Neil Alleman
Professor: Fitzgerald
2/9/26
English II
You Can Always Be Thinner, Look Better
In the movie American Psycho, the main character Patrick Bateman says this line.
Becoming prevalent within pop culture, especially in recent years. With its resurgence on
TikTok, people seek to emulate the influencers they aspire to be, yearning to be thinner. This
toxic saying held a tight grasp on young teens and adults alike. This quote, spoken by a
character who strives for perfection, driving him mad, exemplifies just how absurd this quote is,
a saying uttered by a man presumed to be perfect. This quote spoke to me during my years as
a wrestler, a quote I jokingly lived by, but took to heart behind closed doors. Starving myself for
weight cuts, it made me feel like I was bettering myself, making my pain worth it. It was true that
I always found a way to be thinner, always found a way in my mind to look better. In reality,
living by this, I was the best-looking I’ve ever been: a perfectly chiseled face, a thin waist with
broad shoulders, and a vascular appearance. I looked huge from the front, but from the side, I
hated my appearance. It was true that I did look better, but not in all respects. Not only that, but
I wasn’t doing it healthily, eating a single banana for the entire week before competitions to
achieve my weight cut. When not cutting, I was still in a deficit, eating roughly 1500 calories a
day, consisting of 3 meals of canned tuna, ½ cup of quinoa, and Oikos Pro yogurt, achieving
250g of protein a day to keep myself strong and healing well, on my Atkins-approved diet. This
saying, while it had its downsides as I struggled to eat normally after my dieting, did help to give
me the discipline I needed to keep powering through the pain of my hunger and the willpower to
maintain my diet. The only flavors I tasted during this period were fruit, yogurt, and Texas Pete.
This saying has been nothing but unkind to the mental health of my peers. I feel the same for
