How To Be Happy With Your Body?

This is a new blog post we just put up and it brings up a great question- how does one be happy with their body. I would be very interested in your feedback on this question- are you happy, are you not yet there, how did you get there?

-Jackie

Link

Tue. Feb 3, 1:58pm

I'm not "there" yet but with every pound loss I feel happier. I'm always more motivated to stay on track when I am happy with my body vs unhappy with it. Weird huh? You'd think feeling fat WOULD motivate me, but feeling good enough to work on myself is more of a motivator.

What makes me feel good about my body?

Working out in front of a mirror so I can see my heavy self doing something active to fight the fat

Getting my hair, nails, etc. done

Sex!

Watching Jerry Springer and being thankful that I don't look like those people

Being successful in a project at work - it makes me feel good mentally and that leads to feeling good physically as well.

Thinking about how much better I will look and planning shopping sprees for when I lose some more weight

Tuesday, February 03, 2009, 4:36 PM

I've had the same issues that most people seem to have regardless of their weight; criticizing myself more harshly than any outsider ever would, comparing myself to media standards, working out excessively and eating too little too try to get down to something I perceive as an ideal weight for myself.

I am (finally) happy with my body now, and I think it happened for me once I quit trying to turn my body into something it can never be.

I don't weigh myself ever, or count calories. I just eat healthier options whenever I get to pick my meals and snacks, and I get in some jogging and weights throughout the week, but never blow off social events for weight management.

Basically I quit fearing the idea of becoming fat, or not adhering to some purely aesthetic visual standard. I no longer care about how I look, I started caring about how I feel and whether or not I can go for a long all day hiking/camping/fishing trip without wearing out.

To be happy with your body, care about how your body works, contributes to your ability to enjoy life, feels healthy, gets activity to stay limber and strong... but stop caring about what size it is, or how many lbs it's got on any particular day.

Tuesday, February 03, 2009, 4:59 PM

I don't think I will ever be trully happy with my body and I'm ok with that.
At my heaviest I would cry after looking at my body in the mirror.
I keep thinking if I lose X more pounds I'll be happy. This morning I woke up to 130 on the scale. 2 months ago I announced that 130 would make me happy and guess what I'm not satisfied. When I started my weight loss journey I announced that fitting into my skinny jeans would make me happy, I fit into my size 1/2 jeans 2 weeks ago, and I'm still not happy.
I think the closer I get to what I want the more critical I get of myself and the more I expect of myself.
But the reason I'm ok with not being satisfied: I think body image is like my personality it's ever evolving. What was good enough 5 years ago is no longer enough to keep me satisfied. What I expected from my career before no longer satisfies me and I want more. I think it's only natural for me to want more of my body.
The other thing that sticks in my head is something Howard Stern said a long time ago. He said something along the lines that if a woman thinks she's fat or needs to work on her appearance she will always try and not give up. The minute she thinks she looks amazing and stops than that's when she probably needs to work on herself the most.
I don't think reaching my goal in weight loss will make me any happier than I am now, but I think it will prove to me that I am strong and I can accomplish anything. That's why I keep striving for more.
No matter my weight I have never had problems knowing I look good, but I also always know I can look better, we all could.
Faye

Wednesday, February 04, 2009, 8:01 AM

I agree, PP. I am also striving to be better: look better, feel better, run faster and farther, workout longer, be nicer, work harder, etc. There's no such thing as good enough and it is my motivation. I'm not down on myself by any means, I just like to push myself to the limits. I'm not striving to be waif thin but I know I can be stronger, more fit, better educated, more well rounded. Never settle for good enough in any aspect of my life.

Wednesday, February 04, 2009, 5:14 PM

I said good-bye to Shlumpyville

I'm a lot happier with my body now that I make an effort to dress my body well every day. No more clothes that don't fit right, don't look good on me, or don't compliment how I'm built. And no more shlumpy days - if I leave the house...I look good. Once I started buying clothes that look good on me vs. buying just b/c it was on sale, or b/c it looked good on someone else, and making that effort every day - wow! What a difference!

Wednesday, February 04, 2009, 8:26 PM

WONDERFUL IDEA

Ya know I have noticed that with my previous weight loss and weight gain and that horrible up and down effect, that I had no sense of what I looked like. I mean sure you see the weight loss and you feel the weight loss, but do you really see what others see. Well I did this kind of neat thing the last time I lost weight, I went from 235 to 150 and along the way, each size I went down I took a picture and when I went down another size I would put my favorite pants and shirt in the box with the picture. That way if I gained weight again, once I got back down to those sizes then I would know, ok wow I really am losing weight, or if I kept off all the way, I had a journey to share and inspire others. Neatless to say with me having 3 kids the ups and downs were not over. But this strategy worked great and I wish I still had those items but they were lost in a shipment = ( But after each baby I would lose the weight and usually within 2 years. And my heaviest weight was 263 and my lowest has been 150. But before I got pregnant I was 120 easy. OH WELL I WILL GET THERE.

Monday, April 06, 2009, 2:53 AM

8:26 - Good stuff

And I agree. Sometimes it requires just that first step of doing something for your body and yourself, that one action that leads to other actions, and to changes in how you feel.

Were you the one who wrote the list I've pasted below? If so, I can't thank you enough! I copied, pasted, printed and posted it on my fridge!

"Reasons Not To Leave The House Shlumpy"

1) You look better
2) You look better, you feel better
3) You never know who you'll run into
4) Shlumpy says to the world, 'I don't give a rat's a$$ what I look like.'
5) Looking put together is just as easy as looking shlumpy.
6) Shlumpy is never flattering
7) Shlumpy says to the world, 'I give up.'
8) Nice clothes can be just as comfortable as shlumpwear.
9) No one aspires to look shlumpy.
10) When you look and feel better, you engage the world differently.
11) It inspires others to deshlump
12) When you look and feel better, you make better choices for yourself.
13) Shlumpy tells the world, 'I put myself last.'
14) Deep down, you're a wee bit embarrassed when someone sees you out in public all shlumpy
15) You can do better
16) Your frenemies like that you dress shlumpy, it makes them look better.
17) You never want people to wonder, 'Shlumpy? Or homeless?'
18) You eat less when you deshlump.
19) Shlumpy says, 'I expect very little of myself.'
20) Shlumpy says, 'What??? Me??? A professional? hahaha'
21) Shlumpy gets no respect.
22) Shlumpy says, 'I don't like my body.'
23) You never know when you'll run into your future husband!!

Monday, April 06, 2009, 3:57 AM

happy with body

I still want to lose 10lbs but I am happy with my body. I am stronger and have a lot more endurance than I have ever had in my life. 40's are the new 20's in my opinion! Now if I was able to get more sleep I would have tons more energy, but still I feel good right now. I want to get stronger, run faster and farther, and blow my comfort zones wide open. I also more importantly, want to be someone with a loving heart who can share my gifts to the world, whatever I find them to be. This is more important than a physical body, our gifts and love we give to other people.

Monday, February 08, 2010, 3:23 AM

I notice it's not really my body I'm unhappy with - it's 'me', and sometimes my body takes the brunt of it when I'm not being my personal best.

I notice that when I'm on track and working out, cooking healthy meals, performing well at work, etc... that I am quite happy with my body. However when I'm off my game, having a bad day, ate fast food, whatever - I hate my body and I feel fat, ugly, lazy, and a host of other negative issues with myself repeat like a litany in my head. My body could be the exact same - it's my perception of my insides which colors my perception of my outsides.

Monday, February 08, 2010, 1:17 PM

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