Body Image

First, I want to thank you guys for reading the last post. I hope that it was helpful and encouraging. If you feel like you have been or are in a similar place, don’t worry, you are not alone. What I want to do is share with you some of the things I have been doing to help. I don’t have it all figured out, but honestly, does anyone ever have it all figured out? I think that as long as we are breathing, there is always room for growth.

First, let’s talk about body image. When I look at my body, do I think there is room for improvement? Yes…and that’s ok. What’s not ok is making negative comments about my own body and ripping apart everything that I “dislike” about it. I think it is possible to want to improve things and also respect and love what we have. There are practical things that can be done also. If I didn’t mention it in my last post, there is a podcast I have been listening too called “It’s Not About the Food”, and there is a whole post about what you can do to feel good in your body RIGHT NOW. If you listen to podcasts, I highly recommend this one. Some of the things mentioned are to stop body checking, unfollow triggering people, wear clothes that feel good and read uplifting, positive books. These are just a few of the things you can do right now. I spent a lot of time following accounts on IG of women that I wanted to look like. At the time, I thought this was good motivation for me, but honestly, all it did was make me compare a lot more and make me feel crappier about my body. Let’s be honest too, a lot of the women we compare ourselves to have taken multiple shots to get the perfect pose in the perfect lighting to put up that picture. Also, a lot, have paid to look that way, not all of them, but a lot. Comparing ourselves to these standards is definitely not productive. I also spent so much time thinking that if I just got to THAT goal, I would be happier and that it would solve a few of my problems, but that was also wrong. Again, I can love myself and be happy NOW and still want to grow and improve.

One of my goals for myself is to post more full-body pictures. If you ask my husband, he will tell you that I will avoid taking pictures all together, and whenever I do have a picture taken, it needs to be approved before posted. That’s 100% the reason I have added these specific pictures, and trust me, I had to search through a lot to find a couple with my whole body.

The FIRST thing I did when I saw the picture above was point out everything I disliked about my body. Instead, I should have looked at what this picture was actually capturing. This was Xaniya’s first Spartan race, and she was having a difficult time with this obstacle. What I should have seen was how strong my daughter is, how persistent she is and how grateful I am to have been able to her accomplish something like this.

Like I said, I am not where I want to be, and I definitely still have my moments, but I am making an intentional effort to stop comparing myself to others and to appreciate, respect and love myself where I’m at now. Finally, please unfollow whoever you need to if that’s an issue, stop comparing yourself to others and respect where you are now while wanting to grow at the same time. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and learning and making a lot of changes, and I can’t wait to share the rest with you guys.