Comfortable with the skin you are in
After 30+ years in this body, I am getting used to it. I am learning, just like everyone else, to love it and be thankful for what I have been given. The emergence of this Me who is content with herself, doesn't mean that I don't strive to fix my little (or BIG) imperfections, just that I accept them while I work on them. Accept that I am not, nor will ever be, 20 again, and that is OK. I strive for balance and health.
I have never suffered from any great body image pitfalls, and I believe part of that was because, growing up my mother never focused on her outside, and always taught us it was what was in the inside that really counted.
Having a little girl I find that I strive even harder to be happy with my body, and feel comfortable in my own skin. I try to be healthy in all aspects of my life and to promote love and beauty from within. As I am getting older, being "healthier" is of more importance to me for a multitude of reasons. I focus more on being healthy and fit than on being "skinny". I won't lie and say that I've never wished of looking like Megan Fox or anyone else with a hot body etc, but I don't have TV and have never been "enamored" by the stars, really, so being fit is more for me and my enjoyment of what I can do with this body (ie climb the stairs without panting, run around with my 4yr old, go hiking with ease, kickboxing, windsurfing, etc).
Having said that I think those teenage years are hard on girls, so I am trying to instill a sense of beauty from within as well as a desire of health in my little girl to give her the tools she needs to brave those tween years with strength and the least amount of pitfalls. The rise of eating disorders is scary! And maybe I can impart a bit of what I have now learned on to her. But most importantly I believe she, as well as others, need role models that are comfortable in their own skin. And role models whom promote balance and health. All things in moderation, is a good motto.
Are you comfortable in the skin you are in?
Comments
So glad to see this post.
For much of my life, i have been a "husky" "chunky" "pleasantly plump" girl. When I was 13 i ended up at Weight Watchers only to gain 5 pounds!
Somehow, although i too wouldn't complain if my body was like the latest celebrity, i always loved my body. I felt that it was strong, healthy, and for the most part beautiful..(minus the stretch marks on the upper thighs...heehee) but other than than, all good, in fact, all great! I would actually thank my dad for that. He always said that it didn't matter what you looked like, as long as you were good and nice.
Which, i think i am ;-)
And now, as a pregnant woman, i feel stronger, beautiful, and more in love with my body than ever before.
Thanks for the great post!
I've lived with a funhouse mirror in my head for too long...with God's help, I'm letting it go. Going for strenth and health instead, and it only took me, well, almost 50 years!
It is so important to provide strong, healthy role models for our young girls. Mine is only 3 but I worry about her teen years constantly. I can only hope that I give her the tools to be able to fight her way through those years of teen angst and peer pressure.
Thanks for sharing this!
I really appreciate you sharing this...it's definitely something I'd like to work on.
Liked your post, very positive.
I'm decidedly not comfortable with the skin I'm in. I've struggled with that all my life, and my family was not a very big help either. I was doing SlimFast when I was in SIXTH GRADE and my mom didn't stop me.
The thinnest I've been was when I was 18-19 and weighed between 125-130 pounds. I thought I was a hog back then. Now I WISH I weighed that little. It drives my boyfriend nuts because no matter what, I'm always going to have this awful, skewered vision of myself. I'm never happy. :(
It is so very important to be comfortable in our skin! We spend entirely too much time worrying about how we look...there is too much life to be lived without wasting all that time with worry. I do think we need to work at healthy but ultimately, happy is the best...my new life motto is "love it or lump it"!
Tamara G. Suttle, M.Ed.,LPC
http://www.AllThingsPrivatePractice.com
http://www.TamaraSuttle.com
High-fives!
Do I feel comfortable in my skin? Overall, yes. But I have my down days. Our culture is tough on us in this regard. It's a life learning process, I think.
Love to you and all the other ladies out there.
<3
Rock on with the good example, Kelly! ;D
Corine :)