Quite frankly, I am sick of the constant talk from friends, family and society on weight issues. I believe it is a moslty frivolous topic. I do not want to make it seem that I am insensitive to people with weight problems (over or under), because it can be a serious, serious condition. Weight problems are typically more than meets the eye and those definitely need to be addressed. But- it is the fad diets and magic bullet drugs that aggravate me the most. They feed on people's insecurities and perpetuate the ideal icons, which then lead society to believe that they are supposed to strive for those bodies and those bodies alone. These ploys and supplements are severely unhealthy and yet people believe that these tactics are the answers to their prayers. What society and people at large fail to realize is that their phenotype (in this case weight and body shape) is a combination of genetics and environment. Americans lead a certain lifestyle and that promotes certain habits. In order to change those habits, one must change their lifestyle. And by that I mean this- people complain about their weight constantly and swear up and down that they have done all that they could, but nothing has worked. I beg to differ- there are things that have been proven to work, but only if the person is willing to make those changes and as Oprah and her fitness guru have coined the phrase "get with the program" and stick with it. Exercise is the number one way to get in shape and eating in moderation is key. There doesn't have to be those diets where you neglect yourself of anything- carbs, proteins, fats, sweets, etc.- have them all, but work them off and don't have too much of one thing. People also have to realize that there is a spectrum of body shapes and if your bone structure is formed a certain way there is no natural method to make that any different. Instead of weight workshops there should be confidence workshops about your body and weight. The numbers (pounds) do not matter. What matters is people's health and fitness in order to live a long wonderful life. Obsessing about weight is not going to do anything. A friend of mine is what the media would call "plump," but she works out more than anyone I know- she has a very low percentage of body fat and her lean muscle mass is through the roof. Yet, because she fills out her clothing a certain way, she is considered "overweight." Such nonsense! Though, the greatest thing about that is that she does not adhere to those irrational standards of society, so she does not give a hoot about any of that- nor should she. Another friend of mine is plump. Her eating habits are unhealthy, she drinks too much beer and then complains about her weight. Could she drop a few pounds? Yes, but only if she wants to make those changes. She will never be able to attain what pop culture has made out to be the "ideal body", but I contend there is no such thing anyway. However, she does have within her the power to make herself healthy. And that to me is the bottom line. I may not be 5'11" with legs up to high heaven, but I am healthy and that should be the most important question we all ask ourselves. Am I healthy? Not will I be able to gain/lose weight to look like someone we are not and never going to be. We know our bodies and they do a lot of work for us. We should not have to put it through the unnecessary stress of weight obsession. We should be rational in what we can expect and be congruent with our bodies' needs. There is so much going on in our bodies and if it quits on us, well it's not going to really matter if we reached our weight goal. Being healthy should be our aim, not a number.