Body Image - Part 1

Over the past 20 years while leading health/fitness and nutrition workshops and seminars I have had many conversations with women. I even had chances to strike up conversations with women at the supermarket and at nail salons. Through these conversations I keep coming up with the same conclusion…that most women still do not feel good about themselves no matter what they look like.

One would think that even with magazines such as Figure and Bombshell, which are both marketed and geared toward larger women, some of the problem would have diminished. But I do not see it that way. What I see is just the opposite, in that today women actually have more anxiety about their bodies and weight even though we are now celebrating the shapely, curvy and voluptuous woman.

I still think it has not truly entered the cognitive part of most women's thinking processes. In other words, it is all talk and no one seems to be buying it. Most women still want to be thin but they do not want to be a size 4. While today the average woman is a size 14, a size 6 seems to be where most women might feel worthy and whole about themselves.

Being labeled Curvy seems to sound like a disease in some circles. I have never read a magazine that coined the word SHAPELY about a celebrity without it sounding like a dreadful disease. No wonder hardly anyone feels good about themselves. Well, I am so happy to say that I love my curves and celebrate them every day! I am a size 12 and more comfortable in my skin today than I have ever been.

That is not to say at my highest weight of 300 plus pounds; I celebrated my body because I did not. But I also did not walk around hating myself every day. Yes, I was depressed and sad and life seemed hopeless for the large part, but I also knew that I needed to change my thinking patterns about myself.

While there is still a stigma attached to larger women, girls, wake up and embrace your body and curves! It is all in how you think about yourselves, not who dictates what you should or need to look like. Stop letting others tell you that unless you are a size 2 or 4 you should feel good about yourself. You probably will never achieve this fantasy.

Today, take a deep breath and celebrate not only the woman you are but the woman you are destined to be.

Hugs,
Debra