Happy Little Trees

I've been having skinny envy. I have a few friends that are shrinking, and I feel like I keep growing--in spite of trying to eat better and making periodic attempts at exercise. My body seems to be in opposite gear.

This morning, I watched Monica Seles on GMA. She was promoting her new book about how she lost weight by dealing with the underlying issues of her weight gain. She said a few times, "Yeah, after the stabbing, and my dad's murder, things were hard..." And little Diane just seemed to skim over those major life events by focusing on the picture of where Monica was the fat bridesmaid.

Our society is so skewed. Monica apparently had some real issues and weight gain was a product of those issues. If I was stabbed and my dad had been murdered, I probably would have gained weight, too, or developed a nervous tick or something. Weight gain would be the least of my worries! I just felt like the show was too much focused on, "Hey, I'm skinny again!" Instead of, "Hey! I'm mentally feeling so much better, and I don't cry every day."

I want to be lean and mean (or lean and nice). I don't want to be obsessed with it, but it's a constant battle with the crazy images being thrown at us on a day-to-day basis.

On one side, we get constant advertising for food. How many of those mini-dessert commercials do I have to see a day?! How many Pillsbury roll commercials do I have to watch?! And on the other side, we are bombarded with images of stars with waists the size of my ankles. God help us.

Maybe instead of a food fast, I would be in better shape going on a media fast. I'll think about it. At the end of it, I might feel better about my own body and less likely to fill it with sweets and fried eats. That would be a tough fast. Hmmmmm...