Happy SPRING! YAY! I am so excited for sunny weather, walks, summer nights, fresh peaches, mmmm...But it looks like its about that time where we get hounded with ads and commmercials about getting ready for swimsuit season and dropping pounds. So I thought it's a perfect time to combat the diet industy, who by the way doesn't really care about you're health, they just want your moolah, with a BODY IMAGE CHALLENGE!
So for the next 10 days I am going to do a BODY IMAGE CHALLENGE on this blog! Each night I will post a challenge for the next day! It seems like we are constantly bombarded with the lie that we are our appearance. The beauty industry thrives on making us feel bad about ourselves. Studies show that when you have a loving relationship with your body you will take better care of it. I am all about taking care of your body but there is a difference in exercising because you want to reward your body and feel energized vs. Exercising to just burn calories and lose weight. Its all about where your mindset and heart is. I really like this quote from "Beauty Redefined" (you can find a link to their website on the left side of the blog.
"Regardless of what you look like, or what you think you look like, you can feel good about yourself because you are not your appearance. Your body is an instrument you can use for good, not an object to be admired. Believing this is life-changing. Our culture teaches us to constantly picture ourselves from an onlooker's perspective and to gauge our worth based on what we and others think about our looks. This hurts us. This limits our ability to fully experience life and contribute good to a world that needs us – not just a pretty vision of us – but ALL of us. Want positive body image? USE your body! Swim, dance, run! Your body is an amazing instrument for your benefit, and not a burden in need of judging and fixing."
BODY IMAGE CHALLENGE DAY 1:
Write a list of 10 things you like about yourself that have nothing to do with your appearance.
Then write a list of 3 people you admire and why you admire them...does it have anything to do with their appearance? Strive to develop these qualities in yourself. Keep them as your role models instead of the photo shopped, unrealistic ideals of happiness in the media. Remind yourself that's not real life! Remind yourself that your loved ones love you regardless of your size/weight. If you respect and love your body as is, others will too. You're body is not a democracy your the only one who gets a vote.
:)
See you back here for Body Image Challenge Day 2!
I made my list! Ready for day two :)
ReplyDeleteThank you. My biggest challenge is being happy now and not waiting until I am skinny. Even at my thinnest, I will never be a size 2 and therefore see myself as fat. This year I have been working really hard to love where I am now. This helps immensely.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad this helped you, I think day 2 will help a lot with that too. As I have tried to shift my focus from the size of my body to how I FEEL and my true health it has helped me accept the weight that my body naturally wants to be at. I will never be one of those girls that can be a size 2, or even 4, with out losing my life in the pursuit of it. In fact, the majority of women are like that. The problem is, in the media we see the 3% who are like that and then the other 7% who have ED's. You can't ever look at someone and wish you could be as skinny as them because you don't know what they are doing/losing to get there. But their are those women who are naturally that small and are very healthy. They are the minority though. The media should definitly show more diversity in the sizes of women because we are each unique and different. I am so happy you are doing this challenge. It really helps me so I hope it helps you too!
ReplyDeleteI love this Meg! I have a Facebook fitness page, I'm a Beachbody Coach and I'm studying to be a personal trainer. And this is my goal, to help people, women/teen girls especially, learn to love themselves as they are and not compare themselves to others. I love fitness and know it helped me gain so much confidence and I want to help women learn how to make fitness and nutrition work for them in their lives. Would you care if I copy this Body Image Challenge and use it on my fitness page? I will give you credit and post a link to your blog.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn- Thank You! One of my best friends- Jessica Linskens- is a beachbody coach! Younger girls definitely need role models of people who don't compare themselves to the unrealistic ideals in the media and are happy and confident at a truly healthy weight! I would love for you to post this Body Image challenge on your fitness page :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI also wanted you to know I live in your Grandma Carolyn's ward and I absolutely love her and Ida Mae so much! They are both amazing women! You're lucky to have such wonderful woman like them in your life and I'm sure you have as much strength as they do!
ReplyDelete