In case the title may have you puzzled…it’s old timey slang and basically means “what a load of nonsense”. I’ve been pondering on something lately and I’m just about to let it all out in the open.
Image: http://now.org/now-foundation/love-your-body/posters/winning-designs/
We live in a world obsessed with food guidelines (FDA), health and fitness, being thin/toned/strong and constantly talking about the latest fad to “stay fit”. There are entire magazines and websites devoted to being “healthy”, “slimming down”, telling us how we can “look our best” or getting “bikini body ready”. I search Pinterest and see the word “skinny” constantly being thrown in front of popular recipes (not that cutting out some calories is necessarily bad.) We are constantly being told we never eat enough fruits and vegetables, how eating meat is bad for you, how sugar is bad, soda is bad, bread and carbs are bad, they jury still seems to be out on how much alcohol is good in part of your diet, processed food is bad, and don’t even think about gluten. I really wish I could think of a better synonym than “bad” but I can’t right now and that isn’t my main focus. Everything seems to be “bad”and we never eat the “right” things.As a society we are constantly slammed with negative terminology for the foods we consume. I mean, sometimes these terms have us thinking twice about what eating an apple will do to our body. I swear every other commercial on TV is for some popular weight loss program or diet pill that “magically” melt away pounds. It’s all just confusing or overwhelming.
So, basically, I should eat just ice, make my own grains, not eat meat (which I need specific amino acids from) and constantly snack on fruits and vegetables? When in tarnation did eating become so tedious and like my part time job?! When did eating stop being enjoyable? No wonder there are so many people meticulously planning meals and constantly fretting over what they are eating and if it’s going to be considered correct. No wonder there are so many people with eating disorders, developing them or with eating issues in general.
I’m not trying to blame eating disorder on anyone. NOT what I’m doing. However, shouldn’t the media feel somewhat accountable for at least helping aid people for developing them? If someone wasn’t always promoting “thin” or “perfect body” campaigns and ads wouldn’t it be easier to be more content with your own body? And yes, there are some programs and campaigns out there now that promote a healthy body image and about loving yourself in your own skin, but they can’t combat everything coming from the other side telling society that we need to change something about ourselves. (Whew! Deep breath. I may be out of momentum.)
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t try to be healthy and eat foods that nourish us, but do we constantly need it thrown in our face that how we eat is bad? Sometimes, it’s perfectly reasonable to eat Cheetos, drink your coke and eat that chocolate cake!
Image: http://www.yummyhealthyeasy.com/2012/05/decadent-low-fat-diet-coke-cake.html
I think that I just want to live in an ideal world where everything is gumdrops and sunshine. I think I just want everyone to feel comfortable with themselves, be able to accept themselves and truly believe that family and friends will love you in spite of your outward appearance. Half of being healthy is being able to feel good about yourself and sometimes I just get so caught up and bogged down by everything the media is throwing at me. I’m not even holding the bat anymore for the balls that they throw….I just try to dodge them as best I can because I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.
Stay Fearless 