All I can say is that if you don't like how you look right now, you aren't going to like how you look at 10 pounds thinner if you're already in a healthy weight range right now. The fat on your body isn't going to magically zap away from the areas you want thinner but stay at the places where you feel secure. Your shape won't transform the way you think you will if you lose weight. Those pockets of fat will still be there and feel disgusting... they will be smaller, but not in comparison, because the rest of your body will be smaller too.

Example: I have really tiny legs. I have a tiny frame and they're just so little. But I've always had a belly that I used to always suck in and it disgusted me so much to the point where I'd stopped wearing half my wardrobe and would sometimes feel so gross that I wouldn't want anyone seeing me. At underweight, not-getting-period weights? I still had a tummy that I felt disgusting about. My arms have also always been gross to me. When I was underweight? Same problem. Your fat doesn't redistribute when you lose weight. It just all kinda goes and you keep your proportions, unless you're really overweight right now or something.

The only way you're going to really shape your body in a new way that you might feel secure about is if you work out and tone different parts of your body that you're insecure about.

In the meantime, PLEASSEEEEE don't freak out about eating lightly all the time to shed 5 or 10 or 15 pounds if you're already a weight that's technically healthy. You have this image of your new body in your mind but it never really works out that way so you never feel like you're making progress. And then, all of a sudden, you've stopped getting your period and you're so unhealthy yet you're still fixated on whatever part of your body you hate the most.

GOOD BODY IMAGE IS A MINDSET, NOT A NUMBER. I just don't stand in front of the mirror tearing myself apart anymore. I dress to flatter my body. I try to eat healthily, get minimal exercise, and just wear what hides what I hate and plays up what I love. And you know what? That's good enough for me, even though I still have my days. And it can be good enough for you, too. Because when someone tells you that you already look healthy and beautiful, they aren't lying. We criticize our own bodies way more than anyone else does.

Relax. Be healthy. Dress in ways you love and don't kill yourself in front of the mirror. And don't let eating lightly always be on your mind, because unless you need a health upgrade to begin with, there's a 99% chance that being a little thinner won't make you feel any better or make you look any better. Trust me, I've been there multiple times.

K... done.

Post edited at 2:12 pm on June 15, 2009 by The Sarah

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weee

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Very true. Good for you for thinking that way.

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Now if only I had confidence/peace of mind about other things, haha.

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weee

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Its not just girls that have this problem...

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Alright, good point. I guess I'm a girl so I can empathize more with girl body image issues, and I'm always surrounded by girls complaining about their bodies.

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weee

I also cannot stress enough about proportion. I keep trying to tell my friend, who is not fat, that she will not have that typical model body no matter how much weight she loses because she will still be top-heavy. She won't listen.

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