Motivation Monday and Body Image

Monday Monday Monday.  We meet again.

Via

Well, I'm sure you've no one has noticed my absence.  I've been SICK.  I worked out three days last week, and aaaall weekend I laid around in my pj's and ate a lot of carbs.  It was awesome.

Via

So I think instead, today I want to talk a little bit about something that's been on my mind lately.

I had a whole post about my goals for the rest of the year planned.  But I've had something else on my mind, and I can't stop thinking about it.  So, I'm gonna ramble about it and hopefully I won't bore you to tears.

Body image.  So much to talk about in two simple words.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I can personally vouch for thinking about my body's appearance on a daily basis.  MULTIPLE times a day.  Some examples:

Getting up in the morning and weighing yourself
Being in front of a mirror
Getting dressed (does this or that make me look fat?)
Seeing other women in person (work, grocery story, gym..)
Seeing other women on tv
Seeing other women in a magazine
After eating a giant meal
After eating a small meal
Eating dessert
Working out


Obviously this is an extensive list, and, like I stated before I'm only speaking about myself, all of these don't happen every day.  They definitely occur more times than I would like.

I believe we live in a society where we are FORCED to think about our bodies constantly.  We are constantly assaulted with pictures of celebrities, models, etc that have "the perfect body."

UGH- let's get one thing out of the way right meow.  Those pictures?  PHOTOSHOPPED!  Those ladies at awards shows?  They've been on water cleanses and are wearing 5 different Spanx.

The thing that honestly scares me so much about all of this, is for this lady:

I am terrified for her to grow up in a world where you have to be a certain size/weight/height to be considered "beautiful."

B bear, if you ever read this 20 years from now, please know that you are, and always will be, absolutely perfect.  Just the way you are.

And I wish that every girl would grow up thinking that way.  I hope to try and have B grow up confident and comfortable in her own skin.

Watching your weight and exercising are wonderful.  They help make you a strong, healthy person.  But when you let those things consume you... have them be at the center of your thoughts and actions on a daily basis, THAT is when you stop enjoying life.  You become a slave to the unrealistic goal of photoshopped models and eating disordered celebrities.

I'm not saying that all women who are famous are this way.  Many of them eat right, work hard, and have been blessed with awesome genes and metabolisms :)  The point I'm trying to make, is that I wish there were more "normal sized" celebrities.  That when someone famous gains ten pounds, they aren't labeled as "fat" and criticized incessantly.  That their art/craft/music was the focus, instead of the number on their scale.

Two celebrities in particular that have gotten dumped on by the media semi recently:

Ashley Judd.  Christina Hendricks.

Annnnnyway, I just had to get that off my chest. 

If you're reading this- YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL!  And if you want to change, change for yourself, no one else.

Catch ya soon!