THE TRUTH ABOUT BEEN SKINNY

Disclaimer: I am not fat – shaming and slim praising.  This is not my intention.  This topic is very close to my heart and I am simply attempting to share my thoughts and views on the matter.

I think the problem is not what society defines as beautiful (I am in no way underestimating its influence) but rather the problem lies within ourselves and what we think beautiful is when we catch a reflection of ourselves in the mirror.

What started it all, although I have been thinking about doing this for a while now.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5460625?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000046

It is true that obesity is a worldwide problem that needs a permanent solution. According to the WHO website, 2.8 million people die annually from obesity or been overweight. Childhood obesity is steadily rising and it scares me- but that is another post all together.

With that been said, there are still millions of people- both MEN AND WOMEN who have serious issues with weight gain. How do I know? Because I am one of them.  Having family members tell you to eat more or random strangers walking up to you and telling you are skinny. Telling a slim person to eat a burger because they look hungry is the equivalence of telling an obese/overweight person to eat a salad because they don’t look hungry. It’s RUDE. Period.

RUDE, OFFENSIVE, DISRESPECTFUL AND INCONSIDERATE.

In the world we live in today, been too big is a problem.  Been too small is a problem too. And whilst I both acknowledge and accept the fact that there are serious health consequences of been at the extreme ends of the weight scale, it is also worth acknowledging that some people do truly have difficulties in gaining weight and not because of some eating disorder or mental disorder of anything else you could come up with but simply due to nature- that’s how their body functions and maybe down to genetics.

If there is possibly a gene that pre disposes a person to obesity, then couldn’t there be one in the opposite effect? One that pre disposes a person to been naturally slim or slimmer than usual?

I will tell you why this topic is so important to me: I am a 21 year old woman weighing about 49.5 to 50kgs and standing at 5.5/5.6 feet. On a BMI (Body mass index) scale I am classed as underweight.

Now if you know me or within months of getting to know me, you will hear about my many attempts of epic fail weight gain stories or my numerous researches about weight gain. And I have good researching skills. And I have tried them all- appetite stimulants, heavy weight lifting, mass gainers etc. and all equals no weight gain.

And in my culture and even society nowadays, been bigger is better (and I am not talking about been obese/overweight). The bigger your buttocks, sway of your hips and heave of your chest when you walk = desirability.  And it’s easy to feel left out.

BUT STILL

One day I caught a reflection of myself in the mirror and stared hard at myself and realised how far I had come in life, my achievements and my failures were not due to my weight. And I prayed for courage to accept it. And yes I have the days where I am obsessed with weight gain. Of course, I am human.

Disclaimer 2: once again I am not praising been slim. I am simply stating there could be another way where people stay slim other than the negative stereotypes. Strive for good health. And if you have serious concerns about your health/weight please seek medical advice. I purposely used the word skinny less and slim more because to me it denotes a sick/ill person and it is simply not the point I wish to put across.

And once we pray and accept the things we CANNOT change and LEARN to deal with them in a SAFE AND PROPER manner, then life well life would be so much better.

Xx

Have a good day