Media continues to bombard us with diets, exercises, and cleanses to help us get to our ideal weight. It makes us think that if we are skinny then we are the healthiest version of ourselves, but that is far from the truth.
Once I got out of high school and into the real world my body began to change. Each time I stepped on a scale I seemed to be heavier than the last. Immediately, I began to hate and shame my body even more than I did in prior years.
The weight I had gained made me assume that I was unhealthy and ugly due to the little bit of pudge that was added to my belly. Beforehand I always believed there was room for me to improve my body and that I wasn’t skinny enough and each year it continued to get worse.
Doctors commented on my body informing that I could benefit from losing a few pounds which in turn made me criticize my body even more. The truth is I was unhealthy but not because of the number on the scale but because I had an unhealthy relationship with food and working out. When I was my skinniest, I ate without a care of how the food
fueled my body, I created unhealthy boundaries with food, and I never took time to get in movement or exercise.
As I have gotten older, I have learned that healthy does not mean skinny. Healthy doesn’t always correlate with the number on the scale. It doesn’t mean having no fat on your body or over exercising so you stay in your calorie intake amount.
Being healthy is about listening to your body. It is understanding that daily movement is good and it’s finding your favorite ways to incorporate a workout. Having a good relationship withfood and not avoiding them just because they are high in calories is healthy. Ensuring that weight loss and the number on the scale does not define you but who you are inside.
Remember, our bodies are temples. They grow and change throughout the years, and they do not deserve to be punished for that. We must all learn the best ways to care for our minds, bodies, and souls in order to be the best versions of ourselves.
Love your body today and not when it reaches a certain number. Take time to care for it and appreciate all that it has done for you.
