Stronger Than That Young Girl

Today I heard a song and it touched me to the core. It’s being played on all the radio stations, and what captured me was one simple word….

Beautiful.

Ironically Hot Hubs and I were just explaining to our teenage boys, that girls can be very sensitive when it comes to bodily image. We had a deep discussion about this, to which they replied “Really?” That’s the difference between boys and girls.  Sure, boys are in tune with themselves and their image, but not like girls.

I am a grown woman, with a family, and I am still very sensitive about this subject as well. It’s a constant battle that is alway waging in my head. I am very confident and happy with my bodily image, however I am very conscious of it all the time. I don’t think it truly ever is something that goes away. After all, society fuels this from social media to magazines, and so forth. It’s plastered in our faces 24/7. The quest to be thin is everywhere.

Take this lyrics to the song, an excerpt below:

“Scars To Your Beautiful“

“She has dreams to be an envy, so she’s starving
You know, covergirls eat nothing
She says beauty is pain and there’s beauty in everything
What’s a little bit of hunger?
I could go a little while longer, she fades away
She don’t see her perfect, she don’t understand she’s worth it
Or that beauty goes deeper than the surface
Oh, oh
So to all the girls that’s hurting
Let me be your mirror, help you see a little bit clearer
The light that shines within

There’s a hope that’s waiting for you in the dark
You should know you’re beautiful just the way you are
And you don’t have to change a thing, the world could change its heart
No scars to your beautiful, we’re stars and we’re beautiful”

I never really had listened to this song before until today. I had just left a doctor’s appointment where I was told I had gained 3 lbs since my visit in October. I left the office stunned. Not stunned that I had gained 3 lbs, but stunned that it was brought up as an issue! Seriously? Never mind that I have been training for over a year for an Ironman Race, and have simply taken some much-needed time off from the vigorous training! I explained I was still running and exercising, but not a the level of 5 hours per day for 6 days per week!

After a quick text to Hot Hubs, that I typed through tears, I turned the radio on and low and behold the song “Scars To Your Beautiful” came on. The word “beautiful” got my attention. It was perfect timing, as I was feeling low at this moment, wondering what I’m doing that’s so wrong. I am a very healthy, active woman, and we eat very healthy at every meal. On the occasion that we eat out, I still make healthy choices because it’s simply apart of our everyday lives. It’s not a struggle nor a chore. So today’s discussion at my doctors well visit threw me for a loop.

This beautiful song sung by Alessia Cara was a great reminder to me that young girls, and even women, need to remember that we are worthy, we are beautiful, and we need to love ourselves the way we are. I live my life with these words, but today I was distracted by the words from my doctor, whom I have been seeing for 16 years.

The old saying, “Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is so true. If I allowed words to wreck my world, than I am not thick-skinned enough. Today I was just caught off guard. I know that I am loved, and cherished by my husband of 21 years. So one would ask, why let this bother me? Well, I will leave it at this:

Society paints an image that every girl wants to be. That girl still lives inside of me as a grown woman.

But I am stronger than that young girl, and I know I am strong and beautiful.

The Skinny Image

Excuse me while I get on my soap box for a moment….. Summer is just around the bend, and I can already feel the heat bearing down on us. With that comes summer fun, swimming, grilling out, trips to the beach, etc. I love this time of year and look forward to all things summer, but what I’ve noticed a lot of lately are loads of social media outlets screaming “Get the bikini body back” and “Summer bikini weather ready” and even “Bikini Challenge by…” Everyone has a twist on how to get bikini fit, and STAT! Have you noticed when you read these advertisements that they are all pointing back to one thing?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about being healthy and fit, but something struck a chord in me in the last 24 hours as I watched an interview on television last where the news reporter was interviewing singer John Legends wife about her eating habits and possible weight gain. The wife of John Legend (sorry didn’t catch her name) took the harsh criticism in stride and basically told the world that she loves food and she’s going to eat! First of all let me say this, the woman looked perfectly healthy and simply beautiful, and yet the critics feel she is eating too much in public and has gained some weight. Shocking I say, or is it really?

I love food and I very much enjoy blogging about new recipes and taking a lot of pictures of what I eat. With that being said, I follow many food bloggers on Facebook, and healthy eating raw guru’s. To my astonishment, I have seen some postings regarding a 12 week challenge to get bikini body ready. I realize this kind of propaganda has been around for a long while, however I am more astonished when I see these types of challenges from groups that promote over all health and wellness. I would expect something like this from a company like Slim Fast, but not health and wellness bloggers. There is a difference in living a healthy lifestyle and taking on a 12 week challenge to get bikini body fit in such a short amount of time.

Is this really healthy? Do these types of challenges really work? I love this picture I found online. “You Are Not A Sketch”. This is so true! I am a running and triathlon coach and anytime a new athlete joins our group, the first thing I tell them is this is NOT a get skinny quick type of group. I am here to coach you to your goals, and learn to live over all healthy lifestyle. It is not a quick fix or a fast track weight loss to skinny but a path to overall health and wellness .If it takes you 6 months to put on 20 lbs, it takes double that to get it off, not 12 weeks. And yet society scratches their heads and wonder why young girls, and teenagers have eating disorders and image issues.

I was fortunate to have grown up in a loving home with a mom who told me everyday I was beautiful and that God made me for who I am. Sure I wanted to be skinnier than I was, and sometimes even today I find myself wishing my ta ta’s were smaller, my hips not as wide, but who doesn’t? What I’ve come to realize is this…. You only have one body, and once chance at life. Enjoy who you are, worry less about what others think, and more about how you feel inside. Make good healthy food choices, exercise daily, and live the life you’ve been given. I’d rather be curvy, and fit than bikini beach body skinny that can’t take a short jog down the beach!