From Losing it : America's Obsession With Weight and the Industry That Feeds on it :

"People naturally come in a wide variety of sizes, and attempts to get below a weight that one can maintain comfortably without thinking about it are apt to be dangerous."

"People who give up dieting are happier, they report less eating problems and eating concerns, and they feel better about themselves. They like themselves better, they're less depressed and they're willing to try things that they hadn't been willing or able to try previously to make some changes in their lives."

"When Blair compared the death rates of the active fat men with those of the inactive thin men, it become even more clear how much more important exercise is than weight in determining health....the thinner men who were out of shape were three times more likely to die young than the fat men who exercised regularly. The people who weighed average or below average lived no longer than the overweight ones--unless they exercised. And the chunky ones lived just as long--if they exercised."

"The kinds of diseases we see in overweight people are the same diseases we see in sedentary and unfit people of every weight....'The challenege that I like to throw out to obesity researchers is, 'How can you be so sure that is' weight that kills?' Maybe it's just inactivity.' says Blair"

"It's exercise and healthy nutrition that matter for good health, and weight just doesn't make a bit of difference."

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So...in my opinion?

Eating healthy, exercising, I'm there! Cutting out entire food groups or saying NO to my favorite foods to fit some standardized vision of beauty? No thank you. I will continue to live my healthy lifestyle. Eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm full, get out and walk more, and spend less time worrying about how much I weigh or what size my clothes are.

I want to exercise because it's fun. Not exercise because I feel like I have to. I want to eat salads with light ranch because I think it tastes good, not because I'm being punished for eating a doughnut.

Am I perfect? Heck no! Will I still complain when the scale goes up for no reason? Yes. That's not even a question. I know I will! Because I still want to believe that I'm meant to magically transform myself into a "thin" person. Despite the fact that I've never been thin and there's a very small success rate with keeping off every pound lost after dieting.

Sometimes I just have to remind myself to not go crazy. I hope that everyone who reads this will decide to make healthier choices, and not beat themselves up if they are holding themselves to a standard they can never achieve.