inspiration general

Meet Laci.

She was 17 years old when she went on a diet.

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"I said no cheese, no bread, no ice cream, basically all my favorite unhealthy things were off limits. I did it because I wanted to lose weight in time for summer. ... I would weigh myself every day, obsess over love handles and thigh gaps and arm flaps. I remember this one time I went to my friend's house, and they wanted to order pizza, and I was like, 'Yes! No!' And I ate it, and I felt terrible the next couple of days."

It sucks that Laci is not alone in her thinking. This is an all too common story. In fact, 1 in 3 female students who were polled in a big 'ole survey in the U.K. admitted to being OK with cutting months or years off of their lives to have "the perfect body."

I repeat — they were willing to DIE.

Thankfully, Laci realized that her obsessive diet was not a good idea.

"The perfect body that so many people are chasing after is like 20% below the ideal healthy weight. ... Dieting for me was really a solution to the problem of feeling terrible about myself, and I didn't know there were any alternatives to deal with it. But there are."

Ready for Laci's awesome alternatives?! I know I am.

Tip #1: "If you're dieting to be skinnier, maybe just stop."

Restricting the types of food you eat can lower your metabolism and can also make you feel weak, which can make you more susceptible to getting sick. That's probably why, as Laci says, "95% of diets just straight don't work. People gain all the weight back."

Tip #2: Realize that you are not the problem.

The mainstream media often sets the standard for what's seen as beautiful and valuable. (This also includes a $60 billion-a-year diet industry that thrives on making folks feel bad about their bodies.) Sexism also plays a role in making women feel insecure, Laci notes: "Women are socialized to constantly monitor their own bodies and to make sure that they don't take up too much space." Let's not forget about influences from our social circle. Love them or not, they're part of the problem too because, in Laci's words, "our friends and our parents diet, and body image issues seep into our brain."

Tip #3: Give yourself some love.

When was the last time you looked in the mirror and got really excited about what was staring back at you? Laci's advice is great: "I'm talking about giving yourself the love that you deserve. I'm talking about not shit-talking yourself and comparing yourself to other people. I'm talking about choices that are actually healthy, not letting the world stop with some pizza or bikinis."

Tip #4: Realize that you're a full person, not a walking scale.

Want to crush the diet industry? It could happen if everyone realized one simple truth: You are good enough. Laci's key point is that "people's goodness, their value, does not come down to their weight. You are a whole-ass human being that is so much more than just a number."

To learn more, check out the video:

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Of course, when talking about anything health related, it's always good to get a doctor's opinion.

If you agree with the points in this video, pass it on! Sharing positive info like this can help a lot of women.