As I approach another birthday I am feeling blessed to have 39 years of life experience to celebrate. It’s so humbling to think about how God has given me all these years of life. It is equally as powerful to live everyday in this perspective. And it’s a reminder to not take one single second for granted. Most specifically, my body.
Loving your body is a journey worth walking.
Today I want remind us to celebrate our body, all it has done for us, and all we can do for it. I wish I could take back every time I ridiculed my body. I wish I could take back the times I felt like I had to hide, cover up, alter, suck in, or flatten. I realize though that those experiences were all part of this journey and helped me to get to the confidence I have today. But man, I wish I was kinder to myself during all of those years.
Here are a few lessons I have learned in life so far, and I hope they bring you encouragement to embrace & nourish every single inch of your beautiful – powerful body.
1| YOU ARE IN CONTROL
For me this was the most powerful message I needed to hear and remind myself of every single day. It is solely my responsibility to take care of myself physically & mentally.
2| Celebrate Yourself
How come we aren’t celebrating ourselves more often? We spend a lot of time cheering on others, we need this kind of loving too. As silly as this might sound I started talking to myself and it was life changing. Saying things like “Hello legs, way to just get me up that hill while carrying a 4 year old!” or “Hey stretch marks and extra skin, thank you for reminding me every day that you worked so hard to bring two human lives into this world!”
3| Understand Your Body
Get to know your body and use it as your baseline for everything. This saves you money, time, and helps you overcome the comparison trap. Just because it works for one person does not mean it will or should work for you. We are so uniquely designed that we simply can not measure ourselves against anyone else.
4| Social Media Isn’t The Whole Truth
We make a choice to share the best parts of the life we are living. Me included. There is so much going on behind the scenes that I do not share publicly. The biggest realization I came to over the years is that we are all struggling with our body in some way. Body image issues are not exclusive to one type of person. When you see the highlights of someone’s life remind yourself that there is so much more to the story.
So when you see me share my favorite bathing suit picture, showing off the toned parts of my body, just know that for each one of those pictures I also have the pictures of my hand pressing against my extra thigh skin – like the one above or my belly rolls that you will see in number 7.
PS: Lighting and angles are the ultimate tricksters
5| Learn The Science of Your Body
Diets, supplements, food trends, you name it. We have these things flying in front of us every minute. Please take my advice, learn from my experience, and avoid self diagnosis. Take the time to have blood work done and talk to a doctor. Knowing what you are deficient in, sufficient in, and everything in between is what you should use as a guiding post. For me, I learned that my body was nutrient sufficient and that my problem was actually a white blood cell & gut bacteria issue. Now I am able to tackle the situation appropriately! So when I come across a product promotion that claims to be the next best thing … I don’t jump and buy this said miracle worker … I use the science of my body & guidance from my naturopath – to determine what is best for me.
6| Judgement Free
I wish I could take judgement and throw it off of the face of the Earth. Not just judgement others cast upon us but also the judgement we cast upon ourselves. Oooh it’s a cruel cruel summer [thanks Tswift] when we have to put on our bathing suits and head out into the public eye. Here’s a tip from my 39 year old self, GO OUT AND ROCK THAT BODY OF YOURS! What a beautiful gift to put on a bathing suit and enjoy God’s blessings like the sand and the sea. We put on our suits to enjoy these blessings – that’s it! It’s not a competition of bodies. It’s an enjoyment of life. Not everyone will think like this – but you can!
7| Try Not to Take Life Too Seriously
I used to think that if you didn’t take something seriously than you didn’t care. Then I got into my 30’s and realized I was full of it. Truth. I’ve experienced babies being born, family and friends passing away, and CrockPot molten lava cake. I mean, highs and lows, right? I have enjoyed eating healthy and exercising but I have also enjoyed laying on the couch eating Cheezits binge watching The Office. My point is to live however you see best for you. Whatever season you are in, roll with it. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. Do your best to love yourself, love one another, and be grateful for the life you were given.
