This image was hard for me to share. First, I could point out a million things wrong with it and a million things that I hate about it. Every single one of those things don’t actually have anything to do with the image itself , so much as about myself. That’s when I realized how much self hate I really had ,and how I’m always encouraging other women to love themselves and love their bodies.
It was a spontaneous trip with my bestie to the beach . We had both been battling some stress lately and just needed to find that inner peace again . I always find that in three places . My husband , my best friend, and the ocean. We let ourselves feel free and just soaked in the summer sun , the sound of the waves and the happiness of summer . But in the back of my mind there were these thoughts tickling my consciousness.
These images and this day made me realize how much of my life I had put on hold because of what society told me. Society told me that because I was bigger, because I was curvier, I was not allowed to go to the beach. I couldn’t wear bathing suits and I would never look cute in summer clothes. Society told me that I should not vacation to warm locations because I would never be able to dress in cute summer clothes and therefore would never enjoy myself. Society told me that I couldn’t go rock climbing or that I couldn’t go hiking. The WORST part of what society told me was that I listened to that lie.
Early this year I was diagnosed with health condition which cause a hormonal imbalance. This imbalance can cause many health issues. One of which is weight gain and difficulty losing weight. At first I was crushed , now I will never have the body I want I told myself . But somehow it made me feel better . Knowing there was a reason for my body to always be fighting me somehow brought me comfort instead of feeling like I was going crazy.
I realized that I wasn’t going to let my body hold me back from the things that I wanted out of life. I would spend time thinking about all the things that I wanted to do and I would never do them because I felt like my pudge would rub or whatever stupid things I made up in my head. Someday when I got skinny I would go do those things and I realized that I was wasting my life.
So this year is the year I decided to take control of my body. I spent the whole year being healthier and working on my lifestyle. Learning to be thankful for the body that I have. I started to thank my body for the things that I could do.
Thank you, body for keeping me healthy.
Thank you, body for this beautiful skin with its unique imperfections .
Thank you, body for putting up with all of the things that I have put inside of you.
Once I started thinking like that I was able to change what I put inside my body.Once I started being thankful for the body that I had, I realized that I didn’t actually know HOW to take care of my body. I knew it was possible, but I also knew that if I went searching on the internet. I would likely find some crash diet that promised results, but I may never be able to hold on to them.
So I embarked on a mission to find health and I came across Maria from Vitalia Nutrition . you might recognize her from some of the blog posts that we did together and I did her eight week program and it changed my life.
This year I am dedicated to giving the power back to myself , as well as helping others to take the power back for themselves .
We have the power to take control of our lives and change the parts that we hate. Stop believing the lies that society force feeds you . You have the power to See Yourself Free.