Do You Struggle With Your Body Image?
Posted by: Simcha Whitehill
Filed in:
news
3:30PM, Wednesday March 11th 2009
“Do You Struggle With Your Body Image?” If you answer Margaret Ruth’s question with a “No,” you’re either a robot or a liar. But according to this guru, weight loss may have more to do with what’s in your heart rather than what’s in your stomach.
The truth is, even a large-and-in-charge girl, like myself, can still look in the mirror after packing on a winter’s worth of extra pounds and frown. Now, I know this happens every year after the holidays, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking I’ve discovered some new formations of cellulite. Heck, maybe I should just get an astronomer to draw a map of the dimples in my thighs, that way I’ll know next year for sure if something has changed! But it’s that kind of negative thinking that is keeping me from being happy with myself and is even wrecking my ability to makes the changes I want.
According to Ruth, “The fastest way to get the body shape you like is to like the body shape you have. The clearest way to get the body shape you love is to love the exact shape of it now.” When you hate the way you look, you become insecure. When you doubt yourself, it then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, as you set unattainable goals and “fail” at reaching them—and the effects can be seen everywhere from your past to your behind. If you accept yourself, in your rawest form, than nothing you do, whether it’s gain or lose weight, can destroy your value and feelings of self-worth. And seriously, should a couple of gooey, delicious Twinkies be able to do that kind of damage?
Besides, anyone who has ever tried meeting people at a bar can tell you, no one body type, group of facial features or any of that other surface level stuff is sexy to everyone. Sometimes the most busted looking ho wins the heart of the gorgeous hottie you had your eye on all night! Clearly, attraction is individual. Some people just don’t think tall skinny blondes are all that, just like some people aren’t into short, fat, loud mouth sex bloggers. Hey, to each their own! But just like RuPaul says every week on his “Drag Race,” “If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?!” Ruth takes it one-step further—if you don’t think you’re worthy, how are you ever going to do something for yourself?
So, let’s start there. Our first fitness goal, as we head into springtime’s strapless dresses and eventually bikini season, is to just like the way we look, winter weight and all.
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hawaiianpeach
wrote on March 11 2009 @ 03:38 pm: [report]
Well isn’t this the rhetorical question of the day?
CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on March 11 2009 @ 03:47 pm: [report]
Rhetorical, yes. Applicable, yes. Needless, yes.
fallenangel915
wrote on March 11 2009 @ 03:56 pm: [report]
Indeed. Even some slim, cute/pretty women have some kind of body image issue. Maybe she has a pimple on her ass or an ugly mole on her nipple…you definitely don’t have to be overweight to be insecure about your body. As for me, I’ve gained and lost, lost and gained a total of 100 pounds over the past 6 years, and I am no stranger to body image issues. However, I am more sure of myself now, at 27 years old and 210 pounds, than I was at 18 years old and 150 pounds.
dirtyboots
wrote on March 11 2009 @ 07:19 pm: [report]
Every girl I know has body issues, myself included. It’s just how much you let them affect you that matters. If it’s stopping you from enjoying your life, then you gotta figure out whatever you can to get over that and start livin’ it up!
EarthGoddess
wrote on March 11 2009 @ 08:28 pm: [report]
Yet another benefit of marriage ... I only need to worry about 1 man’s opinion of my body, and he’d keep me in bed morning, noon and night if he could! He can’t get enough of me, even though I think I’m hideous ...
Michelle
wrote on March 11 2009 @ 11:13 pm: [report]
Yes, everybody has body issues, and when we happen to meet someone who considers herself perfect (or says so) we immediately think she’s delusional. Finding balance is hard to achieve, loving oneself is the only way to solve the dilemma, but asking ourselves for real help and not just judging ourselves is so difficult. BTW, I also happen to have a loving man by my side, a man who loves me for who I am and for what keeps my heart beating and my soul breathing, but that’s not the point, it is MY idea of myself and MY opinion of my body the one that causes the problems, not his.
Chelle
wrote on March 12 2009 @ 07:31 pm: [report]
Man do I wish I didn’t have body image issues as a teenager. If I didn’t I could have enjoyed my lack of stretch marks, saggy skin, and excess fat. But yeah, every woman I know hates something about their body. Come to think of it most guys I know do too. I think it’s just a result of living in a society based on unrealistic body standards. It’s destroying our nation’s health because there’s a ton of overweight people and people with eating disorders. What a mess.
Erin G
wrote on March 12 2009 @ 11:12 pm: [report]
This article makes it sound like this sort of positive thinking is some light switch you can just flip on and be like “I’m the s**t!”
lindssaurus
wrote on March 13 2009 @ 07:55 pm: [report]
i wasnt until college. all my roommates were skinny and i hated hearing them say…oh i wish i could gain weight. shut up!
toyen
wrote on March 17 2009 @ 01:57 pm: [report]
Uh, every freaking day? I realize, I’m at my happiest with my body when working out hard—weightlifting a couple of hours a week or triathlon training several hours a week—because of the amazing things it can do (despite my current weight), coupled with when I am eating well. Being in or out of a relationship affects it too. I was dating a guy who never complimented me and had a crappy libido, and my body image got wrecked for a while. Throwing out the scale and really looking at my body as it develops new muscles seems to help my body image (as well as finding a lover that totally worships my body)!