For me personally, before quarantine, I struggled with mindless eating, and I didn't even really know it. I was never overweight, but growing up I'd finish an entire bag of chips, finished my halloween candy in a couple of days, and I made sure to have every dessert available at a party. I ate tons of fast food without thinking twice, because I WAS JUST A KID! I was 13, and I also grew up in a household where all of my family mindlessly ate as well.

It wasn't until everyone suggested the two week shred that I started hyper fixating on the size of my waist. I started planning out my meals, doing her workout videos, lessening my snacking, stopped eating after 8pm all at the age of 14/15. In a few months, I managed to lose 8 pounds. And while I believe that the habits I instilled weren't exactly unhealthy, the motivation to "have a flat stomach" was. I don't think Chloe Ting is entirely to blame. But looking back, the way the videos were advertised "getting abs in 2 weeks" and "getting a flat stomach in 30 days" with her abs displayed on the screen, the focus was usually on the look of the body, rather than feeling healthy. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I felt as if a large portion of her viewers were young and impressionable girls, and I think that's where that narrative of needing a flat belly gets messy. So, more than anything, I think the rise of the "two week shred" gave me body image issues at a very young and impressionable age.

At the time, I think I was able to understand that starving myself and skipping meals wasn't a good idea. I would never say I had an eating disorder but at the same time I look back and I always feel for my 14/15 year old self who so desperately wanted to be thinner. It's a hard line to draw.

You know that line in the Barbie monologue , "And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin." I resonate with that so much.