"We are all different. Do what works for you."
Summer is just around the corner, which means that my favorite gym is 100% packed 100% of the time with skinny women trying to get "beach bikini ready." I scan at their perfect flat stomachs, perky breasts and beautifully tanned legs and then look in the mirror at my pale skin, pudgy tummy and flabby arms. How is it that I work out three times a week and still look like this while they only come two months out of the year and they look like that?!
I don't look terrible. In fact, when you look at me alone I look great! I'm curvy around the middle, naturally tanned and have long, beautiful, honey brown hair. Most of all, I look like I eat! When I look at myself in the mirror just as countrycutie, I love myself, but when I compare myself to the gym girls, the magazine girls and the girls at the mall, I feel subpar.
So how do I get past MY body issues? I don't own a scale. Scales are the devil and they tell you absolutely nothing worth knowing. In my opinion, the only people that need to know my weight are the people at the DMV and my doctor. If I like how I look in the mirror, the number on the scale means nothing.
Second, I eat healthy. It's hard to feel sexy when devouring a burger, fries and a Coke. Instead, I eat lots of fruits, veggies and chicken. Yes, the junk food does look good, but I try to remind myself of the feeling I get about 20 minutes after eating it. It's not worth it! Eating healthy actually makes me feel BETTER!
Third, I buy and wear clothes that flatter my figure. That means I accentuate my long legs and stick with flowing tops. You will never see me in a bandage dress or a crop top because I'm just not comfortable with my stomach. I don't care how trendy the outfit is. If it doesn't make me look better, it's not going home with me.
The key for me to feel good in public is to focus on the positive. It's difficult to maintain a positive self image when we are surrounded with people telling us what does and does not look good. I just try to remember the advice given to me every week in yoga: We are all different. Do what works for you.
Stay beautiful inside and out!