Pressure to be perfectly slim
Hi everyone
It seem people and especailly woman are constantly reminded that being beautiful is more important than anything else in the world. We are told that in order to be happy, successful respected and to have good relationships, we have to look good. And, sadly, the desire to be beautiful undermines our self-esteem because it values us by standards we can't control. Age catches up with everybody in the end – although if you're wealthy you can hold it at bay for a bit longer than everybody else.
Here are some alarming facts;
Pressures To Be Perfectly Slim
Over a twenty year period, the Playboy centrefold lost 25 pounds until she weighed 18 per cent less that the medical ideal for her age and height. The weight of fashion models plummeted even further to 23 per cent below that of ordinary women. In the Miss World contest a few years ago, the average contestant was below the US standard weight for anorexia according to height.
Recent BMA research found that many currently popular models and actresses only have 10-15 per cent of their body composition as fat compared with 22-26 per cent for a normal, healthy women.
It's estimated that 85 per cent of Americans have dieted. Hundreds of thousands of other women are undergoing cosmetic surgery, stomach stapling and liposuction.
In the 1994 Glamour survey of 33,000 women, three-quarters of the respondents regardless of age, income and education, reported feeling overweight, although only one quarter could be classified as truly overweight.
In a study done in a hall of distorting mirrors it was found that women were much more likely to believe the mirror that made them look fatter than the mirror that accurately reflected their size or made them thinner.
And the tragic part of it is ideal women get smaller, real women get bigger, so the dissatisfaction gap is widening all the time.
Winners and Losers
The reason why some people succeed and some people don't is less to do with luck or talent than how they think. Obviously, in sport, some people have more potential than others, but at the top, the physical gap between the champions and the also-rans is very small. It's the mindset that makes the difference.
So what's the difference that makes the difference between success and failure? Well, there isn't one, there are quite a few.
Successful Slimmers know when they've had Enough
A lot of successful slimmers finally win their battle when they eventually get fed up with feeling fat and guilty. They've had enough so they are left with no choice but to change.
Successful slimmers are willing to take responsibility for what they eat and how they live. They don't need external rules; they eat and exercise accordingly to how they feel. And they can do that because they are back in touch with what their bodies need.
What do you think?
Here`s to being a successfull slimmer and weight loss athlete.
I feel like I have been set free with what I have learnt on this programme.
PP xx
I've just worked with a group of disadvantage teenagers doing a confidence and self esteem workshop - it is REALLY scary how deeply and badly scared they are already at just 16-18 years old. ALL of them, without exception had very unhappy mothers - these are the lessons this generation of women are teacher their children.
It is very, very sad....
Good blog. It seems to me that having the money to throw at surgery to hold the years back very often just doesn't seem to have worked. Maybe it's my spectacles but some of the before and after pics in the papers make me want to tell them they should have left their money in the bank. They should try growing old gracefully, but maybe concentrating on keeping healthy. I know what a dark place being overweight can be and am glad to have found your plan to help me get fitter. Some people will never realise what wealth they have and only count the material things around them. I certainly feel blessed with my wonderful family to support me, even when things get a bit rough - and they do, and even more blessed to be part of pctv and the support all my new friends give me through all of this. That's wealth you can't begin to calculate and can't be bought by a big lottery win. Lessen endeth ! Hope everyone has a great week. Thanks Pete as ever Annie :-)) x
I agree with PP the best thing I have ever done is join this programme.
I feel myself smiing when I think of the programme and all the people on it ( I know this sounds sad but it is true )
The difference it has made to me, not just my weight but to me personally. I feel so calm especially about food and I thank Pete so much for making this programme and I so hope that we can help to spread the word and help other people to achieve there dreams.
Big hugs to all x x x
Pete
This clip is very interesting where they look at the GI joe dolls. Has Action man changed that much?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfTnVCh0dKE
And I didn't realise Dolly was your mum she must be so proud of you and your brother ( I have just been listening to his podcast) and he like you does a wonderful job.
Nite nite x x x
It is truly sad, and yet unsurprising that real women continue to get bigger - thanks to the realistic expectations set in the media. And the damage is both physical and mental - we're damaging our health as well as our self esteem levels by trying to measure up to these unrealistic ideals.
I'm with blossom in saying that, thanks to this wonderful programme, I feel calm and at peace around food, and with my eating habits for the first time in around 15 years.
Isn't it ironic that, with the determination never to diet again, has come what I truly to believe to be lasting weightloss (slow and not complete, but moving very steadily in the right direction), vitality and energy. Plus, not to underestimate the fact that I feel better about myself - despite my size - than I have felt for many many years. The truth is that we don't need to be thin to be beautiful - we just have to feel beautiful from the inside.
I honestly can't thank you enough, Pete, for the difference you've made to my life....and the Petettes, of course, for all the wonderful support I've received.
Bx
Your features are not your beautiful nose, beautiful cheeks, beautiful lips, and so on. These are not your features. Your features are your beautiful behavior, your beautiful character, your beautiful health, your beautiful spirit, your beautiful advice, your beautiful wisdom, your beautiful inspiration. All these human features are the decoration of any and every woman.
© The Teachings of Yogi Bhajan, August 21, 1978