I just can't weight.

I've been thinking a lot about dieting lately. No, I don't mean going on a diet. Fortunately that's something I don't need or want to do. Not that need is really the point. Dieting is an activity a good number of my friends are always engaged in anyway, even though they don't need to either, in my estimation. Needless to say, that's par for the course among college women, including today's supposedly enlightened ones. I even know someone who knows someone who's a size 6 and wants to get one of those lap-bands that are now in the news. If you haven't seen the publicity they're like surgically implanted twist-ties placed around the stomach. But I digress. In my case, what I mean is, I've been thinking about the topic of weight loss in general. And I don't get it.

I don't understand why so many women, especially girls my age, think they need to "get rid of those last few pounds." What qualifies as "those last few pounds" to begin with? How do you know when those "last few pounds" have been lost and you're down to the "right" weight? Another thing: Do a few pounds really make that much difference in the way guys see us? (Any girl who tells you she's "just doing it for herself, not for guys" is full of, well, I'll be polite about it and say she's full of self-deceptions.) And if a few pounds do make a difference in how others see you, are they "others" you really want to be around? The whole concept perplexes me. What's the difference between 115 and 112? Actually, I would venture that if you're 112, you'd probably look better to most guys if you stopped counting calories and ballooned all the way up to 115, since small increments in weight at that level are likely to show up in the exact places where boys like a girl to be a bit, uh, more filled-out. Maybe I'm seeing it all wrong? Tell me how.

(For the record, I'm a tragically obese 121. It seemed relevant.)

This btw is my first post in a great while, and I'm hoping not to create the havoc I created last time around. Let's say I'm testing the waters. So if you have a reply, can we please keep it civil? Thank you!