Granny Craig

I had to write this post cos someone I love is rapidly disappearing into thin air because of a so-called 'healthy' diet (which ofcourse I think is a certified path to Anorexia). La Vida Loca's fantastic recent post about unhealthy diets reminded me of this girl I know. I'm not writing this to make her feel bad or to laugh at her. Trust me I love her and she's very close to me. And I don't wanna see her sick cos of some diet that don't make her beautiful anyways. That's why I want you to read her story so that if you're in the same track you'd realise that it's not really a fashion statement that you're making - rather a big blunder. (I have written a similar post long time ago - check 'butt it's beautiful'). My sincere apologies in advance if I hurt anyone through this post, but this is how I truly feel about extreme and crash-dieters.

She used to be a normal size 12 (perhaps a size 14 I'm not sure) and she used to eat without feeling guilty. She used to be happy, carefree and she looked fresh and healthy. And then came along some weirdo who told her she looked 'big' and that changed her life, for the worse I think. She immediately went and joined Jenny Craig's weight-watchers' program (which I have heard is ok to a certain limit). And in the months that followed she not only punished herself with tasteless fish-food but also went and bought a whole gym spending alot of money. Her house is full of gym equipment now. She followed Jenny Craig religiously for 10 more months combined with rigorous exercise. As a result she really lost tons of weight. At the beginning she looked good...more firm and healthy than she was before. She came to a size 10 which was great. I think this is where she should have stopped it and taken up natural ways to maintain it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that weight-watchers programs are bad altogether. It may be good until you lose the excess weight and then you have to be sensible enough to stop it there and continue with natural ways of maintaining that weight. But she didn't ease up on the diet after that, instead she continued like a Jenny-Craig-produced-low-fat-maniac and deteriorated rapidly by the day. Her face dropped, her eyes and cheeks hollowed, her very visible rib cage could be easily studied by anyone, her excessive skin started to hang from under her arms and worst of all she feared normal food! Whenever we ate rice/pasta (carb foods) in front of her she completely freaked out. Her tasty home-cooking also stopped cos now she survived only on program-supplied pre-packed food. She's a woman in her late 20s and she was now a size 8 going on size 6! Girls now when you're a full-grown adult woman (women of 25 and up), you really don't want to look like an under-developed teenager do you? You should be healthy, full and natural. That to me is attractive than a bag of bones moving around. And when you're an adult woman surely it isn't a fashion to look like a hungry Ethiopian who hasn't eaten in yonks?? She even mocked me for being a size 10-12 (trust me I fluctuate between the 2 sizes). I didn't mind her laughing at me cos I know what Im doing whereas she doesn't seem to have a clue about the damage she's doing to herself. She is lost in some craze to look like a walking-stick that isn't sexy anyways. And I think she is partly frustrated that she is obsessed by this diet and that she couldn't be normal anymore. That's why she was mocking those who ate normal food and didn't mind having sugar in their coffee. She takes Equal (saccharine-coated sweetener) with her tea/coffee. I read that artificial sweeteners such as Equal causes Cancer in long term use. I received a recent pic of her yesterday (no that's not her in this pic - she hasn't come to that stage yet but is surely on her way to it!) and she looked like a size 5 or even a 4! Is there even a size like that except for infants?? I don't know but she looked really sick. Both her cheeks seemed hollow and she looked extremely tired. Seriously clothes look better on a 'woman' than on a 'hanger' don't they! She didn't look like a fresh young woman anymore - instead she looked like a granny who's madly running after Jenny.

I can't advise her anymore cos last time I advised her she said I was jealous of her...helllo jealous? Hell na I'm not jealous. How could I be jealous of a woman who has no flesh in her body? I'd have to be a bone-specialist to admire her. Guys you tell me...do you prefer flesh-less and skin-only women or fleshy, healthy and bubbly women like Uttsy and Beyonce? :) Anyways I told her to beware of Anorexia and she didn't even know about such a thing - how ignorant can people be. Still she's not stopping on the diet. All of this to look like some 100yr old skeletal remains? WHY?

I really can't understand why some women fail to realise that their bodies are unique and beautiful as they are. I think most women punish their bodies cos the body is easier to change than the attitude towards yourself. If you have an over-weight problem then go and get some healthy advice from your doc and follow simple and genuinely healthy rules. Perhaps cut-down on certain sugary and oily food, let go of some unhealthy habits and exercise regularly - but never overdo anything. Everything in life should be done in 'moderation'. If you are so obsessed with looking thin to the extent that you miss out on having fun and having a life, then certainly you're on the wrong track. We were not born into this world to starve - we were born to live, eat and enjoy life. If you stand in front of the mirror and you have to try real hard to find your image, then you are in for some serious trouble. Life is too short to breathe weight-watchers and live on crackers. What matters most is if you are happy, sensible and healthy. I'm sure those who diet like this aren't really happy but they are forcing themselves to do it just to be thin and look like a model/actress who needs a good serving of steak on any day. A woman is beautiful when she's beautiful both in and out. To me outward beauty means being curvy, healthy, fresh and natural. And also if she's just beautiful on the outside and cant carry a decent and intelligent conversation (due to cranium depravation cos of hunger) and without fainting out of starvation, then what's the point in looking thin, thinner and thinnest? Where are all the full-figured beauties these days (like Sophia and Marilyn)? By crash-dieting you are putting yourself at serious risk and depriving your body of the nutrients it needs to function properly. I have heard of people dying from crash-dieting/binge-eating and some people end up as miserable anorexics/bulimics in mental hospitals. Don't ever let a diet ruin your life - you get only one life, so protect it. I hope my friend realises this before it's too late. Exercise your soul, do everything in moderation, be well and stay happy people.

Current Music: Stupid Girls by Pink