My friends are all really skinny so I get really self conscious when I'm next to them and when I see idols, I feel even more self conscious because they're all so slim and pretty. It makes me feel like I should be going on a diet.  I'm not what you call "chubby/fat" but I'm not that slim or skinny either. So I went on a diet over the summer and I lost weight by doing jump roping 2000 times and watching what I ate. I was really happy about how it worked out but I started to lose a lot of hair and my period was delayed for a long time. So my mother forced me to stop and I started to gain back all the weight I lost. My weight keeps bothering me and it's constantly on my mind. There are times when I feel like I have to throw up everything that I ate but I don't because I lack the courage to do so. What should I do?

Darling, please don’t feel that way.

In the world of models and glamour of today, girls are constantly trying to lose weight. This is not a bad thing until it starts affecting your image of yourself and forcing you into almost unhealthy habits. You mentioned that you aren’t fat and that your friends are all skinny and “pretty”. This to the both of us here seems like you’re a perfectly healthy young girl. I do applaud your self-discipline and control when it comes to exercising but I do have to point out, if you’re jumping 2000 times on the rope, it is excessive exercise and not only is it not good for you, but it can really harm and strain your muscles too. When your hair started falling out, it was a sign your body was protesting, that it didn’t have enough nutrients to keep nourishing it. Periods are also a good indicator of this. The period is technically nutrients for the baby if an egg were to be fertilised in your womb. In technical terms, if you were to be pregnant, this would be the “placenta” where the baby feeds off and if your body isn’t healthy enough to sustain a baby, then obviously the period is going to take a longer time to come.

It’s good that you don’t throw up what you eat because if you do, that could be an early sign of either bulimia or anorexia and can cause harm to your throat, stomach and intestines. Your weight should not be on your mind all the time, it’s not normal and it’s not healthy either. We all have our days where we feel and look like but taking it to this kind of level will be harmful not only for you physically but mentally as well. Building a positive self image is incredibly difficult so don’t be disheartened whatsoever because many girls are struggling with the exact same things you do. What you need to start doing now is to not only look healthy but feel it too. Being skinny doesn’t mean the world and in fact, the ideal size for men is size 12 while most women aim for 4, which is purely depressing. Both of us here hope that you can turn a new leaf and start by building positivity and a healthy life style because contrary to popular belief, exercising too much is not good for you.

We both wish you the best of luck and we’ll be here cheering you on!

- Love, Daehyun and Seohyun ♥

(Author’s ramblings: I’ve pretty much struggled with my weight ever since I was nine because as a child I was stick thin but after my mum fed me a little too much (this was encouragement to study harder) I fluctuated in weight and developed a chubby belly and some thigh fat. I’m currently almost sixty kilograms despite the fact that I’m incredibly short and I do a myriad of sports. Exercise and even watching y diet doesn’t seem to work for me. Instead, I’m always called “cute” and “cuddly” but there are times I want to be gloriously thin like Victoria Secret models. It took me a long time to build up my own self-confidence and to be honest; I found that despite what I look like people accept for who I am because of my bubbly, cheerful and caring attitude. The girls who are thin and pretty aren’t necessarily the ones who get more attention. I seriously cannot stress this enough. Beauty captures attention but personality captures the heart. Anyway, here are some resources I researched for you that you might want to read over: sunshine, rainbows, lollipops, candy, bunnies, stars, kittens, marshmellows. i HIGHLY RECCOMMEND YOU READ MARSHMELLOWS)