要美丽，更要健康

By+PeggyZ

“Look at your cousin. Shes so skinny and so pretty. Look at her； shes so beautiful now but not before when she was fat. You should ask her for her dieting tips.”My mother callously said to me after we had just finished a conversation with my older cousin.

I rolled my eyes at her and pretended that I didnt hear her.

Although my mother thinks that sheisactually helping me to a fit and healthy life， shedoesnot realize that she is mentally bullying me with her sharp words and even sharper tongue.

She does not realize that although I ignore her， those words still echo through my head as I consciously pick a salad over pizza， as I run around to get a ball during gym， as I walk around in shorts in public.

However， I am not the only one affected by this， this dissatisfaction with my body， this gain of doubt about whether Im skinny enough， whether Im pretty enough.

Everyday millions of girls look into the mirror and are revolted by their reflections.

Everyday millions of girls see rolls of fat on their stick skinny frames and cant bear to think of food.

Everydaymillionsofgirlsareconstantly criticizingthemselvesabouttheirweight， approximately 15 million girls to be exact.15 million girls have anorexia and bulimia， 15 million girls. Think about the number.

With this in mind， think about why so many girls have these mental illnesses.

We are taught at a very young age that beauty is what is valued in society.

The fairytales that we heard always involved a beautiful princess， a handsome prince， and an ugly witch. We learn that beauty is good and ugliness is evil. And from that we learn fat people are ugly. After all， we never see a fat princess， do we？

We are twisted into thinking that skinny is the only beautiful.

We see that the“Most Beautiful Woman of the Year”is always skinny and we try to mimic what we see in the media. We think what the media pushes towards us is right.

And from the media we always see that the girls that are the most beautiful are slim and they are the famous ones， they are the ones that people like the most.

We trick ourselves into thinking that maybe if we are skinny， we can be one step closer to what that celebrity is， what she represents： fame， fortune， and beauty.

Many girls starve themselves， and throw up after every meal to try to be beautiful.

Although we see the“skinny”life as glamorous and fabulous， eating disorders are not the right way to achieve this. These eating disorders are mental illnesses that can cause more damage than good.

You might look skinny and fit， but your teeth are eroding away from all the stomach acids you just hurled up， the walls of your stomach and esophagus are tearing apart， you start fainting， you have an inability to concentrate， you start having blood pressure problems， and you can even develop depression.

The idea of beautiful doesnt seem to be that appealing anymore， does it？

Even with this knowledge， it still doesnt stop many from doing this anyway. What we know doesnt change us； its what we do to ourselves that changes us.

So next time instead of running to the bathroom to throw up all those calories you just ate， head for the gym instead. Participate in some sports； even doing some squats in your free time is healthier. This is the road to what is beautiful.

“瞧瞧你表姐，那么苗條，那么漂亮。看看人家，现在这么漂亮，她以前胖的时候可没这么好看。你应该问问她在饮食上有什么秘诀。”我们刚和表姐聊完天，妈妈就无情地跟我说。

我朝她翻了个白眼，假装没听见她说的话。

虽然妈妈认为她其实是在帮我过上健康的生活，但她并没有意识到，她是在用那些刻薄的言语以及那更为刻薄的语气，对我进行一种精神上的凌辱。

她没有意识到，虽然我没理她，但每当我有意识地选沙拉而不选比萨时，每当我在体育馆里跑来跑去抢球时，每当我穿着短裤走在公共场合时，她的那些话仍然在我脑海里回响。

不过，我并不是唯一一个受这种情绪影响的人，就是这种对自己身材不满意，对自己是否足够苗条和足够漂亮越来越怀疑的情绪。

每天，成千上万的女孩照着镜子，被镜子中的映象搅得心生反感和厌恶。

每天，成千上万的女孩看着自己又细又瘦的骨架上长了一圈圈肥肉，想起食物便无法忍受。

每天，成千上万的女孩不断批评自己的体重，准确来说，这样的女孩有1 500万。1 500万女孩患有厌食症和暴食症，1 500万女孩啊，想一想这个数字。

了解了这些，再想一想为什么这么多女孩患有这些心理疾病。

我们在很小的时候就被教导：这个社会看重的是美。

我们听过的童话故事里总少不了一位美丽的公主、一位英俊的王子和一个丑陋的巫婆。

我们学到的是，美是善的，丑是恶的。

从中我们知道了胖人是丑的，毕竟，我们从来没有见过一个胖公主，不是吗？

我们的思维被扭曲，认为只有身形纤瘦的人才是美的。

我们发现，“年度最美女性”往往都身形纤瘦。我们想方设法模仿自己在媒体上所看到的，总觉得媒体推送到我们眼前的就是对的。

还有，在媒体上我们往往会看到，那些最漂亮的女孩都身材苗条，而且她们都很出名，是深受大众喜爱的人。

于是，我们自己骗自己，以为或许只要我们瘦了，我们就离某位明星的样子，离她所代表的一切———名气、财富和美貌———更近一步了。

许多女孩为了追求美丽不吃东西，或者吃完每顿饭再把吃进去的东西吐出来。

虽然我们认为“纤细的”人生美丽而精彩，但饮食紊乱并不是实现它的正确做法。饮食紊乱症是心理疾病，弊大于利。

你或许看上去纤细而健康，但你刚呕吐出来的胃酸正在侵蚀你的牙齿，你的胃壁和食道壁正在撕裂，你开始头晕，你无法集中注意力，你的血压开始出现问题，你甚至可能产生抑郁情绪。

变美的念头似乎不再那么有吸引力了，不是吗？

即便知道了这些，还是无法阻止许多人为美而这样折磨自己。因为我们所知道的并不会改变我们，改变我们的正是我们对自己做了什么。

所以，下一次不要再冲进卫生间将你刚刚吃进去的那些卡路里悉数呕吐出来，还是去健身房吧。你可以参加一些体育运动，即便是在空闲时间做几个深蹲，也比较健康。这才是通往美丽人生的康庄大道。