The average size zero has a 31.5 inch bust, a 23 inch waist and 34 inch hips, the average size of an eight year old. I have a hard time believing there are very many adults who are naturally the size of an eight year old.
    
Of course there are people who are naturally thin. And thin people who work very hard to stay thin by eating right and exercising. But there are a lot of people who get thin the wrong way and pretend they did it the right way. Frankly how people eat, exercise and gain and lose weight is none of my business. Until they tell me about it.  

If I had an ear to Hollywood (after submitting a screenplay I'm working on) I'd kindly ask that all actors, television hosts, newscasters and people in the public eye who get thin for a role or maintain or lose weight for personal reasons in a way that is anything less than safe and healthy keep their weight loss secrets to themselves.

Please do not tell interviewers you lost weight by eating right and exercising religiously if you didn't. Don't kid yourself. And don't kid us. We believe everything you say. Lying about how you lost weight and got in shape leaves us feeling sad and frustrated. We support your work. You owe us the truth if you choose to share a story.
    
When I go to the movies I don't need the heroine to be a size double zero or a single size zero or a two even. Who cares if she's a fourteen, six, eight or 10. I want her to be right for the role. I want to her character to believable. I want to get lost in a great story.
    
Feeling ashamed about our bodies, desiring to be sizes most of us probably aren't genetically wired to achieve, putting ourselves through dangerous diets and unnecessary surgeries to be "perfect" is a burden no man, woman or child should carry. Or has to carry. It's a choice. A trap. Pressure we put upon ourselves when we lose sight of our purpose or haven't yet discovered it. Perpetuated by the media we focus on what we don't have instead of what we do have. We chase if only-s. If only I were a size 8. If only I had a flatter stomach. If only I didn't have cellulite…
    
We are vulnerable people. But each and every one of us can choose to be free of these burdens. And to feel deep down in our souls gracious gratitude for the bodies we do have. It's a choice. A yes or no decision. Gracious gratitude begets goodness. Negative thinking guarantees a negative outcome. Imagine what you will achieve if you take all of the energy you've been expending on weight matters and focus it on realizing one of your dreams.

Is This You?
I will ignore the opportunity I have to feel gratitude for my healthy body and this beautiful day. I will spend the day beating myself up about the cellulite on the back of my thighs, my wobbly stomach, the fat under my arms and the bags under my eyes. I will watch entertainment shows and compare my body to the celebrity's bodies. I will flip through magazines and feel fat and inferior to the 14 year old models chosen to market clothing, jewelry and make up to women my age.

Free Yourself
I am thankful for my healthy body. It is a miracle and a gift. I am thankful for the ability to walk and talk and move about freely. I am thankful for the opportunity to do as I please with my thoughts and words today. I will recognize beauty. I will express gratitude. I will pursue dreams. I will not spend the day obsessing over flaws GOD does not recognize.