July 20, 2014

Liking Me

One of the things I have been working so hard on and it has been a passion of my heart is my body image. (In fact it was even on my list of New Years resolutions this year and for the last few years!) It has been something I have been working on changing constantly and it is a slow road. It all started one day when I was getting ready and stressing over how my clothes didn't fit right. I looked over at my gorgeous daughter who was sharing the mirror with me to brush her teeth and I realized that I never wanted her to talk to herself like I did. I didn't want her to doubt her beauty or want to be more like someone else. I didn't want her ever to think she was less of a person because of how she looked or to cry over flaws that were not really there. I realized the only way to help her not feel that way was to be the best possible example I could be for her. I eat well, I exercise often but I constantly tell her (and remind myself) that it is not to change myself but to be healthy. This is a huge change from past years where everything had to do with counting calories and watching a scale. If the number went down I could celebrate myself and if it went up it was a reason to hate myself. I didn't even see a problem with talking to myself like this. It was what normal women did. This mind set had to change. I have my good days and bad days with self confidence, but I constantly am trying to be a better example of self love for my children. It's funny, because for years I was able to tell everyone I knew just how beautiful they were, but if I saw my reflection in the mirror I would have silently shouted to myself a giant list of all of my flaws. My body has changed over the last few years because of this decision, but more importantly so has my mind. I am relaxed about having a snack with my husband while we are on a date and don't beat myself up if we enjoy an ice cream with the kids. Even with my body changing, I actually am able to feel more confident with myself because of my new mindset. I am, who I am and I honestly am okay with it, in fact I'm even happy and proud of how I look. I am healthier all around because I work to keep my body healthy, not at some ideal number that the scale shows and my mind healthy, by not torturing myself with negative words. I recently happened to find a women in Australia who went through the same realization while looking at her daughter. Our stories are similar and I relate to her on so many levels. I actually think that most women can relate to her story. She is doing a documentary about self image and I really think it will be well worth watching. You can watch a glimpse of her project here and most likely if you are anything like me it will touch your heart. My point is, that like we all know deep in our heart beauty has nothing to do with how your stack up against Hollywood standards but about who you are as a person. So, treat yourself with kindness because a scale or a mirror will never tell you anything about who you truly are.