"What you think of me is none of my business"...

    The importance of self esteem, self acceptance and internal beauty is a subject that has been written about in every magazine possible and talked about in therapy a million times over  I am sure.   (Insert p.s. this will be more of a rant...so if you want to skip my tirade scoot down to the links at the bottom that are SO worth reading! ) Ridiculously they usually have the thinnest woman with the most perfect skin on the cover.  Or how about the super lean muscled up man in his underwear (which I totally enjoy so don't get me wrong) on the cover of a mens health magazine and then an article inside about how you can still be healthy and be a clydesdale size guy?  This world is consumed with physical appearances.  We are exercising 5-7 days a week for hours at a time, running miles and miles trying to shed a tiny pound (BAD idea by the way), buying the most trendy clothes, having dangerous surgeries, eating NON food diet programs and going into debt to keep up appearances.   It's a list as long as my arm.....and its not changing anytime soon.
   
     How did we stray so far from the things that are most important?  I used to think the important "life" list was similar for most humans:  family, friends, happiness in a career and a healthy body...but I am starting to doubt it.    I know of people who spend hours shopping for the most perfect outfit for their kid yet complain they "don't have enough time" to cook a healthy meal for their family.  How about the women who say they can't afford organic food but they spend hundreds of dollars on clothes, nails and hair?  These are usually the same women who end up popping diet pills or going on some fad caffeine laden diet that causes even more irritability, eventual weight gain and even depression.  Where are our priorities!!!??

     Another  question I have is "Why is THIN and SKINNY considered a compliment??"  When I was my thinnest a couple years ago I got more compliments than I have ever gotten.  "You look so SKINNY!  What do I have to do to look like that?"  At first it felt good to hear these things....but then I realized  how twisted it was that people thought I looked good because I was thin?  WTH?  Never mind that I work hard at eating right, I move my body in a healthy way and try to enjoy my life.

    I train beautiful women of all shapes and sizes every day and I know I see them in a totally different way then they see themselves.  I see strong, hard working, kind and funny women yet I hear "I hate my stomach, how can I get rid of this flabby arm etc".  I wish I could help them see how their beauty shines through in so many ways.   A healthy image of ourselves is so much more important than what other people think of us yet that is what most women focus on...."what others will think".  I can't remember where I read this before but it's one of my favorite quotes "What other people think of me is none of my business".  I don't want to know if you think I have gained weight (I have...damn peri menopause!), or if I look tired, or if my clothes are from Target (many times they are!).  I don't really care....because to me....it's more important if I am kind, generous, helpful, compassionate, hard working and invested in my relationships.  I think I am all of those things...and what I wear and what I weigh doesn't make me any less of any of them.

     I am working harder at self acceptance myself...we all have room for improvement there...no matter our weight, clothing choice or how ragged our nails are.  The reason I wanted to address this subject briefly is because I am sick and tired of the world around us determining how we feel about ourselves and putting my frustrations in writing is always helpful for me.  I hope anyone who reads this will sit in self acceptance every day if even for a few minutes and be grateful and kind to yourself.    A couple great articles in the links below may help you to do just that!

Why women need fat


A refreshing post!



In health,

Cfh