August 18, 2011

So, I am 17 years old, and weigh 210 pounds. Earlier this year, I weighed 236 pounds, but through a balanced diet and a lot of hard work, I shed 26 pounds and two pant sizes. For a girl my age, in a world where being accepted is harder than ever, that’s a major accomplishment.

Now, I happened upon a page the other day made by a girl who was limiting her calorie intake to less than 500 calories a day, and taking weight loss supplements and diet pills in order to reach her goal weight. Her goal weight was also underweight.

I thought…what kind of body image must someone like that have? Do we, as young adults, need to be able to see our ribcage, to look like walking skeletons, to be happy with ourselves?

No, we do not. Frankly, that is disgusting, infuriating, and unhealthy. People wonder why so many girls have low self-esteem, or eating disorders. It’s because of the image these kinds of people deem as “perfection”.

And it seems that there is no patience left in the world on the path to this “perfection”. Losing weight is hard work, when done right. Starving yourself shows, in my opinion, a lack of perseverance. A lack of motivation. A lack of intelligence. Would you rather end up in the hospital due to poor nutrition than take the time to lose weight healthily? Are you willing to practically kill yourself in finding a short cut to this “perfection”?

I will tell you this, right now. I am perfect. 5’7”, 210 pounds, all hip, and perfect. I have so much confidence in myself that it practically oozes out of my pores. I am beautiful, and sexy, and gorgeous, no matter what size I am.

Here are the reasons I am trying to lose weight. The only reasons.

1. I want my body to be healthier.
2. I want to be more active.
3. I want to be able to live life to its fullest, and do things that are difficult at my current weight.
4. It is a personal test of perseverance and discipline.

I am not losing weight to look better. As I said, I am perfect, just the way I am.

You might be wondering what the point of this miniature rant is. Well, I have decided that someone, somewhere, needs to inspire people to lose weight the right way. The healthy way. So, from time to time, or maybe more often than not, my blog here on Tumblr will be devoted to my weight loss journey.

Because I know how it feels to be a real girl, with serious weight issues, which I’ve been struggling with my whole life.

I invite anyone who is interested to chat with me about their own weight loss endeavors. Need a confidence boost? A little motivation? Want to share eating and/or exercise tips? I’m here for you. I’m here with you. 

~Allie