Let’s talk about weight.  Let’s think about the constant pressure to be thin, and how beauty is often measured by a dress size.  Let’s rant on this subject because, as a woman, the pressure has filled me to the point where I am about ready to pop.  

I never used to worry about my fat intake or how many calories I consumed in a day.  Why?  It didn’t occur to me to care.  That is, it didn’t occur to me until I grew up and went to college.  I started to listen to all the commercials, all the comments from guy friends, all the magazine pictures that tell me to be thin or be insignificant.  I listened for a while, and now, after careful consideration, I have decided on my reply.  

It goes like this.  I think there should be an ideal college woman. This woman can eat whatever she wants, drink like a fish, and lie on the couch all day long.  The longer she repeats this rigorous activity, the more desirable she becomes.  She can hit the mute button on the voice that tells her that if she doesn’t work out five times a week the whole universe will come to a halt. She can worry about looking beautiful for herself.  So take that society.   

Meanwhile, back in reality, I come to my senses...  

This seems great in theory, but the fact of the matter is that is not how the world works.  When I start to think like this, the voice of “reason” screams to me.  I once again hear society nagging in my ear as I reach for that third piece of pizza.  

The best formula for losing weight is to decrease the number of calories you get while increasing your physical activity every day.  Depending on how active you are, you may need between 1,500 and 2,500 calories a day.  A safe plan is to eat 300 to 500 fewer calories a day to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week.  

Let’s face it.  Thin is in.  Just a few weeks ago I was preparing to go on a spring break trip to Cancun with one of my best friends who was shopping for …dum-da-dum—BATHING SUITS.  Thoughts of skin bearing and fat rolls were more on the mind than beautiful beaches and tropical weather.  We had to go to Lancaster to find a new suit (because the one from last year didn’t fit anymore, AKA the crisis of the century) and then to two different malls in Columbus.  

Total driving time: four hours.  The opportunity to see first hand how weight affects other girls my age: priceless.  The self-consciousness was overwhelming.  Keep in mind that I am shopping with one of my best friends.  We share secrets, lipsticks, and sometimes when the laundry is really running low—underwear.  So the idea of trying on a bathing suit in front of me should be no big deal? Right? WRONG.  Not even a sneak peek.  All I heard were moans and the repeated line, “I’m just not going to go.”  

What advice would teeny bopper magazine give her to make her squeeze into that tankini?  Eat smaller amounts of food at each meal.  Let go of belonging to the “clean plate club.”  Don’t feel like you have to eat everything on your plate, even when eating out.  You can also try eating more small meals throughout the day, rather than three large meals.  

Have you tried going to the university recreation center lately?  I like working out, but recently I have been confused about whether the rec center is for physical activity or for strutting around.  Is there any point to wearing make-up when you run on a treadmill?  The kicker is the large hoop earrings that are the recent fashion statement at the gym.  I wonder if these girls are out to impress the guys at the gym or each other.   It would seem to be the latter because most guys hang out down in the testosterone-overload weight room, which might as well have a “No Girls Allowed” sign hand-painted on the door.   

On a recent visit to Miami University, a friend made a comment that caught my attention.  She said that she would love to work out more often, but there is just nowhere for her to go.  I said, “Hello, idiot.  The rec center is right across the street from your apartment complex!”  I think her exact words were, “Can you imagine my fat ass running next to all those skinny blondes?  I don’t think so.  I'd rather gain 20 pounds.”   

Then I think to myself, " It’s all too familiar."  God, I miss going to Victory Lady Fitness at home where I don’t have to worry if my skin is so white that I look almost albino. I don’t even have to worry about my fellow treadmiller getting grossed out by the couple day’s worth of stubble that has accumulated on my legs.  I don’t even care about getting a glance at the obese ladies who run around naked in the dressing room.  In fact, it’s a nice change. 

See, I’m not against taking care of your body.  Exercising can be beneficial to your health, which has a big impact on the quality of your life.  The key is not to feel like you have to run on the treadmill for forty minutes every time you take a bite of a cheeseburger.  

It is best to aim for losing ½ to 2 pounds a week.  By improving eating and exercising habits, you will develop a healthier lifestyle.  And, this will help you to control you weight over time.  You will lower your chances of getting heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.  “Crash” diets may take off pounds faster, but can cause you to gain back even more pounds than you lost after you stop the diet.  

It’s always interesting going home after a quarter or two at school. There is a little voice in the back of my mind wondering if I have gained a noticeable amount of weight since the last time I was home.  I stand in front of the mirror glancing at a bloated stomach and a face that I can make triple chins with.  If you were from my hometown though, you would realize that this paranoia is useless because the guys I went to high school with are not lacking in the brutally honest department. “Sarah’s getting a fat ass; did she gain that much weight in ten weeks?” “Hey Meg, grab another piece, it doesn’t look like you’ve been holding back!”  

I have to admit that when I came back for the summer after my freshman year I was curious to see people from high school, to see who slapped on the dreaded freshman fifteen.  I worried about squeezing into jeans from the year before, practically petrified that my fears came true.  I know what choking down the grease-enhanced dining hall chicken nuggets can do to a figure.  Maybe I’m being naïve, but I just don’t think the pressure is the same for men as it is for women.  I’m sure that men do worry about their weight to an extent, but as I woman I feel like we are judged by that characteristic almost immediately.  I didn’t want the first comment at the immature high school reunion party to me to be, “Hey, look who went off and got fat!”  

What could I pick off the dining hall menu?  Well, I’m told to eat a wide variety of foods, including starches and dairy products.  Include plenty of vegetables, fruits, grain products and whole grains each day in order to control a proper weight.  Don’t skip dairy products—there are many good tasting, low, no, and reduced fat milks, yogurts, cheeses, ice creams, and other products to choose from.  

Everyone is excited for spring quarter at TypicalU.  The first day the weather hits above 65 degrees the tank tops are out and the shorts are in full effect.  It was just the other day when I was in class for the first time after slipping into my shorts for the first time this season. It was during that hour that the memories of why I hate wearing shorts to class come flooding back.   

The situation usually happens as follows:  I sit down and the thigh fat is flattened down to make them look 20 pounds heavier…a piece.  The sweat starts dripping in the classroom, and it seems to be about 100 degrees.  The fatty thighs become a second thought to the swamp ass that has now saturated my butt.  Oh well.  Class is over.  I get up and let my legs (and butt) air out while walking home.   

Then I realize that I have to pick up my pictures at CVS.  I am so excited because they are from this past weekend, my roommate’s twenty-first birthday.  I eagerly pick out the ones I like, but sure enough there are a few with the dreaded arm fat.  Most of us know the look.  If you’re confused, it’s like your arm is pinched close to your body, making it look double the size.  It is true that standing a certain way can eliminate some of this problem, but there is never a guarantee.  This is not to mention the double chins... If only I had stood more sideways in this one, maybe it would have been a framer.  

I could have looked better in the picture if I had done what “the voice” wanted me to.  That is, follow the advice of society.  When trying to lose weight, we all feel tempted to “cheat” by eating a favorite, rich food like cake or cookies.  But, sometimes it can be helpful to eat a small amount of a favorite food.  This may keep you from craving it and overeating if you do “cheat.”  

I think the most depressing thing about the weight dilemma is what women have to look forward to in the future.  Women sag, droop, and hang with every passing day.  Perhaps this would be okay in a society where people are accepted no matter what they look like, but that is not the culture that we live in.  That’s probably why I dread getting older, I feel like I already have enough to battle with now.   Maybe women just get so tired of having to deal with the pressure to look thin and desirable their whole lives that at a certain point they just let themselves go.   

Life becomes so busy that there is never time to focus on them anymore. Voluminous hair turns gray.  Made up faces are bare.  Fat rolls on the stomach are now actually touching the breasts.  Forget feeling desirable. That point passed years ago.  

Is there any hope for having a healthy, attractive body while not appearing way over the hill at 45?  Or has society told us that it isn’t worth the effort if we aren’t going to look like Tyra Banks?  Let’s make ourselves feel desirable, one woman at a time.  Whatever works, do it.  Go for a nature walk, buy something for yourself, PAMPER YOURSELF.  Little by little, we can, as a gender, reclaim our right to feel sexy and happy with ourselves at any age or weight.   

It’s hard to have this type of attitude when there are other alternatives that seem like a quick fix.  Don’t give in, because prescription weight loss or diet drugs are designed to relieve severe obesity.  They are not a casual option to lose weight.  Even harmless-looking over-the-counter diet pills or herbal supplements are not always a safe option to lose weight.  

It’s Friday. No, make that Thursday night.  Uptown college is crowded with several hundred stumbling drunks, many of whom are looking for a hookup to close out the evening.  It is the same scene in any bar you go into.  There is a drunken guy leaning over a girl, trying to say that magical line that will grab her hook, line, and sinker.  It just seems very rare to me that a very attractive guy is talking to an overweight girl. Why is this?  

I am not different from any other girl.  I want to be seen as attractive and feminine.  No one likes to be the only one who never gets approached by the cute guys at the bar.  It just sucks that such a big part of life is this obsession with physical appearance (which includes having a body that’s toned).  But hey, that’s life.   

Now I’m not saying that watching what you eat is bad, but what kind of world is this when a girl can’t even really get excited about vacation or going for a night out because she’s worried her butt is not as busted as it should be and her abs aren’t exactly made of steel?  Men bare that beer belly with pride, so I say the women should shake it out.  I’m tired of counting calories, tired of worrying about housing down four slices of pizza.  

The solution seems simple.  I’ve heard it a million times before.  All I have to do is turn on the T.V.  Susie homemaker says, “Eat one piece of pizza and something healthy like a salad instead of going for a second piece.”  “That’s right ladies, cut those calories and get looking trim and fit in six weeks!”  

Speaking of looking trim and fit in six weeks, how about all the fad diets that are gracing the mags these days?  I saw an ad that advertised the famous "Lose-Six-Pounds-in-a-Week-by-drinking-only- liquid-and-eating-no-solid foods-HOLLYWOOD LIQUID DIET!  Let’s be real, no one can drink just juice (and that’s all it is—marked up to $8 a gallon) and actually be satisfied.  Maybe the luscious, thick shakes of Slim Fast would better.  You could even choose your own flavor shake!  Chocolate, Vanilla, Banana Cream, Strawberry….  

Fergie says, “Meal on the Go Bars are the perfect meal substitute when you don’t have time to enjoy one of our shakes!”  

For those of us who actually like solid food, have no fear.  We can eat Subway for the rest of our lives.  There are six to choose from (with no cheese or condiments), so eating two a day will allow for plenty of variety for about a month at the max.  At least they came out with four new bread choices.  Jared Fogle says, “I lost over 200 pounds on the Subway diet.  All I did was eat two six inch subs a day.  EAT FRESH!”  

Where is the answer in this madness?  Is it possible to find a happy medium in society today?   I want society to accept the fact that a healthy weight is attractive.  Forget the thin as a rail look; let’s add some curves to the equation.   

The truth is though I don’t know if this is possible.  Hopefully, one person at a time, the stereotypes will change.  I can’t promise that they will, but maybe this essay is one step toward reaching that happy medium (both for myself and those who are reading it).     

I just realized how sick I am of writing about this.  I am tired and hungry.  Anybody want to go for some Papa John’s?

Author's Biography

I am a college junior currently attending Ohio University.  I am majoring in broadcast news, and I am planning on attending law school after graduation.  

I enjoy creative writing and doing volunteer work in my free time.

E-mail Jessica at jessicagangloff@yahoo.com 

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