babes and body image

Looking back through my life and remembering my own issues with my body is never fun. the two t's....taunts and tight clothing. I mean seriously...one time all of the boys in my 5th grade class called me bacon and would make sizziling noises.  we put so much emphasis on what society thinks we should look like we end up spending more time worrying about the outside we neglect the inside.

Today one of the 12 year old girls in my youth group announced she was on a diet. this girl is beautiful. she's tall, blonde and thin. everything society cares about. I'm not saying these things because I love this girl like my own daughter but because they are simply trie. needless to say we had a conversation about this. I advised that if she started dieting now she would begin a vicious cycle that she probably would never be able to escapte.  This is so serious.  If she's dieting at 12 it can lead to eating disorders and other problems.  I warned her of all of these issues she could face.  I also let her know that I'm honest and I care enough about her to let her know if she wasn't 100% in shape.

I know obesity is an epidemic here in America.  The sad thing is that it's EXPENSIVE to eat right. The crappy foods are the cheapest. I know from my own personal experience how hard it can be to not only train yourself to eat right but to struggle to pay for the right foods and the gym memberships to stay thin.

It's a shame that society can take a beautiful blossoming 12 year old girl and already at such a young age be worried about her weight when she should just get to be free and live her life.