Do You Compare Your Body Shape To Others? The Fact is That the Foundation is Set.

For years I battled my weight and the shape of my body. I’d be called an apple–hey I’ve been called worse. But the reality of the tag is that I have skinny legs, no butt, no boobs (or just a little) and carry all my weight around the middle.

I’ll be the first to tell you that there aren’t a lot of models out there that look like me (actually there are none.). Even when they do bring in plus sizers, the proportion of chest, waist, hips is always hour-glass. Me? Just a big round ball.

Did I plan it that way? Um, no. Duh? Genetics is a pretty strong thing to fight.

I have a memory of my mom, who stood about 5’1″ and went through several pregnancies, wearing blow up blue rubber pants to do her housework. She would go from room to room squeaking about in hopes of sweating off some weight. Over the years there was also the twist gadget, the loop over the door ropes, and of course the 10-12 glasses of water a day.

In reality, she was fine. She birthed nine babies and worked hard. That should have been enough but for whatever reason it wasn’t.

We can always change our hair/eye color, skin tone, the shape of our nose, and weight, but genetically speaking our base foundation is there to stay.

As I grew up there were diets galore and then along came the eighties with “low fat”, “sugar-free”, aerobics, and tanning beds.

Was it progress? Idk. I loved the bouncy energetic aerobic classes (still do) and I’m sure it kept me going between bouts of trying to quit smoking. Ugh again.

So much of the crap messages come from the media. The movies, the magazines, and the food industry. Those subliminal messages of not being good enough, of not caring, and being fat or overweight is equal to laziness/stupidity/food addictions.

We now know that so many of those aerobic instructors were either bulimic or anorexic but the damage was done.

For others to strive to reach what others have deemed possible with hard work and dedication was a lie. It meant starvation, self deprecation, and constant correction in one’s own head of what was a true priority.

Recently, the pic below popped up in my Instagram feed and it got me thinking…. Have we grown wiser over the years? Have we as a people recognized that the priority of acceptance and being kind to yourself is far more important in the long run?

The fact that these types of visuals are still popular and resonate with readers tells me that we still have a long way to go. Perhaps, we’re not meant to accept ourselves as we march through life. But then again… the more we compare, the more dangerous and self-effacing it becomes.

If we followed this reality then perhaps we could move forward and live our lives the best way we can.

The strength of women and the role they play in society is powerful and deserves more recognition. The comparisons for things in which we have no control needs to stop.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t try to be as healthy as you can and live your best live, but seriously, don’t compare your body composition with another person because we’re all so individual.

Auntie Lesson:

What happens when you realize that you can’t change everything? Do you give up? Fight harder? How about accept the truth and grow from there? Stay positive in who you are–your foundation is set and ready to be built upon. Take care of your physical and mental health as those will take you far. Stop the comparison game –especially with body type–because there are no declared winners. Be You. Do You.

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Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this post. If you did please comment and let me know. It’s always greatly appreciated.