I was thinking about something that I used to do back back in my super fluffy days when ordering something "not-so-healthy" at a fast-food restaurant. I’d be like “Can we please have the…”. Can “we”. WE? I was the ONLY person in the vehicle yet, I would continuously refer to myself in the plural. Why? Because I was ashamed that I was ordering something “bad for me” and wanted to pretend it was for someone else. I guess it was my hope that the person serving me would be less likely to judge me, if they thought I was ordering for a party of more than just one.
I was playing mindtricks…on my own mind.
BUT, that’s where I was in my life. Those were the things I’d do.
I also remember another time when I stopped into the supermarket to fix my coconut cream pie craving. The lady at the cash asked me if I’d like her to put the pie in a separate bag so that it wouldn’t get squat. I replied with, “Nah, the guys will still eat it in any shape or form” (insert awkward laugh)
Whaaaaaaaaaat? The guys to which I referred were non-existent.
This pie was mine. ALL MINE. So, why did I feel it necessary to lie to this woman? This individual that I would likely never see again warranted a lie as stupid as inventing a team of pie eaters? A simple, “no thanks” certainly would have sufficed.
So why exactly did I do that? Body Image and fear of judgment.
I HATED the way I looked back then and to be perfectly honest, I still struggle. I have some fluff left to lose and sometimes get hung up on that. But, I’m trying to pick the positive out of it. Focusing on how far that I have come, not how far I have left to go.
But, back to body image.
This airbrushed image of body perfection that we have in our heads is based on and perpetuated by photo editing software.
SOFTWARE!
We look at the magazines and see these beautiful, perfect people and sometimes it makes us feel bad about ourselves. Even when I see those “plus sized” (#PlusNOTPlusSize) models I’m thinking, but she doesn’t have a muffin top or stretch marks or cellulite…oh, but, SHE DOES!
It’s just hidden behind a bunch of binary bits and bytes.
Despite what society sometimes leads us to believe; stretch marks, cellulite and a muffin top is NOT a neon sign announcing ugliness -- they’re simply metaphysical processes occurring in our body.
SCIENCE, my friends!
Just like bigger biceps, toned thighs and flat abs, it all comes down to the atom. So, WHY is the science of cellulite any different than the science of a six pack?
My point? We need to focus on the positive.
Next time that you get out of the shower, stand in front of your full-length mirror clothing-free. But, instead of honing in on your “flaws”, pick out the physical things that you LOVE.
Is it your shapely legs?
Your beautiful hair?
Your sparkling eyes?
Come on, do it…pick out those things that you love. THEN, I challenge you to focus on those things instead of the parts that you perceive as “ugly”.
We may not be able to change the outlook of the world as a whole but, we can change our own outlook on the world. So, if we have that control, why can’t this outlook be positive? Why can’t it be loving toward ourselves?
Go on…Love yourself. You have YOU for life.
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