Our society is so negative and judgmental, especially when it comes to appearance. We have shows about weight loss and plastic surgery. Do you ever see shows about people with Anorexia or Bulimia and people recovering? I have though about this a lot because I suffered from Anorexia for many years.
Why is it that media only exploits people that are “Over Weight”? Eating disorder just like people come in many different shapes and sizes. It seems to me, society has made it acceptable to have Anorexia but not the other end of the spectrum. Is it fine if you have an eating disorder, as long as it makes you thin? I guarantee the the majority of people in Hollywood suffer from some form of eating disorder. Healthy comes in all shapes and sizes, but it seems that society shows that the normality should be a size 0. This goes for men as well, you don’t have to have a 6 pack to be attractive.
Being healthy and what that looks like may be difficult to grasp at first. It has taken me a lot of time to get used to my healthy body. I got rid of almost everything from my Anorexic past. I got rid of pictures, clothes and anything that helped destroy me. I do not wear a size triple 0 anymore, I am a healthy size 5. I am a mother of two amazing children and I tell myself daily that, if I were still that size I would not have my kids.
I eat what I want in healthy portions and do not deprive myself from what I enjoy. The most important things you can do for yourself is to do what makes you happy. If that slice of cake looks good then eat it. If you take care of yourself and are active than that piece of cake is not going to make one bit of difference to your weight.
Everyday tell yourself something positive about yourself. Even on my days that I am struggling with my body image I try to find at least one or two things that I like about myself. I make sure to remind myself of these things throughout the day. You can even try writing them down to look at. Seeing the positive remarks can help make it a reality in your mind. You can start to change your thoughts into positive instead of negative.
A huge thing that will help and this may sound strange, but wearing clothes that fit is important. I know it may be hard to deal with going up or down a size. Do not try to wear clothes that do not flatter your figure. If you are in denial and you try to wear your jeans from when you were 20 ,most likely, they are not going to fit the same. Why not wear clothes that fit you and when you look in the mirror you do not see your love handles going over the top of your jeans? You get see your beautiful figure.
We are all judgmental in some way shape or form. Try not judging others and try focusing on yourself on the inside. We do not know what someone is going through or what they have gone through. I saw an article about this woman who was captured in the “People of Walmart” jokes. People go around and take pictures of people in Walmart and make fun of them. Well there was this woman on a scooter cart and she had fallen over. This woman ended of seeing this photo of herself and responded back with a story that will make you think how you view others.
She goes on to explain that she had a lifetime illness that causes her to have severe back problems. In turn she cannot be active because of this and has made her out of shape. The story just made me take a step back and think of how many times I have laughed at the ” The People of Walmart” posts. I was ashamed and realized that I need to not look at someone and judge them based on looks alone.
If we focus on the inside and making ourselves beautiful on the inside. We will be more attractive than someone if we just focus on the outside. I am more happy now than I ever was being “thin”.
