I’ve spent a big chunk of my life with poor body image.
I once lived in terror of a number on a set of scales, stressing about a number that would either make me happy or bloody miserable. The results could ruin my day and leave me in tears, hating myself and all I was.
The best thing I ever did was to throw the scales out years ago. I have not looked back, and I’m declaring it’s time for us all to break up with the scales for good.
Yep, it’s time to free up some space on the bathroom floor. It’s time to stop the cycle of guilt and self-loathing. And it is time to start loving ourselves as we are.
It’s time to change our thinking, as we are torturing ourselves AND passing the wrong messages to our children. And kids being kids, well, they absorb everything from us adults!
Our unhealthy obsession with a number on a set of scales and the size of our clothes has carried us through the Twiggy era, the supermodel-obsessed 80s, the grunge ‘heroin’ chic 90s and beyond. And sure, we can be comforted by the body-positive movement, a shift in focus to plus size models, and the backlash against photo-shopping, but body image issues continue to wreak havoc with women AND men, and more disturbingly, girls and boys.
We are more than how much we weigh!
We’re more than a clothing size, a thigh gap, or whatever the latest ‘trend’ demands.
It’s time to acknowledge that real beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, genders and colours and is more than skin deep.
We need to celebrate and embrace who we are instead of criticising and ‘changing’ ourselves.
We need to celebrate our bodies’ journey and acknowledge that growing old is a privilege, not a curse.
And we need to aim for health rather than size or whatever we have been torturing ourselves to be!
I will no longer live my life obsessed with my weight. It’s time to stop obsessing and start living!
What about you?
