Real People, Real Bodies

Usually I talk about fitness, but today I want to talk about body image and acceptance. These may sound like conflicting topics, but I promise you that they are not.

As I've said in previous posts, I want to adopt a healthy lifestyle and drop the weight for health reasons mostly. I love my body and accept it for what it is. The message I want to send today is to LOVE your body. Love your body so much that you want it to be healthy. Look at your body: it's size, shape and weight. Accept it. Embrace it. Love it. Love it so much, that you are willing to do whatever it takes to make it healthy and do what is best for it.

That being said...

I've heard that a lot of people have warped images of both their own bodies and what an average person's body is. In fact, I've heard this so often, I figure I would be immune to it.

I'm shocked to report that:

I HAVE A WARPED BODY IMAGE.


I came across an amazing project that collects photos of women of all shapes and sizes. You enter your height and weight, and body shape if you choose. Then you are shown photos of women that are about the same size and shape that you are.

I was AMAZED at the beautiful women that appeared when I entered my stats! I could hardly believe that I was the same size!

Too see just how warped my body image was, I added weight to the photo searches until I found photos that I thought looked like me. Turns out my body image was off by 10-20lbs. For a woman as short as me, that is a HUGE amount! I encourage you to check it out and see if your own body image is distorted.


This topic reminded me of something I saw a few months ago, the xoJane Real Girl Belly Project. One of the editors sent out a request to the website's followers: submit photos of their bellies as they are. No sucking in! The response was amazing! Taking photos of myself (and my belly) for my first weigh-in was kind of tough. The courage and pride exhibited by these woman is so inspiring! Visit the site yourself and let me know what you think. Would you be willing to share a photo of your belly for all to see?


Final Thought:

source: Nike

Embrace your body. Even if you have a long road to being fit, remember that it is YOUR BODY that will take you down that road.