I have been insecure about my body since I was 11 years old and started noticing boys. Yes, my body image was linked to the interest that the opposite sex had on me. It has been a struggle not to feel inadequate with my belly, my thighs, my face and my entire body.
I’ve noticed lately that the body positive movement is saying goodbye to body shaming and I find it enlightening. Suddenly I found myself today at the grocery looking at other women’s bodies and instead of thinking “oh she really should lose some weight” or “oh she should wear something less revealing” I just thought, you know something? All these women are beautiful, no matter what, they are a reflection of beauty no matter what they wear or how much they weigh or how their bodies sag or hang or glisten. Every single woman in this grocery has a story inside and I have no right to judge any more.
Now for my own body it is still hard. I still have to admit that I see myself in the mirror and wish “if only I was 10 pounds lighter, I would be happy with my body.”
It’s a struggle, but I’ll get there. I will get to love my body the way it is now and I will love it unconditionally, and I will take care of my body because I know it’s the body I have in this life but I will not starve myself or hurt myself anymore, ever again, because it’s just not worth it.
Of course I believe in eating healthy and working out but I just don’t need it to define me. I am me, all me, love handles or not.
