Summer is mercifully almost upon us, which inevitably brings a slew of fitness and nutrition advertisements. Do you want to shed 15 pounds with ease? Do you want that bikini body? Do you want to look like a Roman Goddess and have flocks of attractive people stare at you in wonderment? Tempting offer, I know…
We are bombarded with a variety of options, such as the newest exercise machine, celebrity approved workout regime or the latest fad diet and/or pill.
Now most of the food related programs are, pardon my French, des conneries*. Aimed at guilting us into losing weight, the ads proffer a happier, sexier life if we could just get skinnier. They come fully equipped with these very enticing before-and-after shots of “real people” proudly holding their waistbands in front them, several inches from their actual skin.
Now this could be all yours and more! …if you do nothing but choke down some off-tasting shake for two weeks. Maybe that’s not really what you want – too much hangriness is a danger to those around me, so I understand.
Perhaps you’d like to try the magic pill or powder that you can sprinkle on anything, and the weight will keep sliding right off of you. I mean, the loss is probably due to your kidneys and liver slowly liquifying, but hey, who really needs those?
I find these programs almost instantly off-putting for that very reason. Yes, I have the occasional bout of low self esteem, look in the mirror and see nothing but a sea monster, but it’s awfully rude for someone else to point that out. Thank you very much, but you should really leave the self-hate to me.
What makes it worse is that these “quick-fix solutions” can be really dangerous. Just Google “death weight loss pill” and there are over 800,000 results. Most of the victims are university aged females.
We are a lush market for the weight loss industry. I’ll admit that there were times when I’ve been very tempted to try the latest “breakthrough.” It is a constant struggle to feel comfortable in my own skin, especially when there are so many images that scream the opposite.
This is something I’ve reflected on quite a lot and still continue to revisit. While I’ve never actually tried any of the pills, I am guilty of dabbling in various exercise programs. It began in high school with Jillian Michaels’ “30 Day Shred” and now I’m currently trying to make my way through Kayla Itsine’s “Bikini Body Workout.”
I’d like to think that these programs are healthier – they are mostly exercise based but do offer diet and lifestyle advice, if desired. However, it can be difficult to get access to such programs, as most sites charge some amount of money. Actually following the program to its end is a whole other battle.
So it is understandably tempting to want a magical potion that will save me time and money but still yield the results I want. It is an on going struggle to feel content with myself and to do my best to reach my goals without putting any organs at risk.
This is something I know many other women also face, and it can be quite helpful just to talk to another person about their own struggles.
There is no easy solution, but at least we have each other.
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*des conneries = bullshit in French