Stop hating your body for its imperfections. Being a healthy woman isn’t about measuring your waistline or worrying about what the scale says. Its about how we feel and see ourselves. That’s why embracing your body shape is important for your health.
I remember the first time I started noticing that my figure was different compared to the rest of the girls in fifth grade. They were all still flat chested when I had begun wearing training bras. It felt like I was an alien walking around trying to hide my chest under baggy shirts and sweatshirts.
It got worse when I started attending middle school. My friends were slim, tall, and athletically built. In comparison I was short, and a little on the chubbier side. It was a real blow to myself esteem when I noticed that the boys in our school paid them more attention then me. That’s when the battle with my body really begun.
Negative thoughts would always enter my head. Why can’t I be taller? Why can’t my stomach be more flatter? Why can’t I be more like them and less like me?
This kind of negative thinking is what led me to start seeking exercise videos, and to start cutting back on eating. I wanted to do everything in my power to look like the models, and my friends. All because that’s what I thought I had to look like.
When my body finally couldn’t take the stress I was putting it under, I remember just crashing hard. I was too tired to complete even the smallest of things like homework, and some days didn’t want to get out of bed. In combination with what society told me to look like I was lost and confused.
It was when I started high school that things began to change. I began to see more girls that were shaped like me, and some that were the complete opposite. When I joined the volleyball team it helped me to see that instead of being strict with crash diets and all else. That there was a healthy way to balance being in shape and eating right. I think this kind of gave me a boost to move towards a better mindset when it came to loving my body.
That’s why I am saying this now embracing your body shape is important for your health.
The way you view yourself can either help to drag you down, or boost you up. It’s not easy to shift from hating the way you look, to instantly loving yourself. However, I am here to say that if you continue to allow others to control how you live that you will never be happy. So put down the magazines, and start looking at the mirror.
That’s you, not the LA models or anyone else. You are just as beautiful, smart and everything else that they are. You just have to start looking past the negativity to see that.
Start thinking about things you can do to change your perspective.
A good way to distract yourself from negative thoughts, is to become completely confused on something else. So choose a goal you have always wanted to do. Be it weight loss, or just being able to run around the block.
Take at least 10 minutes out of your day and look into the mirror. While there try to state five things you love about yourself. Insecurities will start to become your strengths. Driving home why embracing your body shape is important to how you handle your mental and physical health.
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