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Monday Musings: Body Image

likeafinevino

Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought, “Damn, look at me!  I’m so sexy!”

Nope.  Haven’t done that.

I look back at images at myself when I was young and thin and even back then, I always thought there was something wrong with my body.  I see my daughters doing the same thing.  Why do women do this?  I just shake my head at myself, along with all the other women I see criticizing themselves.  We’re all so beautiful and strong in our own individual amazing ways.

I have noticed that as I get older, there has been an increase in my self-confidence.  More often than not, I look in the mirror and like what I see.  I’ve worked my ass off (literally) through running and strength training, along with healthy eating.  It has paid off.  I feel strong and healthy.  Yesterday my daughters and I decided to sit outside and soak up some sun and I put on a two-piece bathing suit.  As soon as I walked out, both of my daughters exclaimed, “Mom!  You’re so skinny now!”  I probably looked at them like they were crazy – or blind – but part of me was grinning ear-to-ear.  And then, of course, both girls started talking about how they need to lose weight.  I told them to stop it, they’re both beautiful, but isn’t that what all of us women tend to do?  Put down ourselves?  We need to be thinner.  We need to be prettier.  We need to be smarter.

A friend of mine recently said it best.  She stated on Facebook:

“Why do I think I need to be smaller and take up less space? I’m 5’11” and somewhere between 160 and 165 lbs. If I was a man, I’d be just fine but because I’m a woman, my “ideal”weight is lower. Well that’s just bull…so I’m focusing on muscle, strength, allowing myself to take up space and be enough exactly where I’m at. It’s hard as hell to be a woman…we have so much placed on us…so we really need to lift one another up…encourage each other. We are enough.”

Fist bump, Angelina!  You’re so right!  I think as women, we really do need to be each other’s strongest support system!  I think instead of focusing so much on our weight, we need to focus on our health.  As women, let’s be strong, energetic, and healthy, whether we are a size 16 or 2.

Stand in front of the mirror and strike your best super hero pose, get out there, and kick some ass, ladies!

Strong Women

12 thoughts on “Monday Musings: Body Image”

  3. There ARE times I look in the mirror and feel sexy and good about myself. And there are definitely times I don’t.

    I ran in a bra and running skirt today. Granted, inside, with no one to see me, but believe me, for me that wasn’t easy. I wasn’t struck by lightning by daring to bare my middle, I mostly forgot about it while I was running (but afterwards is a different story), and no running police came and hauled me off the treadmill. 🙂

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  5. I have had a few times in the last few years that I thought I looked damn sexy! haha Maybe a few times when I was young. Not long ago, I felt skinny and pretty all day. I thought I was boss! I went back to our warehouse scales and weighed 7 lbs more than I thought I did. It crushed me. I felt fat and miserable the rest of the day. That’s just weird. So what I think is sexy is more how you feel. From now on, if I feel like I am a hot woman, I won’t weigh. On the other hand, I do think women and men should care more. It seems that obese people are completely happy with their weight and teaching your kids…you are fat but beautiful. That’s great but I think those parents should talk to their kids more in respect to it’s unhealthy. You can be the most beautiful person inside but obese is not pretty for your health. 🙂 Tammy, you are sexy and your daughters too. 🙂

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    1. I think that part of being healthy and kind to our bodies involves acceptance and self-love, though, don’t you think? I think that any woman who learns to love herself is going to decide that she wants to be healthy and strong; once that decision is made and implemented, the weight loss is just a given. According to my BMI, I’m overweight, can you believe that? But I’m not overweight, I just happen to weigh at a number that puts me in the overweight category. Screw the BMI chart! What the hell does it know? Does it know that I went out for a 3-mile run last night, even though it was muggy and hot outside and I would have rather been inside in the AC drinking a glass of wine? Does the scale know the year of hell I went through last year with Kayla’s cancer and that yeah, I gained 10 lbs from the stress, but I bounced back and said F%CK YOU, life, but I am strong and I am going to run another marathon in a few months? I think that all of us women are strong AND SEXY enough to overcome anything and we need to just put our health first. And when our daughters see us doing that, then they learn to do that, too! Women will rule the world someday, and it will be a fine, sexy world when that happens! 🙂

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      1. You are right! I don’t pay attention anymore to BMI. I do agree think it is great for kids and particularly daughters to have a good role model who cares about health and not so much about weight. I just see so many obese kids that it breaks my heart. I wish my mom had talked to me about how my weight was making me not as healthy. There is a fine line to make your kids feel beautiful no matter what size and not neglecting that being obese makes the quality of their life worse. You went through so much stress and bounced back. You are a great role model for your girls. Women are awesome. What would the world do without us? 🙂

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