Why Promoting the ‘Thin’ Ideal Isn’t Healthy (Episode 19)

Beauty in Christ

Y’all. I was fired up going into this podcast, because I’m so tired of this ‘thin’ ideal being preached. Not everybody looks thin, and that’s okay. Some people are naturally thin, and some people aren’t.

It’s just … not right to tell everyone or advertise that everyone has to look a certain way (in order to be healthy). This verse came to my mind while I was editing the podcast episode with Marina.

1 Samuel 16:7 says, ‘But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart’

This has become more and more real to me as I’ve been in recovery for about 7-8 years. What really matters is not what people say about the size of my waist, but what really matters is the state of my heart before God; that’s something the body pictures, the bikini prep guides, and all the other marketing that presses this ‘thin ideal’ misses.

I’m not …. angry at any one person, but I am upset with culture; I’m upset with this thin ideal being preached to everyone, instead of the individuality that we were created with in God’s plan.

Marina and I first touched on being a dancer and why no one ‘dancer’s’ body looks alike in this episode, but I wanted to get deeper into why:

We put so much emphasis on the external appearances.

How Social Media can be So Influential for Good or For Bad in Spreading these ‘Ideals.’

Changing the Focus from the Outward to the Deeper, More Fundamental Issues

and so many other questions that I discussed with Marina.

Now for the Episode! I present to you:

How To Buck The ‘Thin Ideal’ in the Dancing World, Dealing with Social Media Pressures, and Not Basing Your Identity on How You Look (With Marina Di Loreto)

http://beautyinchristthebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Bucking-the-Thin-Ideal-.mp3

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Why We Need to Not Press People Into the ‘thin’ ideal box… #recovery #dancing #balance #health
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We ranted a bit; because we love and care about those who are struggling, and we are thankful that we have the opportunity to talk about these issues.

Do I believe this ‘thin’ ideal will be changed overnight? No, but I do believe that God created each human being with value, with worth, worth that comes from being made in His image, not from the size of your dress or a number on the scale.

Now, one thing I want to say is that I know I post a lot of food pictures on my blog, but it’s because I truly love to eat now, but my life doesn’t center around food. I don’t want you to even think there is an ‘eating’ ideal, because I don’t believe there is.

Eating is a gray area. It can be different for different people. For me it looks this way, but for you it may look so different.

Food is not my master anymore. I’m not obsessed with the idea of eating certain kinds of foods or telling you all that I need to get more carbs or fats all the time. Now I have definitely fallen into the trap of micro-focusing on nutrients, and I know that was not helpful especially for those in recovery.

The goal of this podcast is to zoom out and really explore and delve into the fact that God made mankind in His image. God made man and woman precious, and we were made for Him.

I want to saturate this podcast with the Gospel truth, so that the ideals or lies around you about body image and food and exercise can fade away. By God’s grace and power, I hope to keep doing this. <3

How do we buck the thin ‘ideal’ that is so prevalent in many areas of culture today (whether it be especially in ‘acting, dancing, any athletic sport, fashion magazines)?

The ‘thin’ ideal? Did you ever try to be ‘thin’ when you weren’t meant to be thin?

Thank you Amanda for the ‘Thinking out Link’ link-up so we can discuss this topic!

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