Frustration.

Okay, I know that it's 11 at night, but I just REALLY want to rant right now. I don't even think this blog is going to be very long at all, but we'll see how it goes.

I was having a discussion with a friend that I went to high school with tonight, and she has always been skinny. I graduated with 4 other girls in my class, and all of them had completely flat stomachs. I was the only one who had some fat on her tummy. (This is something that I was very self-conscious of for a while, but I have come to accept it - just fyi.)

As I was talking with her tonight, she mentioned to me that she "really needs to go on a diet." She declared that her stomach had turned into a belly, and she wasn't happy with it. Therefore, she was going to go on a diet in order to get rid of that extra stuff.

Okay. This is where my ranting comes in.

ARE YOU SERIOUS?! A girl that has always been skinny has gained a little bit of weight, and she's freaking out about 5 extra vanity pounds. K. I'll be honest in saying that sometimes I do wish that I had a completely flat stomach since I have never had that before and it would be nice not to have that extra junk. However, I figure that if I just exercise and eat healthy (which is probably one reason I haven't lost this weight since I don't really do that so much..) then there's nothing else that I need to do. I really believe that unless it is for health issues or extreme obesity, people should not have to resort to dieting. A lot of this is because dieting deprives the body of essential nutrients that it really needs, all for the sake of getting rid of a couple pounds. Also, a huge reason for women to start dieting is simply because they feel insecure about themselves and their bodies.

GAH. This makes me angry. Sure, I'm insecure more often than I should be, but when it comes down to it, I know that I have been created by an amazing God, and that He loves me just the way I am. And the only reason I have insecurities is because I have given into the lies that the Devil has been feeding me. I've been listening to the world and thinking that I need to look just like the women in magazines or I need to be skinny in order to have a guy notice me.

These things are straight from the pit of hell. God created each and every single person beautiful in their own way, and it is only because of the perversion of the world that we have begun to compare ourselves and think that we're not good enough for whatever reason.

I am just so fed up with this, because women do not need to go on diets to lose a mere 5 or even 10 pounds. All they need to do is exercise and eat healthy. I am fully convinced of this. Because if they do not lose the weight then, then there's nothing else to do and then we should be content with the bodies that God has given us.

Matt was right tonight when he told me that we live in a "self-worship" culture. It is so true. We become so obsessed with what we look like and how we appear to others that we forget what is really important in life.

And I am accusing myself just as much as any other person that may read this. Because I know that I definitely have a ton of pitfalls and failings and I give in to the world WAY too much. But it is something that I am really striving to change.

A Message to Girls:

If you are just looking to lose a few pounds because you're self-conscious of how your stomach, thighs, butt, legs, etc. look, then do not diet. Just change your exercise routine and eat healthier. Check your motives for wanting to lose weight. Is it to treat your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit and to give all the glory to God, or is it purely for vanity's sake, and to make yourself look and feel better so that you aren't so self-conscious anymore?

...

Okay, that's it. I'm done ranting. GRR.