Ever since Sandra Lyng (34) broke through as a young and hopeful 16-year-old in “Idol” in 2004, the cheerful Nordland girl has been a role model for many.
The singer has previously talked openly about the fact that she suffered from eating disorders already as a 13-year-old, and that she has been hospitalized for up to four months for psychiatric treatment.
Recently, Lyng shared that she is tired of headlines about dieting and diets in the newspapers with her 141,000 followers on Instagram.
“When I was young, my mother ate chocolate stuff that I was not allowed to taste. And sometimes a different kind of food than me. Fortunately, I did not understand why, but dieting has been a part of my life since I was a child “, Lyng wrote in the introduction.
–
Furthermore, she believed that one is constantly bombarded with dieting tips and diets that never work.
“Now that Christmas is coming, we are going to lose weight – so that we can enjoy more Christmas food?” she continued, emphasizing how sorry she is for this.
To See and Hear, Lyng says that her generation has grown up with a lot of talk about dieting and weight.
– Whether it was adults who talked about it over the dinner table, celebrities who told about it in interviews or on the cover of magazines we bought, says Lyng.
–
When the artist had a son Sander in 2019, she became more aware of her own behavior and values, also when it comes to eating and eating.
She is concerned that the family should eat the same, and that the focus should be that food is something the body needs and something to enjoy.
– I do not think our parents were naughty or that they did not care, but that the knowledge about eating disorders, poor self-image and unhealthy body ideals had little focus at the time, Lyng continues to See and Hear.
The consequences are serious
The 34-year-old understands that issues with dieting tips get a lot of clicks in the newspapers, but she still hopes for a more conscious focus, especially when it comes to timing.
– It may be that a small child reads it and gets an unhealthy relationship with food from an early age, Lyng believes, and adds that the mental health of the population is worse than ever.
–
According to Lyng, who refers to psychologist Per Martin Løken, children as young as nine are admitted for eating disorders.
Lyng also believes that this type of diet can make a teenager with low self-esteem believe that he or she is not good enough. She also believes that seemingly safe adults can be negatively affected.
Although dieting is no longer a part of her life, she still remembers the time when she struggled with eating disorders.
– If we as parents are not happy with how we look, we should not say that about our children. They learn from what we do, more than what we tell them, I think, says Lyng, who is very happy that his mother was interested in it.
–
Now the artist eats food that she thinks is good for the body and psyche and the 34-year-old trains for the same reason.
To help others have a good relationship with body and food, as she herself has today, Lyng holds an online course in mental training called “Inner Strength Training”.