The 'Revenge Diet': How Far Is Too Far?
One scorned woman's drastic — and intentional — weight loss turns heads and raises eyebrows.
We've all experienced it: the breakup hunger strike, a.k.a the revenge diet. Sometimes, you're so upset that you can't even stomach the thought of eating, nevermind actually do it. Other times, you think the best way to get back at the person who devastated you is to drop a ton of weight and look fabulous. After all, they say that happiness is the best revenge, right?
That's the route one scorned woman took after running into her ex with a new, thinner girlfriend. Granted, she was already overweight, but the change is nevertheless more dramatic than some think could possibly be healthy.
According to an article on The Stir, Mom Sarah Clancy ran into an ex-boyfriend who had a hot new girlfriend by his side. Clancy had put on weight since giving birth and had been insecure about her size even before they'd broken up, going so far as to blame the split on her weight gain. After seeing him with a much thinner woman, she was so humiliated that she made a life-altering decision. Clancy decided on the spot to lose the extra weight.
After embarking on a strict diet and exercise program, Clancy says she has been able to go from a size 16 to a size 6, and she owes it all to her ex. She’s never felt happier or hotter.
Wow! I’d say that Clancy still seems hung up on this guy. But even worse, she went about slimming down in a very unhealthy way. She was devastated and humiliated and hurt, so the priority was to crash diet and lose weight. All for a man she used to date.
I’m more than a little concerned about what kind of message she is sending to her children. By going on an extreme diet and losing more than 100 pounds after seeing her ex, she is demonstrating not only that her self-worth is linked to her size, but also that she hinges all her happiness on a man.
I’m all for people getting healthy. If seeing an ex is what kicked her into gear to take care of herself, that's great. But the way she did it seems to set a bad example for her kids. If she has girls, they will learn to copy her actions, and if she has boys, they will think they can treat women like crap every time they want to manipulate them to do what they want.
I did a lot of stupid things when I was single. Things I am not particularly proud of, especially in the dating world. Then again, I was in my 20s and completely self-absorbed, so my actions didn’t have as much of a ripple effect as they do now. But since I got married and became a mom, I don't just act. I think about how it would affect them first. And that's exactly what Clancy failed to do.
Do you think Clancy's weight loss after running into her ex is a bad example for her children?