Last night I went to a screening of a documentary called Embrace, about body image and confidence, in conjunction with This Girl Can and Active Life as they launch their new #shesready campaign which is aimed at getting women involved in volunteering and training in physical activities. This Girl Can is a campaign that celebrates active women who are doing their thing no matter how well they do it, how they look or even how red their face gets. I would like to caveat that this is not a subject just for females, it effects men too. Body demons can take hold of any of us and all too easily too if we let them, I know I have fallen foul to this and sometimes still do, which is a sad, but honest, reality.
The name of my blog is Fat Girl Fit and I am on a journey to get fit and lose weight so naturally the issue around body confidence is something that I can relate to personally though I I think the majority of people can if they are honest.
We live in a society that almost tells us how we should look, the ideal body shape and size, faddy diets to get them and worse. It is something that for many strikes a chord and can all too often quickly spiral for some and not always in a positive way. We all automatically assume that this is referring to overweight people but that is also not the case, it can have a huge impact also on those who are underweight and many other physical attributes too.
There are two quotes that you may have previously heard that hit the nail on the head in my opinion:
J K Rowling said ‘Is fat really the worst thing a human being can be? Is fat worse than vindictive, jealous, shallow, vain, boring, evil, or cruel? Not to me.’
Demi Lovato said ‘I’m not going to sacrifice my mental health to have the perfect body.’
You will have probably also heard this or something similar ‘You are not fat. You have fat. You also have fingernails, but you are not fingernails.’
And the above quotes are so true! More importantly I don’t want to brush over the topic of mental health and the link with this topic and associated consequences are extremely important and we should all take time for self love. It’s been refreshing to see so much over recent months on social media to increase awareness around mental health and I hope it continues. If you are nodding your head in agreement right now then virtual high five to you!
Why not try this – whenever you criticise yourself instead think of something you love about yourself. It is perfectly acceptable to love yourself, it’s not selfish. Take care of yourself and make your happiness a priority. Your attitude determines your direction so why not be body positive and it will create more positivity that your body will react to.
So I would like to take a moment to celebrate women and men of all body shapes and sizes. Hands up to those who are trying to love themselves in a world that is constantly telling them that maybe they shouldn’t be. And more to the point why are we trying to be perfect? Who is perfect? No one and that is ok – embrace the imperfections as they are what makes you you! Why not focus on what your body can do rather than just physical appearances for instance I have stretch marks (like I’ve been attacked by a lion) all over my stomach but I have a son and will take those stretch marks for that in a heartbeat – I carried another human being and that is pretty amazing.
Also think about those around you and what impression this leaves with them. Young children who will take note about whether it is good or bad to be short or tall, smaller or bigger, what colour eyes or hair you have. Remind them that it is all ok and that there are many parts of us all, that you cannot see, that make us beautiful. Speak to their hearts and give them that confidence too!
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