Body Talk

With the holidays only months away, there is a buzz of excitement in the air. Halloween candy, Thanksgiving meals, and countless Christmas treats leave everyone’s mouth watering. Leading into the new year, these holiday indulgences coincide with people making New Year’s resolutions, resulting in two common undertakings: working out and losing weight.

While there is a healthy way to work out and lose weight, the influence of pop culture and diet culture can worm its way into young minds. Alexis Brock, a junior at Tech, described her struggle with these very issues, including her battle with anorexia

Brock recalled her self esteem issues starting in high school “I stopped eating in high school my sophomore to Tennessee, where she decided to try and improve her condirion, prioritizing eating. She attributed her struggle to the diet culture in her house and having a mother and sisters who all wished for a “perfect body”.

“Nobody even noticed the extreme weight loss because of the baggy clothing I wore. My self-esteem was pretty much at rock bottom.” year. This is when I moved to Florida, and my self image worsened,” she said. Eating just a granola bar a day dropped her bodyweight to just 109 lbs at its lowest. Her senior year she moved back

Her freshman year of college, she devoted herself to gym culture. “I wanted a change, so I started going to the gym and eating more,” she said. Making time for the gym in her life helped her to slowly see a change in her body and self image.

“I realized when I worked out I actually had an appetite to eat, and I had to eat to eventually see any growth in the gym.” By eating more, she saw her weight go up by 10 lbs over the summer, which was a slow but steady start to recovery.

Going to the gym three to four times a week gave her a routine, and she made it a priority to go.

“I was living off my meal plan so I was just consuming a large amount of carbs.” With the option to eat on campus, Brock was also able to increase the amount of fruits, meat, and vegetables she ate, creating a healthier, balanced diet.

“I honestly struggled with that at first. I went out to eat a lot because the Caf didn’t always have what I wanted, but it got so expensive so I had to make do.” With her weight up significantly, and higher muscle mass, Brock had found a new purpose for going to the gym.

“I may have said I started for weight gain, but it turned into 100 percent for mental health.”

Brock, who was also diagnosed with depression, said it gives her reason to get up in the morning. She said “That is not an easy task!”

Brock found most of her information online. “I downloaded

TikTok and eventually ended up on the gym rat side.” she said.

Reflecting on how she began her new-found hobby, Brock recalled turning to TikTok for information.

“I honestly had no idea what I was doing when I first started and I was too nervous to ask for help, so viewing these videos helped me to figure a lot of it out.”

Brock has learned countless tips including when machines should be used.

“I learned about what body parts to work out and how to stretch the right way, free weights, just anything you could think of really.”

Brock also especially appreciates the content created by women, for women.

“The gym is mostly dominated by men, who are sometimes terrible with how they treat women, and it makes asking them for help as a newbie either uncomfortable or sometimes dangerous. I enjoy content created by women and seeing other girls at the gym makes me feel less alone in my workout journey.”

She also feels some equipment seems to be made solely for men.

“Some of the machines, even when adjusted, just don’t feel right to use because of how the grips or seat feels just not made for girls sometimes - but it feels amazing when you’re able to actually do a set with them.”

Brock also enjoys the healthy eating side of TikTok.

“All summer I was thinking nonstop about fruit bowls and how much I love them. That’s one of my favorite parts of enjoying food again, is how much of it tastes so good.”

Ultimately, Brock is grateful that she and her family have escaped the harmful culture of toxic dieting.

“I didn’t enjoy it when my family was consumed by it, and I hated how I felt wrapped up in it with no escape. Thinking that starving was my only option to achieve the body I thought I wanted, and now realizing that doing so made myself miserable I’m so grateful that my family grew out of it.”

Brock has a little brother who she spends a lot of time with, and she is glad he has not been affected by similar struggles.

“I couldn’t imagine him going through what I dealt with, the suffering that you feel when you live like that is something I would never want him to experience.”

Brock said she knows the problem of diet culture goes beyond just gender and can affect boys and men despite an apparent lack of community for them on the web regarding these issues.

“It’s different for them in small ways, while the issue of being ‘too fat’ is always pushed by the media there’s also a push for more muscle or more masculine features or actions, which aren’t always given by genetics.” Brock said she tries to be a positive role model encouraging healthy eating and plenty of outside time and exercise to hopefully foster a healthier lifestyle