Can you guess the one thing each of these girls would say if you asked them how they thought they look?
.... fat!
When I look back on these photos now I would give my right arm to be that weight again.. (my first thought right now is if I give my right arm maybe I won't eat as much and it will help me get to that weight?). I've been told lots of lovely things in my life but I know the things that have stuck the most are the negative ones. Such as, how big and crooked my nose is or that I shouldn't wear t-shirts because my arms are too fat or 'you might lose some weight if you stop eating cheese at lunchtime'...
There are so many articles, blogs, documentaries and movies that focus on women's bodies, looks, fashion and body image. Instruction on what we should look like in terms of our weight, bust size, number of wrinkles, our clothes and everything else are on every second television commercial or newspaper ad!... and I've read a WHOLE lot of them. Drop 5kgs in 5 weeks! or How to flatten your tummy by Friday! or even the rational non-fad articles about eating healthy and doing regular exercise. Right now I want to lose at least 11kgs. I have lost that much weight before.. in 3 months even! and I wasn't even working out like crazy, I was just watching what I ate. I've been trying to lose weight for the last year and am actually like 5kgs heavier than I was right after our wedding (when I still wanted to lose about 6-7kgs). I really don't understand why it's so hard this time...
I readily admit I don't have a good self image. I have a hard time accepting compliments, especially from my husband. I use excuses in my head that he's biased. That considering he proposed when I was about 3-4kgs heavier than I am now I think I can't listen to him because he'll love me regardless.
I was reading this article on Blogher. Did you know that 97% of women have at least one 'I hate my body moment' each day... on average, they have 13! and some have up to as many as 100 hateful thoughts about their shape each day! I was shocked not only at the statistics but that it was like I was reading about myself...and how much I know that if I'm lucky to have a daughter one day I don't want to influence her to have negative thought processes about herself. I want to teach the children I'll have one day to love themselves, just they way they are. I guess I need to just work harder on getting it right myself first!
So from now on, I'm going to make sure that at least 2 times a day I'm going to say something good to myself. I don't know what it will be but I think it's time for some positive thoughts don't you?
Oh and here's a link to a song I really like (yes it's the glee version - don't hate) and the meaning has been in line with my thoughts lately. It's been helping me turn my thoughts into positives ones... although there is one heck of a long way to go!