To the women who opened this article in the hopes of reading about some crazy new way you can lose a crazy amount of weight in a short amount of time, in order to look more attractive in a bathing suit: THIS IS FOR YOU.

In order to look and feel good this summer, you need to detox from these things:

1. That boy who makes you feel worthless. Whatever he told you were lies, and it is time you let go of all the pain that he brings into your life. Delete his number, delete his snapchat, and no longer allow yourself to be played by a guy who doesn't realize how beautiful you are. If you keep looking back into the past, you may never notice the blessings in front of you.

2. Letting the scale control your mood. Maybe you haven't lost weight as quick as you'd like to, and maybe the scale doesn't read the number you wish it would, but that shouldn't determine your happiness. Live each day with the joy that God made you for a purpose on this earth, and live in a relationship with him, not with the idea of weighing 115 lbs by June 1st.

3. Your competitiveness with other girls. Life is not a contest of who can get more guys, or who is prettier. Be happy for those around you when good things happen to them, and they feel flattered--do not envy them, and try to out do them, for the sake of competition.

4. Your desire for a guy in your life. As cheesy as it is, the best relationships do come when you are not expecting it. Learn to expect that you are meant to be wherever God has placed you presently. Stop focusing on having the hottest bod for guys to chase you. Let your personality attract them, and seal the deal.

Whenever I was a junior in high school, I read every article about weight loss that I could find. I did it for two reasons. 1) To look good in a swimsuit. 2) For boys to think I was attractive. I soon found myself at the gym everyday for two and a half hours, sometimes more, not leaving until I burned at least 800 calories. I skipped lunch at school by making myself look busy, whether it was homework or just constantly socializing with others, in groups I would have to walk around to be with.

My friends would occasionally call me out about not eating, but I brushed it off like a pro, and no one seemed to worry. If I did eat lunch, it would be a granola bar at most. I would usually only finish half of my dinner, saying I just hated the food. Yes, I lost weight. Yes, I looked (what the world would call) "good". But I remember looking at pictures of myself thinking I was so fat. One of my teachers even pulled me out of the classroom one day, to question my eating habits and how often I was working out, because that was all I talked about. That was when I realized I went too far. Thank you Ms. Parker for calling me out that day.

Here's a picture of me at my lowest point of it all. I'm not saying that there's no way you can reach a body similar to this in a healthy way, because I am sure you can. I, however, did not, and I am trying to get the point across that although I was a size 0, I still thought of myself as "fat".

I still occasionally struggle when looking in the mirror. However, I am better than I used to be. I work out when I get the chance but I don't depend on in it like I used to. I don't beat myself up for not sticking to 800 calories, and I don't panic if I eat carbs. During this period of unhealthy dieting in high school, I went from 132 lbs to 104 lbs, in two months. I started at a size four and ended at finally fitting into a 00, but I still considered myself "fat". Now, as a freshmen in college, I weigh 141 lbs, and I can't believe that I have the confidence to post this fact, for every one of my family members and friends to see. The number that would have haunted me in high school, is now a sign of my strength and confidence.

I haven't decided if at this time of my life, if I was anorexic or simply obsessed with working out, and controlling my weight, but I do know something was wrong with me. I'm no doctor, but now I truly realize that the way I was living was not physically or emotionally healthy for me. And I have a feeling that many girls who are reading this article, have experienced these emotions. To the girl reading this who knows how I feel: please for my sake tell someone. I truly regret never opening up to someone.

If you asked anyone at my high school if they thought I was insecure, they would laugh in your face. I was church intern, senior class president, voted Mrs. Fontainebleau High, homecoming court my junior year, I lead a bible study and morning devo at Cafe Du Monde, and I was prom court my senior year. On the outside I looked so happy, but on the inside I was still a girl, struggling with insecurities given to her freshman year by some mean boys, causing me to become obsessed with my physical appearance as a whole, leading me to become obsessed with my weight. I posted bikini pictures on Instagram, and despite what many may have thought, that didn't mean that I was happy with my body. I was addicted to the compliments "how did you get so toned and skinny?!", "Teach me your ways", and "you are the skinniest". I craved those words.

So to all the girls who opened this article, who expected to find some new quick way to diet and lose weight quickly for bikini season, for a formal, or some boy: I challenge you to eat healthy. Never obsess over every pound you weigh, obsess over growing with God as a disciple, being a better friend and daughter, and take time to reflect on the person you want to be, not the size you want to be. Because, I hate to break it to you girl, but your weight is not carved into your grave, neither is your size in those JCrew shorts. What is on your grave, is a line separating the day you were born from the day you went to Heaven to be with God. And that line represents how you spent your days, and whether your days were joyful and used to love others, or filled with you busily looking in the mirror, complaining about your weight.

Every day, you gave yourself up, in order to love someone else: every chance you get to hangout with you grandparents, a little kid who looks up to you, and the people you impacted while here on earth, and the memories you made, is represented in that line. The line tells stories of the times you laughed with your friends while driving around town at 4 am listening to throwback music, the time you decided that you would spontaneously go visit you grandparents who you hadn't seen in a while, the time you took your Thursday morning to read to children at a local elementary school. And that line does not care if you had perfectly toned abs on your summer beach trip, or if a boy who you liked commented with emoji flames.

Here I am now: I eat healthy and eat carbs, and I try to workout when I can. I am healthier, emotionally and physically, as well as happier.

Because I struggled, today I challenge you to do this: be the happiest you, not the smallest you.