Weight and self esteem

By Kelly Clark / Underlying Issue

Peaches Geldof’s untimely death sparks conversation about weight and self esteem
My weight changed how I saw myself
Early intervention equals prevention

The greatest hope after a tragedy is that we learn.

I was worried about her weight loss. You could see that she was struggling with self-esteem issues — just as Paula did.

-Gerry Agar, author

Weight and self esteem are closely linked

This reality impacts millions of people.

My Story:
I found weight and self esteem linked in 2 significant ways:

1. External impact of weight and self esteem
I was uncomfortable in my own body. I didn’t like the way I looked.

2. Internal impact of weight and self esteem

Worry
There are so many diet rules, tips and tricks. Each month new ones appear on the covers of countless magazines. I always felt like I wasn’t doing enough to lose weight.

Guilt
Many weight-loss rules are hard to follow so I’d feel like a failure. For example, I read you should chew your food 40 times before swallowing. But any time you aren’t alone this is difficult to do.

Weak Character
Diet advice often suggests eating small, low-fat portions. Eating this way left me feeling unsatisfied. After days of being preoccupied by hunger, I’d end up overeating. I thought I lacked willpower.

What is the solution?

We need to teach young people to:

Build self esteem in a way that’s earned and lasting
Everybody knows respect is important. But there’s so much confusion around how to build respect. You can look to music videos to see how much people want to be valued. But you can also look to so music videos to see how much confusion there is around how to build respect.

We need to teach people how to build respect based on their interests and how they use them. Interests connect us to friends, hobbies, career choices and future goals. All these things get better as we age.

Reach and maintain a healthy weight naturally
It’s important to lose weight by building healthy habits. Then weight loss is long term and we can stay focused on all our life goals.

Weight and self esteem need early intervention

The earlier people understand how to build respect and reach a healthy weight, the easier it is to embrace these ideas and build a strong foundation. A healthy mind and body are essential.

Weight and self esteem are serious issues together and apart. Weight and self esteem stop too many people from reaching their potential.

… I want to be a good wife, a good mother, a good person.

– Peaches Geldof, Elle magazine

You can read more about Peaches Geldof and her story about weight and self esteem, here.

I just Google-d “respect” and “music” and this video (among others) was the result.

“I believe in money, power and respect
First you get the money
Then you get the muthaf*ckin’ power
After you get the f*ckin’ power, muthaf*ckas will respect you…”
– Money, Power, Respect, The LOX