Misguided Reflections

I hear funny comments on a regular basis. Since I'm a fitness instructor, the participants in my class tend to ask me questions related to fitness and a very common one is "how do you stay so thin?".

In fact, someone asked me that today. Instead of my usual answer, I laughed and replied "it's not like you're a cow you know". I can not imagine anyone in their right mind would consider this person 'big' and yet this question asked so many times by young women with great bodies reflects an internal struggle and a body-image perception of not-good-enough.

You can blame external factors like magazines and television, but the reality is, we control our own perceptions. We need to start loving our bodies, ourselves just the way we are. This does not take away that we may want to improve ourselves, but we need to be realistic on what's achievable for us individually.

What's funnier still is that for many of us, we are simply unable to accept and love ourselves, until someone else starts to love us first. We seem to be our own harshest critics focusing on the parts we dislike the most. Other people don't focus on these parts, so why should you?

Begin to love your favourite body part - is it your eyes? Your hair? Your fingers? Whatever it is, start with your favourite and go from there. You'll soon find that along with a health and fitness routine, you'll begin to love more and more parts.