The Only Diet I Recommend
June 29th, 2009I know you’re in shock that I’m actually a proponent of a diet, so I’ll give you a moment to recover. Okay. Are you ready?
Introducing . . .
The Media Diet.
It’s the only diet that I would ever encourage my clients to go on.
With the Media Diet you will:
• Lose your self doubt about your appearance
• Reach your goal of liking yourself and the way you look
• Melt away your resistance to feeling good about yourself right now
• Maintain your belief in your own attractiveness
GUARANTEED!
Here’s how you do it:
For the next 2 weeks, as much as possible, limit your exposure to images of:
1) Ultra thin women and men
2) Advertising of diets and diet foods
Both components of the media diet are important. In a study published in 2002, scientists reported that the introduction of television in Fiji completely changed women’s views of their bodies. Prior to the introduction of television, most Fijian women were satisfied with the way they looked no matter what their sizes. Less than a year after television became available, at least 77% of women reported dissatisfaction with their bodies and a desire to lose weight. In fact, there were no reported cases of anorexia or bulimia in Fiji until television was introduced! Other studies have shown that at least 24% of women on television are actually underweight by BMI standards – which means that many are starving themselves to fit the required norm. Television sets us up for body hatred and a desire to achieve body weights that even mainstream doctors deem too thin. Avoid it!
Additionally, Americans spend approximately $40 billion a year on diets and diet products. This is an incredible statistic considering all of the problems with diets including the fact that at least 95% of dieters gain all of the weight they lose back – plus a few extra pounds – within 3 years.
So let’s send a message to television producers and advertisers that we’re not interested in seeing ultra thin actors and ads for diet products. And, more importantly, let’s change what we look at every day so that our eyes are not deceived into thinking that underweight is an ideal.
While on the Media Diet, view the following less:
1) Typical fashion magazines (it’s tempting to peek in the line at the grocery store but distract your attention with something else)
2) Internet fashion sites (except as described below)
3) Soap operas
4) Other daytime television (this is the time when diet ads are most prevalent)
5) Primetime sitcoms
6) Newspaper ads
Now, there is no need to starve for media on the Media Diet. Take this time on the Media Diet to replenish your system with healthy alternatives:
1) Check out some really fun online plus size magazines, like Plus Model Magazine, Venus Diva Magazineand BBW Magazine.
2) Check out plus size fashion groups, like Fatshionista and the livejournal Fatshionista community. Enjoy all the pictures of fabulous fat women of all shapes and sizes dressing up in their favorite clothes. Post your own too. And for more gorgeous photographs, check out Adipositivity.
3) Read great Fat Acceptance blogs like Shapely Prose and The Rotund.
4) Check out this youtube video youtube video showing the process of putting a model’s image on a billboard. You won’t believe all of the airbrushing!
5) Watch shows starring fabulous plus sized women and men, like the “Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency” on HBO, starring Jill Scott.
6) Take a little field trip to Brooklyn (if you’re in the area) and check out stores like Re/Dress NYC 109 Boerum Place, Brooklyn, NY 11201 and Lee Lee’s Valise, 368 Court St Brooklyn, NY 11231. Seek out size positive stores in your area.
7) Spend some time perusing all the great articles and blogs on More Of Me To Love including mine!
I guarantee that after a week spent on the Media Diet, you will look and feel better about yourself! Let us know how it goes!
Want more support on body acceptance and intuitive eating? Sign up for Golda’s Body Love Wellness 6 Week Intensive Teleclass or the Body Love Book Club today! Both are starting very soon, so don’t miss out!
Also, please stop by Golda’s Facebook group and become a member of the Body Love Wellness Group!
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just FYI, the link for the youtube video has an extra forward slash at the end so you can't click right over. The correct url is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2gD80jv5ZQ
Great video, btw. Thanks for posting it!
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Can I still drink diet cola when I go out, or will that jeopardize the diet? I really can't stand the flavour of the corn-syrup-sweetened kind.
Also, you might want to advise limiting consumption of fashion dolls and action figures.
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Thanks, Jen. I fixed it (hopefully)!
And great suggestion, Bookwyrm.
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Golda,
Fantastic advice. Been clocking a lot of hours around the HAES/FA blogs the last few days and seeing a lot of examples of distortion in the way the media reports about scientific studies which have a bias against the overweight population in our culture. Of course this bias is prevalent in the mainstream media, especially fashion media.
What I have come to see is the magnitude of this bias in our culture, especially through the media which until very recently did not include the internet. I think that there are many well meaning people out there making the engines of the fashion, beauty & media industries run. I choose to think that they are unaware of the harmful aspects of what they do. I would hope that if there is a person whose motive is to harm us in this way, that we would first try to educate them. If they do not acknowledge the harm they do and make an effort to mitigate it, we can show the executives of the fashion, beauty, medical, and media industries how the moral compasses of these individuals guide our dollars away from the companies they are running.
I like your idea about looking at positive images. I am so happy there is so much out there, including you, that are reminding us to love ourselves.
As I write this, there is a fat parody of a GAP commercial playing on the "E" network. Ironically this piece of mainstream media is the exact image I need to watch to inspire me to move is a way I love, dancing. It shows very fit and healthy fat people dancing (a real BBW doing a split) which actually made me want to dance.
I wonder if the universe sent me this mainstream media image making fun of fat people to inspire me to dance?
I think a break from the media is a great way to decompress and work on important self discovery stuff. I saved the dance routine on my TIVO. Those weren't actors pretending to dance, those were healthy, heavy, fit dancers in a comedy skit.
Getting very excited about the HAES, NAAFA, & ASDAF convention!
Cheers,
Ivan
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This link was posted on the Naffa Yahoo Group.to a musical performance that made me smile. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZPx5WlJYXc
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Hmm, I don't view any of the things you recommend cutting out (except once in a blue moon a little daytime TV of the kind that contains horrifying diet ads). But I hate my body anyway. Maybe it's the skinny cartoon people.
Also, I am told that some people are naturally underweight just as some are naturally very fat, so your statement that women on TV are practically starving themselves to death, while I have no doubt it applies to many, is a generalization.
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I get so tired of diet miracle this and diet miracle that…blah, blah, blah! I have found such an enjoyable way of life through eating foods that are actually healthy! Our son's allergies and Eczema helped us change the way we eat and it is awesome! I have really eliminated processed foods as much as possible, we do not eat high fructose corn syrup and we take Vidazorb probiotics. (I've read about how they can help with so many things including weight). But I think it is important for people to remember that eating healthy really has so many more benefits than a diet which can sometimes only give temporary success. Thanks! smilinggreenmom *tweet me!
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Hey Ivan, thanks for your thoughtful response as always! And I love the youtube clip! Awesome!
Gina — I actually changed the wording b/c that change wasn't it my original post (my posts get edited a bit at More Of Me To Love). You're right, not everyone who's underweight is starving himself/herself, but a lot of actors admit to having to do so.
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[...] featuring plus sized models, I was non-plussed (lame pun intended). For my own sanity, I tend to avoid fashion magazines. And for whatever reason, I thought that plus sized models were sometimes in fashion magazines [...]