Poll: Would You Trade One Year for the Perfect Body?
By: Jen Mueller,
SparkPeople Blogger
4/24/2013 12:00 PM
: 249 comments
: 29,962 Views
Let's face it: Losing weight can be hard work. It requires patience, dedication, and the drive to make permanent healthy changes in your life. It's not always fun to head to the gym instead of watching your favorite show on T.V., or turning down the French fries at dinner and opting for a side of veggies instead. Those who make healthy choices are able to look at the bigger picture and know that these choices aren't always easy, but will leave them better off in the long run. Knowing that it is hard work, would you be willing to trade time to get the body you've always wanted? A new survey says some women are willing to make that trade.
The survey of 320 young British women found that 16% would trade one year of their life for the ideal weight and body shape. Most of the women surveyed said that they were unhappy with their looks. Even though the majority was normal or underweight, 79% said they wanted to lose weight. 93% said they had negative thoughts about their bodies within the past week. To me, that's sad but not surprising. Given the amount of pressure so many women feel to live up to some perfect "ideal" that may or may not even be attainable, it's no wonder that women are hard on themselves for falling short.
"Many women were also willing to make other sacrifices for the ideal body, the researchers found. About 13 percent said they'd give up $8,138 a year in salary in return for their perfect body. Eight percent would give up a promotion at work, and 6 percent would give up earning a degree with honors. Nine percent were willing to give up time with friends and partners, while 7 percent said they'd trade in time with their family. Another 7 percent said they would sacrifice health to reach their ideal weight."
I'm not going to pretend that I am completely happy with my body and wouldn't change a few things here or there if I could. But I've learned to accept that I am going to age and my body is never going to look exactly like it did before I had kids. As long as I'm living a healthy life, being a good person and a positive example for my kids, that's what matters most to me. I wouldn't trade one minute of time with them to look "perfect". To me, it's just not worth it.
What do you think?
The survey of 320 young British women found that 16% would trade one year of their life for the ideal weight and body shape. Most of the women surveyed said that they were unhappy with their looks. Even though the majority was normal or underweight, 79% said they wanted to lose weight. 93% said they had negative thoughts about their bodies within the past week. To me, that's sad but not surprising. Given the amount of pressure so many women feel to live up to some perfect "ideal" that may or may not even be attainable, it's no wonder that women are hard on themselves for falling short.
"Many women were also willing to make other sacrifices for the ideal body, the researchers found. About 13 percent said they'd give up $8,138 a year in salary in return for their perfect body. Eight percent would give up a promotion at work, and 6 percent would give up earning a degree with honors. Nine percent were willing to give up time with friends and partners, while 7 percent said they'd trade in time with their family. Another 7 percent said they would sacrifice health to reach their ideal weight."
I'm not going to pretend that I am completely happy with my body and wouldn't change a few things here or there if I could. But I've learned to accept that I am going to age and my body is never going to look exactly like it did before I had kids. As long as I'm living a healthy life, being a good person and a positive example for my kids, that's what matters most to me. I wouldn't trade one minute of time with them to look "perfect". To me, it's just not worth it.
What do you think?
Would you be willing to trade one year of your life for the perfect body?
 You will earn 3 SparkPoints |
.jpg)
Comments
I want to be thinner, yes. And healthier, definitely. But perfect? I don't even know what that means. I am loved and the people who matter to me think I'm beautiful. I can smile at my reflection and I am comfortable being who I am, which isn't defined by the size on my clothes or the number on the scale.
Give me a full life and a little bit of mush around my middle. It's more huggable anyway. :) - 4/25/2013 2:11:34 PM
If I were extremely out of weight and out of shape, I'd already being giving up at least a year and probably more. The years that I would have remaining would probably not be great from a "quality of life" perspective so giving up a year that I'd probably lost anyway would be OK because I'd probably still gain way more years than I'd lose - and the quality would be much better.
- 4/25/2013 10:35:38 AM
Worse, the question focuses attention away from an important fitness goal, that is, to be fully comfortable with a lifestyle leading to the fitness and appearance you desire without feeling deprived. There are no magic bullets for reaching such goals, and asking if one would accept bargains as uncertain as those proposed in the study only feeds the misconception that some easy approach to a fitness is possible and that being fit is necessarily painful. - 4/25/2013 10:35:33 AM
I wouldn't give up ANY of those things - time living, a good education, and most of all my family. I was just reunited with my family in the U.K. after almost 30 years - I can't describe the joy I've felt ever since then. I almost did give that up, and I'll NEVER make that mistake again.
I think we all need to take a step back and leave the "perfect" bodies to the super models. I'd far prefer to work hard at getting a fit and healthy body to use while I live my life, not give up my life to look pretty. - 4/25/2013 10:27:31 AM
That's so sad. Society is so completely focused on what women look like that we forget it is far more important who women are. I would bet large sums of money that if this poll were done asking men the same questions there would be dramatically different answers. - 4/25/2013 10:01:29 AM
and getting looks from guys in a good way, might not be too bad haha - 4/25/2013 8:10:44 AM
What I have discovered is that you first have to learn to not just accept yourself, but to love and value yourself for the right reasons. That's when your motives for embracing real life change become an adventure, exciting, a reward that we give ourselves - instead of that familiar old self-imposed punishment cycle of "diet and fail". - 4/25/2013 7:55:18 AM
Please Log In To Leave A Comment: Log in now ›