Nothing makes me madder than this anorexic mannequin showing off a swim suit in a boutique I was in on a recent trip to Palm Springs. When I saw it, I quickly grabbed my iPhone to snap a shot for you. Because you must hear me! You don’t need this or any emaciated model or airbrushed ad to be your ideal. Women (and men), you need to stop obsessing with being skinny (or buff or perfect) and start enjoying where you are now. You know me! I certainly do not look like this. I like to be lean. But there is not one ounce of me that is perfect. And while I fluctuate a good five pounds (and a size in a pair of jeans) I do not live under the pressure of these stupid unrealistic ideals anymore. Did you hear me? I said “anymore.”
Yes, I used to live under those pressures. The feeling was, the skinnier the better. And I was skinny! I was a hanger. I felt powerful in my skinniness. Until I ate one extra morsel of food and then it was doomsday. I felt fat. I felt miserable. I felt defeated. (But I was still “skinny” only I didn’t know it).
I am not sure what happened to me. I think it was three fold. I realized God was more important to me than how thin my thighs were. I had a baby and lost all of my body for about 18 months and I lost all ability to find power and self worth in something that wasn’t there. (Let’s face it. When you breastfeed you are not your own). And then, I just grew up. I grew up and realized that my husband loved me- even with a little extra jiggle. I grew up and realized that people loved me skinny or not. I grew up and realized that I was growing up and letting life slip me by being bound by the thought “I will be happy when I finally get into a size ___”… That size was always changing. But not anymore.
I know, some of you think- she’s thin, and I am not. I get that. But you have to understand that we are all in our own skin and if you really saw me- saw me in the natural- you would see that there isn’t anything perfect about me. And some people are skinnier than I am and I am skinnier than others. The point is, we’re all different and you need to accentuate your assets and love yourself the way God made you!
Don’t get me wrong. I love to work out and work on my body. If I cannot button my skinny jeans, it’s a sign that I need to lean out. I love to eat healthfully and will totally deny myself cake and beer and pizza when I know I need to eat salad because I still want to look my best. But my best isn’t some unattainable goal. My best (and your best) is accepting that no one is perfect. And there is freedom in that.
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