Weddings and Weight Loss
My brother is getting married this week and everyone’s on a diet. It’s understandable that since the bride will be the center of attention on display in front of scads of people that she would want to look her best with her waist cinched as tightly as possible. But what is it with everyone else?
No one wants to take attention from the bride on her wedding day, of course, but I guess we all want to make our matrimony bound brothers, sisters, and children proud of us. We want to look good FOR them. We want their wedding pictures to be beautiful. So we research diet pills that work, we starve ourselves, avoid carbs, and do butt squeezes in the car on the way to and from work. Every little bit helps. But would you believe there are places where the weight loss wedding tradition is the exact opposite?
Take a look at your map across the Atlantic ocean from the bottom tip of Florida almost straight across to the edge of Africa. There you will find a place called Mauritania where the fanatical measures taken to fatten future brides for their husbands makes the wedding day weight loss obsession in America a non issue.
In earlier days of Mauritania a man’s worth was judged by the size of his wife. The idea being that rich men have servants doing everything while his wife sits still. The richer the man, the more sedentary his wife and the more weight she gained. This is a nightmare scenario to many men in America, and a stereotype they like to nurture, of wives home watching tv, eating bon bons and spending all the money while they are away at work each day. Apparently an American man’s nightmare is a an African man’s dream come true.
Here’s the problem though. Whereas the wives originally became obese while sitting around all day living luxuriously in her husband’s riches, men in Mauritania do not want to “earn” their “trophy wife”. They want her fat right from the start, and she and her obesity are used to give the impression that her husband is wealthy and successful. Why in the world would any woman agree to this?
They don’t. As early as 5 years old little girls are being tortured into eating until they puke, and then they are made to eat the vomit as well. They have sticks stuck into their toes and pulled together to cause severe pain when they refuse to swallow. Their own mothers and aunts are force feeding them butter and millet and camel’s milk in large quantities to the point of sickness, an rolling sticks down the girl’s thighs in efforts to break down the tissue and speed up the fat development. I would ask if you have ever heard of anything so cruel and disgusting but sadly we all know the answer would be “yes… and then some.”
What these poor girls and women face in other places around the globe is a travesty and if nothing else we need to raise awareness here in the United States and stop turning a blind eye with the excuse, “we have people suffering right here in America”. I agree with that sentiment on many counts. But that doesn’t mean we should pretend other’s suffering doesn’t exist. The least we can do is acknowledge their pain.
So brides, be grateful that we are solely responsible for what we do and how we look on our special day. It’s a big beautiful special day and you get to enjoy every minute of it.
k on that special day.
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A great place to look like a princess for your wedding… is in a castle.. right? It is every girls dream! Have a fairytale wedding and look like a princess on your special day. Visit thecastleweddings.com it is beautiful I am glad I checked it out!
I am very serious about my own diet because my girlfriend wants me to look slim so i am using the diet pills but ,i read that in some areas the families force the girls to have heavy meal to look fat as a symbol of richness,This is a shame for us because it affects our health!
Most of the times it has been seen that Women start gaining their weight after giving birth a baby. Here I have Special diet plan for women who don’t want to go to gym or any exercises to lose weight. Try Special K Diet plan and lose weight in just 2 weeks up to 2.5 Kg. Also take part in Special K Challenge.
hope marriage will going to rock
?n Turkey, there is a diyet called Bride Diet. ?ts for brides to be seem fit in the wedding. Wedding and weight loss are interesed in each other.
Hi,
Great site!!!!! Good health is very important with the high cost of medical coverage. We need to have a healther lifestyle by taking care of our health eating and exercising. I am a cancer survivor and I know. Our health is our greatest asset. Keep up the Good Work!!!!!
I can understand why a lot of women and men for that fact do want to lose weight for their wedding as it is one of the most special days of your life and the memories/photos last a life time. So you defiantly want to be looking your best. Have to say for my wedding I didn’t diet although I have never really had too much problem with my weight. It is very sad the issues that arise these days from all the pictures/images we see on a daily basis about body image.
Good article about Weight Loss, I am looking forward to reading more from you.
I am horrified about what they do to young girls in Mauritania, I had no idea this happened.
I have never heard about such a thing before in life.The days before my brothers wedding he used to have lots and lots of food…he had increased his weight a lot. It is not necessary to control your diet.
We need to have a healther lifestyle by taking care of our health eating and exercising.
Its true - i’m off to a wedding in a couple of weeks and although i’m not trying to lose weight (i’m male) i’m going to make an effort to look attractive and smart - think its something that we all do when we know we are ‘on show’.
This is a shame for us because it affects our health!
I understand your problem for having the diet pills but dont you know that it affects our health & as well as after making the use of diet pills for having it for long time it affects our health & gives the hazardous effects so for you i have the advice if you really wanna to look slim so there is one way & that is have some karotine fruits !
Ouch, poor girls
I have never heard about such a thing before in life.
No matter what is asked on wedding day, it is worthy! For brides, it is normal to be shaped. Does any girl who is not willing to present others the most beautiful image on wedding ceremony? So, take action.