Picture Perfect

This personal mini-blog is a call to all women out there who are battling with their bodies:

Please stop.

I was in the mall the other day with David and we were looking at the people walking past whilst chatting over a coffee. I had been feeling rather good about my body for about a week and didn't feel too lumpy or bumpy, but after a while I turned to David and said that I thought that I needed to hit the gym when I got home. He turned to me and said:

"Marketing will rob you of all your self confidence and sell it back to you at the price of their product". 

He was bang on the money, and suddenly my blinkers were removed. As women, we are sold the concept that being small, tiny and frankly skinny is the thing to be and anything falling short of that is not attractive.

I was having lunch on my own today in Cagliari and I had a great view of four tables. In Italy floaty dresses and big sunglasses are almost uniform and as I sat there I saw these four tables being taken by couples out for an easy Monday lunch in the centre of the city. Now, the interesting thing that I noticed was that all four women looked each other up and down, worked out how much the outfits cost and how many times they had hit the gym. The men didn't bat an eyelid, they just got on with the conversations.

My question is; Who do we do it for?

If the answer is 'For Ourselves', then why do we beat our selves up so much if we skip a day?
If the answer is 'For Our Partners', they should love us for who we are not what look like.
If the answer is 'Because I have to', then we need to let go of our playground hang ups, poke our tongues out at the bullies and know that we are better than that.

If the fact is that you are battling your body, it means that you are in a constant state of 'Flight and Fight'. If you take five minutes out to Google what that process does to your body you really wont want to be in that daily cycle and more. It's for emergencies only!

There are four basic things to remember when seeking total body wellness:

1. Be Kind To Yourself!
2. Enjoy the body you were blessed with and take time to thank it for what it can do. 
3. Never berate your body for the things that it can't do yet. 
4. Breathe deeply and know that you are way more than good enough. 

Enjoy your evenings and keep life real. 

Jx