non issue, it was no longer a problem."

I found this study greatly helpful in reaffirming my beliefs on body image and the dieting obsession. By reading the results of this study I hope you are reaffirmed in your personal self-confidence and awareness of societal influences.

The following link is to a quiz about body image. (just for fun) Take it to find out if you are a little too obsessed with weight:
http://www.prevention.com/quizleadin/0,,s1-4-57-39-7114-1,00.html

A point for mothers and family to ponder.

More often than not a person’s body image is linked to their family’s attitude about weight loss. Out of 455 college women (with poor body image), "more than 80 percent said their parents or siblings had made negative comments about their bodies during childhood,” according to the Stanford School of Medicine.

A young girl’s father often congratulated his 6 year old daughter when she finished her entire plate of food. The mother often made comments along the lines of “Well now that she finished she won’t be having dessert.” This young lady, a friend of mine at college, was burdened by her own mother’s weight ideals even as a small child.

Many young girls not only hear comments from family members but often are most often influenced by their mother’s constant dieting quests throughout childhood. These quests turn into personal burdens as the ideals are carried from generation to generation. When a mother is picking herself apart in the mirror, talking about losing weight, or maybe weighing in on a frequent basis, her impressionable daughters will do the same.

Often it is our own families who are most critical of our bodies and may make the most influential remarks without consideration. “Have you been gaining weight?” “You really shouldn’t be eating that.” It is our own loved ones who are major contributors to the continuance of poor body image.

Many family members may not realize their actions until a son or daughter develops an eating disorder or they face cruel realizations that their eight year old daughters may be on a diet because they are “fat.”

As told on another woman’s personal weight blog . . .” Just this week my 5 year old daughter caught me "grabbing the flab" around my midsection as I made some disparaging remark about myself. The very next day... she did the same thing.”

A Pretty Penny

Just like every other marketing campaign, diet corporations have capitalized on the “sex sells” idea to get their products purchased. Nearly every diet advertisement contains a scantily clad woman or rock hard man, while many promise attention from the opposite sex after use of the product.

Men have become a challenging audience to reach. In order to reach men, who do not want to count calories or go to meetings, dieters must use sex and the idea of “manly” foods such as pizza and burgers to lure them in. This has been particularly effective because men do not want to feel as though they are dieting and many are insecure around women.

Because Americans tend to be lazy we are often incapable or irresponsible when it comes to making healthy food choices on our own. Therefore, we enjoy diets that provide us with a supply of food … often at a much higher price than you would pay in a grocery store.

Popular diets such as the Zone diet start at $25 a day for food and LA Weight Loss costs $700 to begin a two month program!

The profits of these diet corporations exceed 3 billion dollars every year. However our country is still facing a whopping problem of 58 million people overweight, 40 million obese and 3 morbidly obese.

As far as diet pills are concerned, the temptation of a $5,000 check is all it takes to get a local clinician to endorse your product. Paid actresses and endorsers fill the majority of the content of in those tempting weight loss commercials and infomercials, according to a recent study conducted by NBC Dateline.

Consumers often assume that because a product is advertised on television there must be someone ensuring it is safe or legitimate . . . think again.

As consumers we must not empty our pockets at the site of a rock hard body or out of a desperate need to lose ten pounds in time for summer.

Think twice before trusting any diet product, particularly those who make miracle claims.

Attack of the MAGAZINE racks!

Waiting in line at the grocery store has become a torturous ordeal for any person attempting to avoid the dieting craze and societal pressures of perfection.
For the purpose of research I picked up the “Star” magazine, the cover is graced with the title “Hollywood’s Secret New Diet Pills!” Of course, I must admit that my curiosity is sparked.
Not to my surprise the cover also shows Carmen Electra in a bikini, Katie homes (looking on the verge of anorexia), Ashley Simpson in a bare-all dress, and a healthy looking Janet Jackson.

The subhead promotes further curiosity reading, “They Melt Pounds FAST- Who’s taking them and who’s not?”

Along with several other magazines, waiting in the check out line has now become a reinforcement of our emphasis on being thin. I try to avert my eyes, but the temptation is too strong.

It can be depressing to compare yourself to air-brushed cover-models. Mostly because they are air-brushed and you aren’t . . . perfection isn’t fair, luckily it isn’t possible either.

Taking a closer look at Star magazine, it becomes disgustingly apparent that we live in a society who places far too much value on physical appearance, a key point to the driving force behind my bog’s mission to end the dieting obsession.

Taking a look at the table of contents for the magazines, a few cannot help but be noted: “Why Jess is a mess . . .from her looks to her love life, the blonde needs to bust out of the box she’s in,” or “Hollywood’s Secret Skinny Pill,” and finally “The most beautiful girl of the week: Sienna Miller.”

Ironic how these magazines claim to be an empowering force for women, when articles such as these fill their pages every month.

A few ads also call my attention. Those typical stomach bearing, before and after diet pill ads that promise ungodly amounts of quick weight loss. Funny how the doctors who recommend these various diet pills look either extremely young or extremely stereotypical in a white doctor suit with a stethoscope over their shoulder.

The focus of all these diet ads on “FAST,” “SPEED,” or “JUST DAY’s” is another play on our societies give it to me now attitude and therefore continues to be profitable for the promise of a quick fix. There are six ads claiming the same “lose ten pounds fast,” line within this 90 page magazine.

It is apparent to me that this repetition of images and promises is what’s really getting to the heart of our desperate dieting society.

Strangely . . . the article that drew me into the magazine turns out to be a special report on a diet pill that is causing long-term health consequences in its users. The magazine even uses a disclaimer to ensure the audience understands it is not endorsing the products. How responsible of them. Weird however, that the cover says nothing of a negative diet drug that may cause death, but of a FLASHY NEW DIET adorned with pictures of ideal celeb bods.

This and all other magazines are full of hype and just waiting to play on the self-esteem and body image of its next victim.
It is up to us to see through these consistently perpetuated images and ignore the false truths of “weight-loss secrets.” Just remember, if it were that easy, then wouldn’t everyone be thin?

Who could live without chocolate?
There are literally no fad diets that allow people to consume chocolate. That craving, everyone can relate to. . . that longing for a milky sweet morsel of chocolate. For most women, it is undeniable.
Many dieters can not consume a sweet without being overwhelmed by guilt. When dieting, it seems as though the temptations are even stronger and the fears which develop as a result of breaking the diet take a mental toll.
The more guilt which develops as a result of "off-limit" foods the more likely a dieter will build-up the urge to eat the item and usually in an excessive manner. After eliminating sweets from my diet for three weeks, the cravings had become so unbearable that I gave in to eating a donut . . .ok not just one but 6! It is restrictions like these that make unhealthy eating habbits persist.
In order to start coming at the sweet phenomena with a healthy attitude it is important to look beyond the calories and sugar and take a glance at the benefits of some indulgence every now and then.

Here are some stats I discovered on chocolate:

The anitoxidant benefits of dark chocolate are actually comparable to those found in green tea, In fact chocolate contains potent doses of the polyphenol antioxidants also found in green tea. These polyphenols protect you against cancer. Most dark chocolate has 4 times the amount of antioxidants than does tea.

Small amounts of chocolate are great for increasing energy and mood with natural caffeine.

A recent study conducted at UC Santa Barbara found that in fact chocolate also has positive components for preventing heart disease. We must not forget that chocolate comes from cocoa beans and therefore has the benefits of many plant based foods.

In addition, the cocoa component in chocolate is rich in a number of essential minerals, including magnesium, copper, potassium and manganese. Indeed, chocolate is thought to be one of the largest single contributors of copper to the U.S. diet (according to research).

This post is not attempting to say that chocolate in mass quanitities is good, but instead meant to be an eye-opener for dieters who deprive themselves of natures sweetness. It's about time we give ourselves a break.

Check out this Web site to learn more about why you SHOULDNT eliminate sweets from your diet:

http://www.cocoapro.com/cnhy/index.jsp

Why Fad Equals Bad

Any fad diet may at first seem alluring. Quick weight loss, limitless amounts of bacon (if you're on Atkins) and a happier you . . . right? Absolutely wrong. The real reason why you lose weight at a rate higher than one pound a week (the recommendation for healthy weight-loss) is because you are allowing nutritional deficiencies in your diet and your body is feeding on muscle mass. Less muscle mass leads to less calorie burning. The reality is a lower weight but a slower metabolism.

Translation: you will gain back the weight.

When you consider long term benefits, has any fad diet ever held true? No. in fact most people gain the weight back plus some as soon as they cease the fad. If we are aware of this, then why does it continue?

My quest with the Atkin's Diet led me to just this downfall. After peeing on a strip to discover my body had gone into ketosis, I knew my butter, bacon, chicken and cheese diet was on a roll. However, the second I gave into the temptation of a slice of bread my body and my mind went into panic mode and the scale began to rise.

Diets have taken such a strong hold over my life that I even had nightmares of cheating. I dreamt of myself raiding the fridge and eating pizza and ice cream. It was horrifying … as mentally unstable as that sounds.

The diet corporations, who are feasting on an estimated $50 billion a year American habit, consistently play on our need for thinner waists and "results now" mentality. We are lured by the promise of "eight pounds in 10 days" and know that "it worked for Beyonce" . . . so we take the plunge.

One of the problems I see here? Nothing should ever be a restricted food! No one will ever be able to permanently eliminate carbs or fat from their diets, so why not start thinking long-term health?

Golden Rule of Nutrition: No food is bad food and anything can be enjoyed in moderation.

These fad diets often become obsessively habitual and therefore carry more than just nutritional consequence. The real key to maintaining the healthy you (and the healthy you does not mean 100 pounds and size five) is first accepting your normal weight and embracing it. If you are eating a variety of foods and exercising regularly there is no reason to get down on yourself about size or shape.

No longer will food control your thoughts; no longer will it be your best friend and worst enemy, but rather an acquaintance that equips you with energy to get through the day.

I eliminated the word DIET from my life and almost instantly felt healthier, energized and most importantly . . . full!

I work at Starbucks. I used to force pastries on other people in order to feel better about my own decision to eat them.

With each sweet bite of coffee cake I felt overwhelmed with guilt. Thoughts such as . . . “How long will it take me to burn this off?” “Now that I’ve taken one bite, might as well go all out and try everything,” or “I won’t eat anything else for the rest of the day.” These thoughts are obviously not normal. Further . . . one of my co-workers is complaining about her weight issues and how if only she were skinny then she could be happy and have a boyfriend. I want to slap someone for this comment.

Three other girls and I are working that night. Like most nights . . . discussions on perfection and weight loss are frequent. Damn it! Not once have I seen any of the male co-workers complain about their figures and become anxious at the thought of sampling a pumpkin scone.
Further perpetuating my overwhelming sense of body image . . . I look at larger women and feel a sense of consolation, as if I should treat these people like those who are differently able, with sensitivity and kindness. I’m drawn to them. Although I am not obese I feel a deep connect with anyone whom appears to be an outsider in this perfection driven community. At the same time I look at thin women as people who have self-control and real happiness. I compare myself to them and usually feel jealousy and further self loathing.

What I see in my own thoughts is perpetuated in nearly all of the women I have met in some form or another, particularly within the southern California region.

Who can I blame and where does the slapping belong for our warped sense of bodily reality? mommies, the media, The Swan, plastic surgery commercials, diet corporations . . . the list is endless. Let me discuss just a couple for starters . . .

I sit in the car and listen to the radio ads. On blares, “Do you think no ones noticed those extra ten pounds? Think again!" “Do you want a flatter tummy and a bigger chest in time for swimsuit season?” “Then come to the friendly folks at “insert name." The catch of the ad is that you will receive a free limo ride to surgery by calling in immediately. It is here I find the perfect example of Southern California degradation. Enforcing the need to have the perfect body and belittling you with the incentive of a god damn limo ride. I turn off the radio and yell out loud in frustration.

I used to watch the popular television show “The Swan.” Almost, obsessively I watched. On this show women deemed ugly ducklings of our society are given a chance to be happy. Happy as defined by changing drastically the way they look to be defined as beautiful. They then compete in a culminating “swan” beauty competition at the end of the season, where many are then told they are not pretty enough once again.

My message to all women: DO NOT watch television shows such as Dr.90210, The Swan, or Extreme Makeover. By watchin you are allowing their success and applauding a society based on superficiality. These shows will just continue the brainwashing which our society has become so good at . . .you will no longer consider your intelligence or your individuality as the most important aspects of self, but instead your pants size will determine your self-worth. It starts with a choice . . . you can’t diss it until you dismiss it.