Since when.....

I was at a good friend's house in St. Patrick's Day and we were just hanging out, talking and what not when the topic of weight loss came up. Weight loss. Why does it pervade every conversation with women whether we are skinny, fat, just right or otherwise? And, why do we all seem to struggle with this issue. I am not kidding here. Every woman I know has some issue with her body or weight, me included (though I am working on it!)

The media. The magazines. All around us, we as women are being told that we are simply not good enough because of some issue related to our weight. We are treated as unworthy sods for any sort of validation. It's really depressing when you think about it, but unfortunately, that's the way it is. So, what do we do? We beat ourselves up because we are not perfect according to these outside forces. We starve ourselves. We obsess about what we eat or do not eat. We count calories and fat grams and freak out if we think we have eaten too much. We work out relentlessly at the gym, trying desperately to burn calories so we will not gain a single ounce. We walk around with our heads hung in shame because we don't look like the models in the magazines.

Even the models are being told they are too fat .
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,586563,00.html

So, what are we as women supposed to do about this? My friend and I discussed this very topic at great length because we both feel that it's very unfair for outside forces such as the media and fashion industry to tell us what women are supposed to look like. One of our big questions was 'When did it go out of vogue for women to look like women, with butts and boobs and curves in all the right places?'

I have a theory. I think it started when fashion houses started using skinnier and skinnier women in their fashion shows. Once that started, then it moved to the print ads, then TV and movies. It was a migration of sorts from women that look like women to bobble headed, stick figure women.

Now as a clothing designer, I understand that it is a bit easier to make a dress that fits on a stick figure, but in reality, is that who they should be designing clothing for, skeletors? I know when I begin work on a new design whether it's for me or someone I know, I always start with the woman and her body. I vigilently draft, cut and purposely design my outfits to fit a woman's body, skinny or fat. It doesn't matter to me because I enjoy fitting the female form. I simply adore making clothing that accentuates the beauty of a woman's body. I find the challenge to be fun and loving.

So my friend and I were wondering since when women who have bodies like young boys become so attractive and desirable? From the friends I have, men and women included, the general consensus is that women who lack hips and curves don't look like women at all. They look like men with longer hair and zero body hair. I'm not bashing skinny women at all, having been one in the past myself.

I guess what baffles me is the fashion designers themselves. From my understanding, most male fashion designers are gay. What a concept!! Gay men like to look at and drool over other men. (My younger brother is gay so I can attest to this fact). I think that maybe subconsciously these gay male designers make their clothes to fit on men, but then they use female models to show them. I guess they are afraid to just go for broke and have their big fashion shows turn into a drag queen review cause that's what it would be if they did dress a bunch of male models in their frilly dresses and fancy frocks. I think it would be fabulous and a hoot because I love going to drag shows.

One of the more famous designers had this to say about real women. (What a tool! He has a face like a mackeral!! EWWW!!)
http://www.samesame.com.au/news/international/4639/Karl-Lagerfeld-No-Fat-Chicks.htm


Anyway...the whole point of our conversation the other day ended up not just being about weight and the very biased fashion industry, but also about health and happiness. So are we happier? Are we healthier? What kind of message should we be sending to all the women out there? You must fit into our mold or you aren't a real woman? What a load of BS.

Personally, I think that the focus of the media shouldn't be on how skinny or fat you are, but rather, how heathy you are. How happy are you? Do you feel good? Maybe if they focused on that, there wouldn't be so many starving, depressed ladies out there who feel they have to fit into a size 0 to be considered an attractive woman.

I don't know much, but I can tell you that when I started my LC journey, I wanted it to be just about my weight and in the beginning, that was all it was about. Getting thin so I could fit into my clothes and maybe get a date. After nearly 2 months, I'm realizing that this journey isn't just about the weight. I have become happier and more energetic than I have in years. My depression is gone. I am sleeping. Now it's all about the health. If I lose some weight along the way, great, but it's no longer my focus.

My friend had the same feeling about her journey as well. She's lost weight, but she's no longer focusing on just the weight. Her health is more important.

So that's all I got for today.