"Picture Perfect'' Chapter Two Excerpt
Should I Eat This?
When Worries About Food and Weight Kidnap Your Life
A Food and Weight Quiz:
• I have "good foods" and "bad foods." True___ False___
• I weigh myself every day. True___ False___
• I try to avoid desserts because I'm on a diet. True___ False___
• I feel nervous or anxious when I eat unfamiliar food. True___ False__
• I feel as though I gain weight immediately after I eat a treat such as a cookie or a piece of cake. True___ False___
• At bedtime I think about--and judge--everything I ate during the day.
True___ False___
If you answered True to any of these above statements, you may also answer True to this statement:
I worry too much about food and weight.
Thinking about food and weight can start out to be a good thing. You may want to eat healthier, so you cut down on junk food...But sometimes a good thing can go overboard. That's what happens when you think about food and weight more than you think about anything else. When a good thing goes overboard, your nonstop thoughts about food and weight can take over your life. Fun can disappear very quickly! Good feelings and self-esteem can get lost. Worry consumes you. And, of course, your body image suffers...
So if you worry too much about food and weight, how do you stop? It's a hard question. The girls in this chapter will share their Special Statements with you and give you some of their tried and true solutions. They'll show you the ways they've found to stop--or at least slow down--their worries about food and weight...
