First comes Christmas, then comes New Year’s Eve and then comes the season of body shame known as January/February. Festively plump from the seasons prior, and for me the six months prior to that, this year I was almost dragged into it. Almost. It’s a tricky little thing that body shame; it always finds a new angle to commence an attack. Especially when you’re down.
You see, I don’t feel good. What I’ve created for myself is a world of blah from poor choices. I changed jobs last year, took on the role that took up way more time than it first looked like it would. My routine went out the window, and we (Mr Suger is a little plump himself) let the things that matter to us slide. We let taking care of ourselves come so far down the list of priorities that it was barely an afterthought. My body deserves better care than that.
Do I want to nourish my body? Yes.
Feed it well, reduce the crap I’ve been eating, all that? Yes.
Do I want to lose some weight? Yes.
Do I want to get my body moving way more than it has been? Yes.
Do any of these things have to do with my body being something to be ashamed of as it is, this very moment, right now? NO.
No. No. No. NO.
No.
And coming from a place and shame will never get you anywhere anyway. If you’re ashamed of your body, you’ll always be ashamed. You see it will never be perfect like you see in media because those images might as well be painted with acrylic and brushes. They aren’t real. You need to stop punishing your body for not being what you deem it necessary to be this year.
We all remember when thin was in, then came the muscles associated with proteins and lifting, what’s next nobody knows. You need to be at home in your body, be proud of all it does, how it looks NOW. And from there you will find that it’s a lot harder to fill it with soft drinks, fried carbs with a salt-laden topping or sugary crap. Harder to ignore it when it cries out to get moving. Much harder to fall into the traps that prey on our vulnerabilities.
When we approach our bodies with love and gratitude, we stand strong in health. In living well. In having a life, we love from the inside out. In the glow, you get from being active in the summer sunshine. The sparkle in your eyes from a clean system. The lightness of being guilt-free and enjoying all the flavours that life offers with balance.
Shame can’t give you any of that. So let it go.
Hi! I’m Melissa Walker Horn. Around here, they call me Suger. I’m the Chief Blogger and doer of all the things here at Suger Coat It. Blogging since 1901; I love a casual ootd, taking photos, and writing about things that irk or inspire me. I love wine and cheese, long days at the beach and spending time with my family. I make stuff for the internet over at Chalkboard Digital. You know, living the sweet life.
Agree. This is definitely the way to go about this. Love the body we’re in, while feeding it healthily.
I think it’s the only way to tackle it. With love and generosity. And then, see what shows up.
This is so relevant. My husband and I are doing a clean eating plan this month. No grains, no dairy, no legumes and no added sugar of any kind, even the natural kind. For 30 days. Our flatmate is doing it with us. And we are constantly discussing how its not because we hate the bodies we have at the moment. Its because we want to be better, healthier, more confident and stronger, and for us, it starts from the inside. My hubby has lost 10kg since we started on the 1st. I have no idea if or how much weight I’ve lost. For me, its been more about learning how I eat my emotions, and learning how to listen to my body’s hungry and full signs. Its going better than any of us thought it would and I think its because its not a solution to a problem. It just another rung on the ladder of awesome that we’re climbing. And we wouldn’t be able to climb that ladder without these amazing bodies of ours. Appreciating what our bodies do for us has helped us achieve even more. We don’t have time for body shame in our house. Or any other shame for that matter. Shame is sooooo 2014!
Haha. Indeed it is. Soooo 2014. Thank you for your comment, this is it exactly. Living well, taking care, appreciating all the things. Thanks for sharing lady! x
Thank you for the great post. Shame is such a debilitating emotion, The more shame i felt the worse i treated my body, to the point where my health is getting compromised. Learning to get past it, and do what i need for my health and my own well being, not for some one else’s perceptions of what i should look like.
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You’re so welcome. It is. Shame is one of those things that eat away at all the good things you are and can have. And the thing is, it will never motivate you to change for long either. One day, if only for a moment, you’ll be proud, then what?
Very Inspirational and we all need it!!
Thank you! x
This actually the first year I’ve put on weight over Christmas (and pretty much since I got from the US) and not made myself feel terrible about it. I’m actually the biggest I’ve been in a long time, but for some reason I was totally zen about it. So eager to get moving now though, I have all this motivation and my body is longing for the physical exertion and the feeling of pride and achievement it used to enjoy so much more regularly.
I think it’s the guilt and the angst that is the killer. This is the first year I’ve politely asked myself not to go nuts (we’d already added a few kg leading up to the festive period). I found that when I wanted to have something or do nothing, I just did it, and it was ok. I missed the activity though, the feeling of strength in my body. I want that back.
Love this! I have steadily been creeping up to size 18 before Christmas and I need to lose weight to get back into my wardrobe. It’s not a “I need to lose weight to look like the size 8 gym bunnies with six packs” thing. It’s a “I don’t want to buy more clothing” thing lol. Also, my blood pressure is up so I need to get active again with walking and yoga. Fit and healthy is the way to go, no matter what size we are.
Thank you Kellie. All the best with your endeavours, fit and healthy (without the drama of shame and guilt)is a great aim.
Thanks for the wise words and inspiration. Strength!
You’re welcome! x
I didn’t feed Mr Sugar any naughty stuff when he visited me on the weekend xx
Glad to hear it. Haha. He gets a little more rope than I do given the physical work he does, but not much more. 😉