With the emergence of a New Year there is always self-reflection, and the internal battle on making healthier lifestyle choices. Which is why we’re talking body love… We tend to forget all of these things after a few months, but start to revisit them when it gets hotter outside and we have to put on the dreaded swimsuit… There is often the struggle with feelings of ‘living a healthy lifestyle’ vs the ‘I love me the way I am’ mindset on living with obesity, or close to it.
It is an often cloudy line between rationalizing our excessive weight or staying in denial about the health risks of being overweight, and completely basing our self worth on body image and an image society places on us. Which mindset is right?? Can our lives really improve by losing weight? This is such a complicated question and one that doesn’t have a clear, definitive answer. I will tell you my feelings on this issue…
There is a fine line between self acceptance at a healthy weight and self acceptance at an unhealthy weight… Positive body image is ideal and body shaming is never ok, but we also have to keep a realistic mindset about what IS a healthy weight. American women strive to attain a certain size or fit a certain image and we absolutely, positively place too much of our self worth on body image.
At the same time, there is a new generation of women who are loving their bodies and their curves. This can be a healthy outlook on life IF these women are maintaining a healthy lifestyle. All of us should be eating a balanced diet full of whole foods like complex carbs and lean proteins and healthy fats and doing regular, moderate exercise , despite what size or shape we are or what size or shape we are trying to attain. A healthy, balanced, nutritious way of life should be the standard of which we gauge our quality of life, not what shape or size we are. Living healthfully trumps all other images or social stigmas that are impressed upon us by the media or society.
So instead of choosing “what size do I want to be”, take inventory of your lifestyle and make appropriate changes on your eating habits, stress level, activity levels and social life. Small changes can be the difference maker that shifts your mindset, moving it from being so focused on achieving a number on a scale, to loving your body and your life because you are living as healthfully as you can, and you feel amazing and strong. It’s time to be more pragmatic about our so-called self worth when it comes to body image, and make practical changes to improve our quality of life and longevity, rather than the number on the scale.
