Edited By: Ananya Khandelwal (UG 21)
We live in an era dominated by pop culture and we are so steeped in its grasp, that we are ‘weighed down’ by it, so much so that there is an unstoppable barrage of messages to watch that weight. Alas! It is not the burdened weight of pop culture that is the focus, rather it is the personal body that is the target of these messages – to watch our body weight.
Lose weight in ten days, an easy to follow diet to cut down on those extra calories, jog, walk, exercise, become size zero and look desirable. This is what dominates our lives nowadays. Most people are on that relentless path (also called treadmill) to achieve the desirable body type and size – to lose weight and be thin. Though it is not considered healthy to be less than one’s normal weight, thinness is still not as tabooed a topic of discussion as being over one’s normal weight. No one hesitates to comment upon someone being thin and needing to gain a few kilograms, but it is against the norm to comment on a person who is fat because that would amount to being insensitive. Moreover, it is always preferable to err on the lighter side of the weighing scale. It is always better to be thin than to be the fat person who is always judged. There is a hypocrisy at play here. While on one hand, media and mass portrayals of culture emphasis on losing weight, in our everyday, intimate lives, it is farfetched to expect people to comment openly about each other’s weight on the heavier side of the scale. It is more common to hear phrases such as “you are so skinny”, “you could always eat a little more.”
There are always two sides to every problem, and it is time to acknowledge that not only does losing weight involve commitment, time and effort but even gaining weight is an art that requires care, patience and skill. Art involves a holistic participation, an active engagement of both the mind as well as the body and it is in the mind that the art of gaining or losing weight begins. On a humorous note, putting a few extra calories may seem like a piece of cake and a very glance at a piece of cake can make some see more of themselves in the mirror. These groups of people have their counterparts facing the issue of searching for themselves in the mirror. Humanity is on the never-ending path to achieving the right balance and moderation in life. What better than the issue of body weight to capture the moderation challenge? By which we begin to chalk out the reason why someone is thin or underweight. Though the reasons are not limited to the one’s mentioned, some of the most common reasons are:
- It can be purely psychological, a fear of putting on weight.
- It can be a medical issue like hyperthyroidism.
- It may be digestion issues, liver may not be functioning properly.
- And many more for which the internet is at most people’s disposal.
Just as eating food can be a habit, even not eating becomes a habit. The stomach becomes habituated to being empty for long hours and hunger dies and gets buried deep in our head. Resurrection of hunger will only occur when one eats at regular intervals of time in the right quantity. Initially this can be very taxing as unused to being fed so, the stomach always feels heavy. The fullness makes one feel lethargic as the body becomes heavy to lug around. But to reach ‘normal weight’ and be healthy one has to make do with these feelings (hopefully temporary) and get more of themselves in this world.
The most preposterous is the belief that gaining weight is easy as one just has to binge eat for a few days and TADA!! The needle on the weighing scale is thrust towards the right. Considering that view, one can lose weight by eating miniscule amounts for a week and then regulate the diet from there. A quick reminder to one and all that both, losing and gaining weight involve lifestyle changes (which is a long process!). Simply eating more without any form of exercise is not healthy. Muscle and core strengthening exercises will help in ensuring that the weight gained does not appear as skin being pulled down by gravity.
Much of this process or task of gaining weight has to do with our mental attitude as well. One must make up their mind to keep up with their new (increased) diet and practice yoga or muscle building exercises. Most people experience tricks played by their mind. A mirror only states facts, neither can it make Modi look like Rahul Gandhi nor can it show a thin Kim Jong Un (provided he actually becomes as thin as his North Korean countrymen). But it is common to hear thin people say that they appear to look normal before the mirror, when people around them keep exclaiming about how thin they are. The fault lies deep in one’s mind. Deep down they may have programmed themselves to believe that they are normal and do not need to gain weight. This is where the change should start, within the profound folds of our mind. External efforts mostly by people around us nudging thin ones to eat will work only up to a certain extent.
And what about the near and dear ones who care about the health of the target? Negatively commenting on the body image or structure of a person, whether thin or fat may demotivate the person to make an effort to achieve the desired goal. Positive reinforcement and comforting words may help the concerned person. It is a form of counselling wherein the dear one conveys to the thin person the benefits of eating well and gaining weight. With the right support, psychological and physical, who is to stop one from reaching their weight goal?
There is a lot more to gaining weight than merely our physical appearance and it is an issue to be given equal importance. We live once and food is what most of us live for! So, let’s eat well and live a healthy and fruitful (pun intended) life.