Acceptance at Any Size

There are some health advocates I know out there who are extremely passionate about their cause, almost to a fault. Today, I read a post by one such person who said that “normal isn’t healthy” and that “plus-sized models are setting a bad example.” Being someone who has really appreciated the coming of models that represent the majority of women in the United States, this post kind of embarrassed me. For sure, being overweight isn’t the epitome of health, but neither is barraging yourself with disparaging comments about your weight or your dress size.

The real health epidemic here in the U.S. is a mental health epidemic. We are creating our own diseases with our minds. We are pushing ourselves so hard to be the image of perfection and we’re destroying our bodies in the process. When you’re beating yourself up in your head for what you’re eating, does it really make you inclined to “do better” and eat less? I’m guessing your answer is, “No.” For most folks, being on the receiving end of our own guilt trip just makes us want to keep indulging in unhealthy behaviors.

So, what can we do to make this right? What will it take to start addressing the real issue, the one that starts on the inside and is reflected through weight, body image, and diagnostics? For starters, we can treat ourselves with a little more compassion. Self-love has never hurt a soul. In fact, I believe self-love has continued to maintain a 100% satisfaction rate in terms of nourishing the soul. We can also embrace the fact that change starts from within. We only have the power to change ourselves. Pushing our message onto others is not necessarily going to make them agree and start changing their behavior. We need to set a good example ourselves of a positive mindset, healthy body image, and healthy behaviors.

It’s a bit discouraging to think of how often we notice other people’s “flaws”, but what if I told you that what we usually notice and point out about other people is often something we need to address within ourselves? Next time you’re tempted to pick yourself or someone else apart or start judging - and we all do it to some degree- remember that the person you’re looking at needs more love and compassion than anything else. We pretty much all know what we need to work on, it’s the lack of love, support, and motivation to do so that might be holding us back.