Cinderella's Waist - What a Waste!

In the new Cinderella movie the actress who plays her was so tightly strapped into a corset that she couldn't eat.  The end result - a ridiculously tiny waist.  I guess they were trying to make her look like a cartoon character.  Well it worked.  This movie will be seen by young girls the world over who may aspire to that impossible physical standard.  

This is important.  What we show young girls influences them.  Even as a not so young girl, I am still in envy of the 1% of the population that look like models, and criticise my thighs accordingly.

This article, by Nina Funnell shows just how far Disney went.  And in a current picture just how normal the actresses waist is.  Shame on you, Disney.  You had an opportunity to do great good and you blew it.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/rendezview/does-cinderellas-tiny-waist-really-matter-you-bet-it-does/story-fnpug1jc-1227296013160

She's not a cartoon character, she's a human being.

Positive Psychology works.

Once again I'm writing about how we beat ourselves up way too much.  Why again, you say? Well, I'll tell you.  Because self-downing is associated with unhappiness and dissatisfaction with life.  What do a lot of people do when they're unhappy - they eat to soothe these negative emotions.

Ruth Ostrow of The Australian recently wrote about Positive Psychology and taking small, manageable steps to change our "stinking thinking".  What not to do - use affirmations.  We just don't believe them.

Have a look at what she has to say.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/columnists/positive-psychology-take-everything-step-by-step/story-e6frg7g6-1227280249537?sv=e3621114971c61320261e730c3efd222

I've always enjoyed her writing on all sorts of topics, and you might, too.

One of the key approaches in positive psychology is expressing gratitude.  All too often we focus on what is wrong (e.g. my thighs are enormous) rather than what is right (I was kind to someone today).  And, of course, you don't need to eat to soothe good, positive emotions, do you?

Thin is in, thinner is "inner"

Cate Campbell is a great athlete, a great swimmer, one of the world's best.  And yet she, too, succumbed to the "thin is in", "thinner is inner" mindset that the media bombards us with.  Her struggle is documented in an interesting article from The Daily Telegraph.  She talks about how, despite training for four hours per day, she ate only 1,000 calories.  And how much she was praised for losing weight.  

A comment in Michael Phelps's book helped turn that mindset around.  Apparently, he says "skinny swimmers aren't good swimmers".  Which would seem self-evident and yet it really conveys just how powerful those pressures are.

Speaking as a woman who has ALWAYS wanted to be 10kg lighter (no matter what my weight was) I can understand and empathise with that dissatisfaction.  I spent years on a permanent diet (and only gained weight - diets don't work).  Now my focus is on healthy at my size - get the cholesterol down a bit, schedule time for exercise rather than doing it when everything else is done, eat a mainly wholefoods diet and cut down on alcohol.

Gotta go now - I'm walking with a friend shortly.

Here's the link to the article about Cate Campbell.  What do you think about these relentless pressures to be thinner and how do you cope?

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/more-sports/cate-campbell-dives-into-body-image-debate-after-falling-victim-to-its-destructive-powers/story-fni2frsp-1227291544847