i wanted to address this because it saddens me too. i mean, i lost 40 pounds, i'm at a "happy weight," so why WHY DAMMIT can't i just be satisfied? and it got me thinking ...
some random thoughts:
1) i think it's rare for a women to be completely 100% satisfied with the way they look ... naked. i am 99% great with how i look ... in clothes. naked is another story. 2) i think a common misconception is when people think that after losing however many pounds they want to lose, they will feel great about their body. it's like when people blame problems in their lives on being overweight. if anyone thinks that they will a) make new friends or get a boyfriend b) get a better job c) be happy all of the time after losing weight, they are deluding themselves. the problem is not the weight it's the mindset which holds people back.
3) i am completely a product of the society i was raised in. think about it - diet companies everywhere, diet programs everywhere, girls in magazines and tv all looking perfect all of the time, being made fun of by my siblings and kids at school for being chubby, drinking diet coke as a child because my mom did, even going on ridiculous diets that my mom suggested when i was a teenager. i have changed a lot but everything i grew up with will never leave the back of my mind. now i exercise regularly and eat (mostly) healthy foods but that's all self-taught. the best i can do is make sure my kids don't have to deal with all of the CRAP and make sure i never say anything negative about myself around them.
4) i put a lot of value into what my body can do, especially after my butt pain injury last summer, which left me hobbling around with a gimp leg for months and months. i need to find some sort of happy medium between body doing and body looking.
check out these two vintage ads i recently came across. they obviously did nothing to help the body image crisis. make sure you click on them to blow them up to readability size:
i had planned a completely different post but wanted to blab a little about body image and how sad it is that it affects so many people out there - it is really sad. :( boo hoo hoo. i'm not really crying. how could i cry when i'm going to punta cana in 23 days! ;) and yes, my bf is so nifty and i'll take your boobs, lainey, hehehe. thanks for the resort tip, points princess! yabba dabba!
4 comments:
That was a pretty amazing post. I completely agree. My whole life I have tried to stop myself from saying the bad things I say in my head, that way maybe it will just go away or become less "real". It hasn't completely gone away yet, but it really makes a difference. I am MUCH better than I was in high school, where I would say stupid stuff about how I was "fat" when Iw as less than 100 lbs. RIDICULOUS, right? haha.
The thing is, sweets, is that you are thinking the same thing that we all are thinking and it truly did sadden me because I think it too. No I'm not "there" yet to where I want to be with my weight, but I do sometimes tell myself that I'd be more satisfied "when I get there" but you are completely right. It's not the weight, but a mindset. 90% of the time I am happy with myself and proud of how far I have come, but there's 10% of the time that I let the world tell me otherwise and I've decided that it's just not cool to let that happen anymore.
Now I certainly don't mean to diminish someone else's feelings about things they would like to improve on themselves, but there comes a point where we have to feel "good enough" the way we are and not be unhappy, right?
I'm sure it's all relative, but you, lady, are absolutely stunning and while I don't know a single person who loves how they look naked, you are going to knock the sox off thos dominican boys as well as anyone else around. ;-)
Enjoy your vacay just the way you are. Flaunt it and KNOW that you are beautiful and perfect just the way you are ;-)
Great post, Eurydice! I agree with no matter what naked being another story - fo sho, and definitely - losing weight won't make you happy at the end of the day. It just won't. Those ads are absolutely insance. "Regular girls" Oh my. Thanks for sharing and i'm SO jealous of your upcoming trip!!
Fantastic post.
I'm with you on all those points.
When I lost my weight I was happier with myself, but now the old self doubt creeps back from time to time. (Although I weigh even less now).
A very good friend of mine pulled me aside and said "Stop saying bad things about yourself. That's what isn't attractive. You are fine." Kinda made sense.
Post a Comment