Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Love Thy Self!

Someone commented recently on a blog (I think it was TA) that we seem to take better care of ourselves when we are working out a lot; we cleanse/tone/moisturise, we brush our teeth vigorously, and generally treat our bodies a bit better. I suppose it's all part of the same basic wish to keep our bodies in good working order, but it's also a very caring thing to do for ourselves. The idea of eating healthily and working out often gets side-tracked by the idea of improving body image and the fact that it's actually a nice thing to do for ourselves can get forgotten.
As a direct contrast, binge eating or "comfort" eating is a distinctly unhealthy and potentially a damaging thing to do our bodies, and is usually born out of fear rather than love. Our society seems to be all about how we're "worth it", all about pampering ourselves and having exactly what we want, when we want it. But even when I'm "treating" myself, I know that I'm not actually doing the right thing for my body, and that I will pay the price later whether it's emotional or physical.
So, I am going to take care of myself, not because I am suffering with serious body image issues at the moment, but because I deserve to be taken care of. I deserve good things.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

yes!!!!

that's all I have.


a resounding YES to your last sentence (and left ya a message at Miz.)

Siobhán said...

Thanks Miz! Your confirmation is some much-needed reassurance, I think I can see a glimmer of confidence returning! I just read a post on Charlotte's page (http://thegreatfitnessexperiment.blogspot.com/2008/08/body-confidence.html) and it reminded me that just because I feel like I look horrible doesn't mean I need to FEEL horrible. And maybe sometimes I need to believe in myself and let the good things happen afterwards, rather than wallowing in self-pity and waiting for good things to come to me.

Anonymous said...

"I am going to take care of myself, not because I am suffering with serious body image issues at the moment, but because I deserve to be taken care of. I deserve good things." Absolutely...I agree with Miz! Nice post!

Siobhán said...

Mark - THANK YOU! :D

Charlotte said...

Amen to that! And I'm so glad that my struggles with body confidence ring true to you. You made my day!!