I have heard so many sides to almost all of the stories. There are thousands of people, images, and industries telling you that you are FAT and imperfect. Every day. And not only do they tell you that you are fat, you are also ugly, obese, chunky, chubby and so on. But guess what!? We have a solution to all of your problems! If you only take this pill, run this marathon, workout, get of your ass, juice, eat clean, don't eat that-eat this, buy my supplements, buy my cookbook, buy boobs, get a tan, loose the muffin top, tattoo your stretch marks skin colour so you cant see them. Yep, that's a real thing.
There are two major things wrong with this. First, they make food the enemy. They tell you that everything you eat has too much sugar or fat. Too many calories, not enough kale! These industries who tell us we're fat have made it so confusing and overwhelming that we don't know what to eat anymore. We become a slave to scales and nutrition labels and calorie counting that we stop enjoying food. We spend half our life stressing over what we eat, and for what? Just eat real food. If It came from a lab, don't eat it. Simple as that.
Second, and more importantly, they tell you and convince you that you, as you are right now, cannot be accepted for who you are. You must improve. They make you feel like YOU are the enemy! You must be not working hard enough. You must not be eating right. You must not be taking care of yourself...So not only do they tell you that you are not accepted because you are fifteen pounds overweight, they are also making the whole world believe that if you don't look fit, you aren't fit. I so desperately want to change this in the world.
I am forty pounds overweight and all my life I have been told that my body wasn't good enough. I have worked out tirelessly on twenty different fitness plans, I have tried countless diets, I have compared my body and its thousand imperfections to thousands of magazine images of health and "happiness". Never quite feeling good enough. Even at my most fit, I never felt like I had arrived. One thing I did learn along the way though, was that I AM fit. I work out three or four times a week, I have the thighs of a Russian mud wrestler, I can run 5km and not die, I can swim in the ocean, ride my bike and play with my kids. I eat well too. I take care of my body by eating real food. I don't waste time calorie counting, and no I don't care. I drink enough water and no I will not shove that disgusting smoothie down my throat every morning. I wont drink kombucha,and yes I still eat chocolate!
The problem with this crazy world we live in, is that so many women don't believe they are fit, healthy, beautiful, sexy, smart, or talented. The real enemy here is anyone or anything that makes you think you not are perfect just the way you are. So join me. Be the example. Love your body, love you for everything you are, right now. Become a Booty Camp Girls Body Image Ambassador and be proud of who you are! Stop letting someone else tell you what fit, sexy, healthy and beautiful look like and decide it for yourself!
What a great blog! And it is sooo true! You are beautiful, I do admire you! And you sure rock in that burlesque! You got the move girl! Love: AK
ReplyDeleteThis resonates with me today after having a convo with my husband trying to explain to him why i dont want him to keep telling our young daughter that she is going to grow up to be a beautiful princess that has to find a prince. What a load of unnattainable bull crap! Raising a daughter is hard and important work and i so want her to grow up confidant and happy with who she is and what she looks like and to value her strengths like intelligence and kindness and empathy that mean so much more. With society (incl my hubby, her grandma etc etc) constantly sending messages that beauty and perfection are what is of most value it is an even harder job. But when i read your posts and can see your strength and beauty i feel like maybe she will be ok. So thank you for continuing to spread this important message Rachel! 💗
ReplyDeleteSo true! I deal with this almost everyday working with girls and ladies of all ages. There is so much pressure from society, media and even other women to be and look a certain way in order to fit into a preconceived notion of beauty. Our bodies are so much more than just what they look like. We are more than just what we look like. <3 Its hard not to fall victim to insecurity and fear but reminding ourselves and each other that we are beautiful exactly the way we are is a great way to fight back! Kepp up the good fight Rachel <3
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