In the modern era, most of the world is considered fat. Even in a perfectly normal body, one will question whether their arms are too flabby, their stomach isn’t flat enough, or why they don’t have the romanticized “thigh gap.” This is specifically an issue that women have to deal with every day of their life.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not going to sit here and tell you that we shouldn’t feel this way, because I have fallen victim to this as well. But why do most of us feel this way? In my opinion, it has to do with our brains. Even if we didn’t know it, our unconscious mind made it this way. It created an unrealistic image of what we should be, and now we are just trying to correct what we already have. However, our unconscious mind didn’t come up with this idea on its own either. The issue is what our brains are being fed every single day. We watch TV, go on social media and learn from how guys view us that being skinny is the only way to be. In order to achieve a “perfect” life, we have to maintain a perfect body as well, right? Well, that is what our society is telling us.

Everybody knows that most celebrities are stick skinny with amazing legs and perfect hair. Either they already are, or they are made to be that way. Of course, there are a few exceptions, but even the ones who are considered “overweight” actresses aren’t that heavy at all. The media only portrays them that way because that is how are minds are now programmed.

If television wasn’t enough, we now have social media sites. Everyone knows that a teenage girl’s Instagram is filled with pictures that she wants everyone to like. What this means is getting the right angle, the right filter and the right cropping so that everything about her in the picture is perfect. There have been many times where my friends have posted the picture that they look the best in, and, to be completely honest, I have done this as well. It’s all about self image and how we portray ourselves to the rest of the world. No one is perfect, but on social media, apparently we all are.

The last point I would like to bring up is how guys view girls. Let me give you a little bit of insight to the guy brain. Guys view girls under extreme scrutiny. What they want is a girl who is skinny but also has a big butt. They want a girl who is skinny but wears a DD sized bra. They want a girl who is skinny but also has curves to her. Do you see the problem with this? It is almost impossibly for girls to achieve these unrealistic looks. Now, I am not saying that every guy thinks this way. However, a lot of times it is a guys opinion that means the most to girls. Girls want guys to notice them, and that is why our brain tells us that we want to be skinnier. We need to achieve a certain body type in order to have a significant other in our lives.

The human brain is a complex part of who we are. It defines us, challenges us, tells us to work harder. In this case, our brains are our enemies. They give us unrealistic goals that we have to achieve because that is what society is telling us.