Being proud of your body doesn't have to have anything to do with appearances

 

My body image struggle is no secret.  I can't stop the bad thoughts, but I can change them and my own focus.

One of my favorite ideas to ponder...

 

When shit gets real I don't focus on what I look like, I focus on what I do.  

Instead of giving in to the ridiculous voice inside my head that tells me my biceps aren't strong enough one minute and then too strong the next, I focus on what those arms do for me.  The kids they hug, the yoga they teach, the vehicles they clean.  

Instead of worrying about my grey hair or eczema I focus on what's inside my head.  The brilliant ways my brain comes up with to teach children all kinds of things about the world and themselves, the words I write to share with y'all, the ability to change these thoughts, the crazy amount of song lyrics up in there, and all the sciencey knowledge it carries that helps me gain awareness of how incredible the human body really is.  

And finally instead of fretting over what my abs look like on any given day I marvel at how much of a badass my entire core is.  I mean come on, still functioning every single day despite my body trying to make it commit suicide.  All my intestines are still inside of me, still converting food to fuel, still nourishing my entire body, and still kicking autoimmune disease ass! Now that's amazing! That's something to be proud of.  

Focus on improving yourself instead of judging others please and thank you!

 

That performance and all you have to comment on is a tummy?! I feel bad for you closed minded, judgmental people... your lives must be so sad if all you see are false negatives in a bright and shiny world! 

#shameonyou 

#seebeauty #nomorebodyshaming #bodypositivity #improveyourself

I just can't handle the body shaming...

That has the power to literally wreck people and stifle their light.  Why do that? Why?? The world needs all the light it can get right now. 

I'm not afraid to tell my stories.  They are mine to tell, they made me who I am today and I hope they are inspiring people.  

I was anorexic.  Breast cancer was trying to kill my mama and I was developing boobs that didn't even look proportionate on my short little frame.  I wanted to control something at a time when my body was changing, my life was kinda falling apart, and I was growing up way faster than any 13 year old ever should have to.  I could control this I thought to myself, I just won't eat.  I weighed 70 pounds on a good day.  

I decided strong was the new skinny and dug my scrawny ass out of it.  There are days when I have to pick up the shovel again and keep digging because I have body dismorphic disorder and conditions that forces me to think about food all the damn time... bad combination! 

What I see in the mirror is not always reality.  Mirrors are sometimes scary to me, they are more heartbreaking than empowering, even though I know deep down I am my own kind of beautiful and strong as shit.  It's just not what I see all the time.  Even though I know my light comes from within and I am so much more than this little yogi with the abs that she perceives as being hidden by nonexistent fat.  That is fucking frustrating.

When I hear or see shit like this it makes me so angry and sad and disappointed with our society. I've learned lots of ways to love myself so much that this usually doesn't get to me, but that doesn't mean it still doesn't affect me, that I can't relate to others' struggles, and that I can't still hope for a change.

This old post really is from the heart of the "skinny bitch" in the pink bikini.... it is pretty much just me pouring my heart out.  I've come a long way since then, I hope someday society can make progress with me!