Body Positive Creativity
A Body Positive Creativity Course for Women
I wrote this class a couple years ago, and I really wanted to share the content here on the website! Set aside an afternoon or weekend to go through the book, and try some of the creative activities. This was written to document some of my own struggles with body shame and to help bring healing to women who are sick of dieting and ready to accept themselves as they are. Taking care of your body is important, but you don’t have to buy into the societal belief that says you must be thin to have a good life. I hope this post gives you courage to think outside the box regarding self-acceptance.
(Since November I have been on a diet. I had gained too much weight and was uncomfortable all the time. I still believe that I deserve to love myself no matter what size or shape I am! I want to admit though that I was feeling embarrassed about my body at my highest weight. Since I started dieting I lost thirty pounds and then put some of it back on. It feels good to be taking care of myself, and also honoring my right to go after my dreams fat and all! My goal is not to become perfectly thin. I just want to be able to do the things that matter most to me.)
For many years my body was a mystery to me, and in a lot of ways it still is! I used to walk around feeling disconnected from the body I was given, hoping that it didn’t appear quite as large as the image I saw in the mirror. One time about six years ago I went to the doctor, and I had actually grown an inch in height! I had been 5’3 for most of my life, and suddenly I came in at 5’4! Something in me changed in that moment, because I started to see my body as something that was always kind of changing. Before I felt like because my weight stayed the same for years at a time, my body must not be changing much. Now that I am 42, I am realizing that my body is changing all the time.
It seemed like my body was always about the same, even when I did lose weight or put on some pounds. Certainly, my view of my body was the same for years, regardless of whether I weighed 150 pounds or 200 plus. I’m the kind of woman who will stay at the same weight for years at a time! I am also considered plus size, obese is the medical term. My body rejects both terms, because it just wants to exist without pressure to be measured by nonsensical graphs and meaningless numbers on a scale. I always carry my weight around my middle, and if you know anything about plus size models it is typically considered more pleasant to have a smaller waist and wider butt. I’m a typical apple shape, but this past year my lower half started to fill out and catch up.
This past summer I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my knees. Now that I’m technically middle aged, all the years of being overweight are starting to show up in health diagnosis. I had chronic pain for months on end, and my knees hurt so bad I could barely go up and down the stairs! Inside I still feel really youthful for my age, I have a kind of Persephone type viewpoint on life, where I feel like my head is in the clouds, but my feet are firmly stuck in the thick of it. It feels so odd to be middle aged, and to look forward to more changes as I grow older.
I’ve been shamed because of how I look at a lot of different weights! Just after college I must have weighed 145 to 150 pounds, and another girl called me “voluptuous”. Of course, she was starving herself at the time, living on a bowl of rice every day. I went on an extreme diet for a while and got down to nearly 115. It felt weird to be so thin, it was like my body wasn’t good enough unless it was smaller…and I felt like my personality had to become somehow smaller along with it. When my body was at such a low weight, I remember lying in bed feeling the sharpness of my hipbones against the mattress. Having always had a little bit of padding it felt awkward to be so small. I loved the attention I got, and people started treating me really differently. I felt beautiful and the response from other people made me feel desirable.
When I put on weight over time, I grappled with self-esteem and confidence. In truth it was always challenging for me to accept myself no matter what size I was. My appearance and health status slowly became the measuring stick through which I viewed my value. The thing is that everything is temporary, and things are always changing. What I thought created my value really only stood on shifting sands. Over time I started to realize there must be another way to live and another lens to view my self worth through.
I discovered a kind of freedom from self-loathing when I discovered body positivity. When I realized there were other plus size women out there who were loving their bodies and accepting themselves regardless of what they weighed or even what they saw in the mirror, it felt like something that was possible for me too.
In the past I would body shame myself, but I have reclaimed my power and focus on what I love about my body. Big luscious breasts, sexy strong legs. Hands that can create beautiful art. Feet that take me wherever I want to go. I can even see the beauty in my lesser loved aspects. Although you don’t have to love how you look to be part of the body positivity movement…you can still want to change. But it is also about accepting where you are today! And discovering your worth no matter what you weigh.
Paint a Body Positive Self-Portrait
Paint or draw a self-portrait of your body. It doesn’t have to be realistic, in my self-portrait I tried to exaggerate the features I don’t like. I just grabbed a brush and a bit of watercolor and made a flowy painting. When I was done, I stopped to see what I had made. It was pretty powerful, and beautiful. And it made me step into my power a little bit, a plus size woman with so much heart and so much love to give. It made me soften a bit and realize that while I might not be perfect, I am beautiful and wonderful just as I am today.
How to Own the Word Fat
It is so strange the power a three-letter word can hold. For so many women, they would rather be called any expletive other than be called fat. Last week I saw a post on Facebook that totally broke my heart. A young woman, who recently got married, tried to commit suicide. And a few weeks later she posted that the number one thing she talked about when she was in the hospital was that she couldn’t accept that she was overweight.
In my own mind, a fat woman struggles the most with her fatness because of all the bullying and shaming that goes on. It doesn’t even truly matter how she feels about her weight inside, because the moment she steps out that door the world will let her know in so many big and small ways that she just isn’t good enough. I call bullshit on that!
So here is my short list of how to own the word fat. I’ve been on a journey to loving my body, no matter my shape or size for many years now. And even though I actually do want to get more fit, I can honestly say that I don’t mind being fat that much at all. I don’t mind because my body has carried me through this one precious life, and my body is so ingrained with wisdom. Memories are stored in every inch of my body, along with endless energy to do the things I want in this world.
Own the word fat…
1. It is ok to claim the word fat for yourself. Take the power back from haters and say, “I’m fat and I love myself as I am!”.
2. If people pressure you to diet but you aren’t interested in throwing away half your life battling the scale, speak up and just say you aren’t dieting at the moment.
3. Do all the things you would do someday now, instead of waiting until you reach your goal weight. Go to the beach, have a night life, and allow yourself to have all the adventures you want in life. I swear that once you reach that proverbial goal weight, the number will not seem good enough and you will still feel the same way about yourself. Live your life out loud right now, the way you are today.
4. Dress the way you want to. If that means having a lot of sex appeal, then go for it! If that means covering certain parts of your body because it makes you uncomfortable to show them, then do that too. Dress is a personal choice and do what feels right for you and makes you feel the most confident.
5. Move your body in ways that feel good or choose not to. Fuck the message that you have to work out in ways that bore you to tears. If you do want to work out, do something you actually enjoy.
6. Take your power back by going after your dreams. This is an ongoing process throughout life, but if you start to take small risks now it will build. The fabulous thing is when you stop obsessing about food and dieting, you can turn that energy toward projects that light you up. I can tell you there is no way I would be such a prolific artist if I had spent all these years in the constant struggle of dieting. So do things that light you up, and you will begin to build your dream life one step at a time.
This is your one life! Now is the time! Look around and notice all the goodness in your life. Think about the people you love, the great things you are doing in the world, the difference you are making with your life. You are beautiful in every way, and never forget that! Now go seize the day with your beautiful self!
From Self-Loathing to Body Loving
It isn’t a popular choice to admit that you are overweight. There are no medals to be won in claiming that you are out of shape or that you wear a larger size. I could hide behind head shots for the rest of my life and put on a false exterior of who I am based on how I wish to be perceived. I’m choosing not to; I’m choosing to go out on a limb and claim body positivity as part of my journey because it could make a difference for another woman struggling with self-acceptance.
I weigh about 270 lbs. People typically can’t guess how much I weigh just by looking at me. I have struggled with my weight for much of my life, but much of the struggle has just been dealing with how other people treat me because of my shape. I was heavier than the other girls in high school, but I was a late bloomer, and it didn’t even phase me, I felt like I was still a kid and that it just didn’t matter. While the other girls were making dates and fretting over what to wear, I just didn’t care much about that stuff. I did date in high school on and off, but I didn’t worry much about my appearance.
When I met my husband to be, I lost a ton of weight. I got down to 115 pounds, and my family told me I was too thin. That was the first time I consciously chose to drop pounds. I ate almost nothing, truly just a cheeseburger and dollar item from the gas station every day. I also worked out every day and my body fit the ideal for the first time in my life. When my fiancé and I got together I would bring him out to dinner at sit down restaurants, mainly because he wasn’t eating much either at that time. He learned a lot of strange habits about food and his relationship to eating from his mother growing up, while I learned that it was important to eat whatever you want. I learned that it was okay to have the foods you crave, and while my mom would say something small here or there about my body size, I know she just wanted me to fit in.
When I was diagnosed Bipolar 2, I weighed 135 pounds. But I had developed such extreme body dysmorphia that I thought I was huge. After my first manic episode I started eating a lot of unhealthy foods because I was numbing myself from the trauma and pain I felt. After about a year I weighed 165 pounds. I only had two t shirts and two pairs of pants that fit me because I outgrew all of my clothes. I alternated the two outfits for a long time before I finally went and allowed myself to start shopping for my size. When I look back at photos from that time, I don’t know why I was so ashamed. I was still really beautiful, but I truly never knew it. I was 26 years old, and I had my whole life ahead of me! But I was totally obsessed with feeling like a failure and outcast and just continued to numb my emotions with food addiction.
Over the years I have gained and lost a lot of weight! About seven years ago, I lost close to ninety pounds. Most of it was not through conscious dieting, I was just way more active, and the weight came off over the course of three and a half years. I cut out all sugary treats and stopped eating chips. I had read a book that said that sugar was just unnecessary calories and that the body didn’t need it. During that time, I was also meditating for nearly an hour every day. I did three meditation periods a day and carried meditation with me throughout my day-to-day life.
Only twenty of those ninety pounds I lost were lost from consciously dieting. The older I get the harder time I have with dieting. I get mood swings and have problems with my Bipolar 2 if I restrict food too much. The thing with me is I rarely even feel hungry, so extreme dieting or seriously cutting out calories is actually really easy for me. But every time I try to diet, I have problems with my mental health, and I put my mental health first so dieting goes on the back burner.
For the first few years after I lost the weight, I kept it off. I was working out fairly often, and my husband and I were also living in a loft apartment that was too expensive. We were living on rice and ramen noodles, and I kept the weight off. Once we had money again, I started eating regular foods and the weight slowly came back on over the course of six and a half years.
A few years ago, I was in a yoga group for plus sizes, and I discovered body positivity. It was the Body Positive Clubhouse led by Amber Karnes, and I highly recommend the group. She teaches a ton of classes about health at every size and body positivity and is such a positive force for change in the world.
I started learning that it is ok to be whatever shape or size you are, and that you can love yourself even if you don’t particularly like what you see in the mirror. Since that time, I’ve been reading a lot of books about body positivity, I’ve started to buy clothing that make me feel good about myself and I carry myself with a lot more confidence. I am learning that it is ok to take a stand against dieting and to make choices that are right for me personally, even if they go against the grain. When I started learning more about body positivity, it truly changed my life! Over time I have stepped into my power as a woman with a lot of goodness to share and I’m learning more and more about how to use my voice to lift other women up. I’ve also started sewing plus size clothes and my hope is to life up other women who are also curvy.
Body positivity is important no matter what your shape or size! It can be such a pivotal moment to realize you are not alone in your struggles with food or body image issues. No matter how you feel when you look in that mirror, it doesn’t impact your worth as a person. You have so much to offer the world; to your family, your friends, and you have so many gifts to share! You can decide to cultivate your positive qualities and spend your time following your heart, instead of wasting effort on constantly trying to fit in to an ideal.
Body positivity is slowly giving me more freedom in life to claim my worth as a woman in this world. You can make a difference and you matter, no matter what the scale says. Use your own measuring stick to figure out how you want to show up in the world! That is what I’m on the path to do and it is making a big difference in the way I live my life.
Write a Poem to Your Body
Write down what you love about your body, and ways you want to see your body thrive! Your poem doesn’t have to rhyme, and it is for your eyes only, so let loose! Give gratitude for your body and all the ways it helps you live your life out loud. Write about how you promise to be kinder to your body in big and small ways. Include an apology for not accepting yourself as you are, and promise yourself to do better going forward!
Start with “An Ode to My Body”…
Make a Collage of Your Spiritual Body
Get a posterboard, a stack of magazines, glue stick and marker or use whatever you have on hand. Even tearing off the side of a cardboard box will work if you don’t have posterboard, and any pens you have will do.
Stand up next to a wall with the marker and posterboard. Trace the curve of your body onto the posterboard. Then tear out magazine images that are authentic to your personal spirituality and life story. Arrange the images in the space you created on the posterboard and glue everything down.
You may need to retrace the curve of your body onto an extra sheet of newsprint or paper, to use as a template to trace the curves onto the magazine pages. Then prop up the posterboard or cardboard somewhere you will see it often! Feel free to add imagery to the posterboard over time, so that the collage changes as you do.
It amazed me when I did this exercise because I didn’t actually realize how beautiful my shape was. Your curves are beautiful and when you celebrate them you can start to play up your strengths instead of focusing on weaknesses.
Why Does Body Positivity Matter?
The truth is women are sold a lie that if they look a certain way, they will have it all. Women are taught that they will never be good enough. From movies to television to magazines, to the entire diet industry of workouts and books and fad eating rules to apply…women are pushed and prodded into believing the lie that they will not be enough as they are unless they constantly apply themselves to the fight to look more beautiful.
I see it very strongly in the older generations, this fight to be thin like it is all that matters in the whole world. That even a lifetime of achievements doesn’t stack up to the weight lost on a new diet plan. That plastic surgery to erase all the wrinkles and lines that were hard earned from living a life well lived…that that is the holy grail of success. I also see a kind of violence in the way that women shame each other for how they look. Sneering at a woman whose hips are too wide, or judging a woman solely based on the way she styled her hair that day instead of seeing the humanity behind those false judgements.
Some women believe a wife should always be smaller than her husband, and many families berate their children from the time they are very young to shape shift into a smaller size…only instilling a belief system early on that you will never be good enough as you are unless you are constantly monitoring your weight.
All the shame this creates in a woman just isn’t right. It comes down to a choice. There is the traditional path where you buy the lie that you must tone and shape your body to be smaller and fight the scale for the rest of your life, there is the choice that all that you should truly accomplish with your time and energy is to look a certain way. To set aside everything you care about in the shallow attempts to lose weight and forever live in the cycle of self-loathing and shame that the diet and beauty industries create. Continue fat shaming yourself and your friends to the point of exhaustion, because if you are going to be so miserable eating so little then dammit so should everyone else!
Or you can choose to cast off that shame of self-loathing and make a different choice. Learn to accept yourself as you are in this moment, take care of your needs and health in ways that make sense for your life, and extend that olive branch of acceptance to the other women in your life as well. When I discovered the body positive movement, it changed my whole perspective on life. Because for so long I thought that the main objective in life was to look a certain way, and that was the utmost measure of success.
When I realized that it didn’t have to matter as much as society led me to believe, it gave me a freedom that i didn’t know before…a freedom to make life choices from more of a place of power. Instead of acting from shame and self-loathing I started to go in a new direction. And that is truly why body positivity matters! It can alter the course of a woman’s life. It truly is a huge aspect of feminism, to love yourself as you are and own your power regardless of how you look. I’m not saying it is always an easy decision, but it is truly worth it!
Shake What Your Mama Gave You!
A great way to get more in tune with your body and how it feels is to dance! Wait until you have a few minutes alone and then turn on some music that suits your mood. Move to the music in ways that only you can! Shake your hips, sway to the rhythm of the music. Or even do high knees and step from side to side.
Get your arms moving and just grooving to the sound of the melody. Feeling your body in motion helps clear away negativity and raises your vibration. Dance to feel good, not to lose weight! If you like working out to videos, I’m really enjoying the Body Groove dance workouts that are out right now. There is also Chakra Dance which is a gentle way to get into the groove. Dancing is a great way to tune inward, let out pent up emotions and level up your mood!
Fat Shaming
You can be body positive and not love every single aspect of how you look. Most people have something that they do not like about the way they look. I find it so fascinating, because even though everyone has similar features, even the slightest difference between two people makes each person look totally unique. As an artist I have looked at faces a lot, and what I find so interesting is that everyone has the same facial features. I find myself grappling with why certain features are held in higher esteem than others. Like why is it considered a bad thing to have a big nose? Or why is symmetry in facial features seen as more beautiful than unbalanced facial features?
Some people argue that it is instinctual to choose certain features over others, and that you are just drawn to the people who would further along the gene pool in the strongest way. But that just sounds like a total cop out to me. In a world where it is still ok to make fun of fat people, it seems strange that the majority of people perpetuate this angst that everyone should look a certain way. Because what the diet industry started years ago cut a fissure deep in the psyche of society, and now you don’t even have to flip through a fashion magazine to feel bad about the way you look. Now in days you can just go on social media or YouTube and find assholes tearing each other apart and fat shaming behind the shadowy mask of a false pen name.
When I was in high school, a girl called me fat every single day in choir one year. I tried to act like it didn’t bother me, but it really hurt. I was a big girl, but I was also involved in playing sports and cheerleading. I was really active and being the late bloomer that I was, I just wasn’t overly concerned with how I looked. I totally understand that when you put a shit ton of effort into your own looks and insecurities, it might give you grounds to cut others down too. Like maybe even out the playing field a little bit. Or it might make women feel better about themselves to cut other women down.
It is a feminist act to lift up your sisters! The patriarchy wants to hold women down by saying that we have to look a certain way to be beautiful and to be successful! Be a bold change maker and stand up for the women in your life. Treat women around you like the beautiful shards of divinity that they are, because truly these bodies are houses for souls.
I want to challenge you to lift up the people in your life and find something good about the way they look every single day. I’m going to try it myself and lift up the people I see walking down the street instead of tearing them down. Everyone is in a continual process of evolution, and everybody makes mistakes sometimes. But when people cut others down it hurts themselves too and the people they care about. Find something good about every woman you meet and focus on their positive qualities! It only takes a moment to tell someone they look great. And speak kindly of the women in your life, even when they are not in the room. The way you talk about other women imposes rules on the way you view yourself. Give yourself and others the freedom to love themselves as they are today!
What is Body Positivity?
There are so many definitions of body positivity out there, and every book I have read about the subject seems to have a different idea about what it means. I’m going to break down what body positivity looks like for me and you can come up with your own definition. So many body positive gurus say that you should just stop dieting and give up on losing weight, and just accept yourself at whatever weight you are now. I actually don’t subscribe to that way of thinking. If you are uncomfortable at the weight you are at, then it can be an act of self-love and self-care to lose some weight.
To me, body positivity is more about living the way you want to no matter what you look like. It is about setting aside all the pressure to look a certain way. It is about creating your own definition of beauty, owning who you are in this moment and giving life everything you’ve got! A lot of people think that when they lose all the weight, they will finally be able to do all the things that they have wanted to do. Body positivity is about doing what you want to now, no matter what you weigh.
Self-acceptance is key if you want to live your best life! And at the same time, you can also hold the wish to change. A big part of body positivity is making decisions that are best for mind, body and spirit; instead of just trying to lose weight without taking your other needs into consideration.
I read all these books on body positivity, and the truth is I have accepted myself at the weight I am at for a really long time. I am not one of those women who have spent years yo yo dieting, in fact I’ve only really done a serious diet a handful of times in my life. I buy clothes that make me feel really good, and I strut my stuff no matter how much I weigh. I am taking steps to take care of my health and well-being, and that is the best I can do for myself.
What is your definition of body positivity? Where do you fall on the spectrum of absolute self-loathing to loving yourself? You can want to be healthy and fit and also love where you are in the journey in this moment. You have the right to love yourself as you are, and you also have the right to change what isn’t working. That is my definition of body positivity anyway, and it makes so much sense to me!
Celebrate Your Beautiful Self with Selfies!
Being plus size for much of my adult life hasn’t always been easy. I have been ridiculed and made fun of and sometimes treated like I don’t exist. I’ve also come to accept my body as it is today!
I take selfies a lot! It started out that I would just take them when I had new make-up, to see how it looked. Then I started taking selfies on days when I was in a really good mood. I take funny selfies and serious selfies. Taking selfies is a great way to get more comfortable with how you look. I might not always like how the photos turn out, but I don’t have to share them with friends if I don’t want to. They are more just a personal documentation of the years going by.
I want to challenge you to start taking selfies! Regardless of whether you are actively trying to change your body, or if you are happy with the weight that you are at right now…celebrating your body and how you look today is so important! Society teaches women that they will never be pretty enough, and it is important to challenge that assumption. When you begin to celebrate how you look as you are today, it transforms your confidence level and helps you to step into your power!
Lately I’ve lost some weight and I’m really excited about the progress I’m making! And at the same time, I want to love the woman I see in the mirror, no matter what I weigh. Through selfies I can document who I am today and celebrate who I am in the present moment.
Aging the Body Positive Way
When I was young, I always looked forward to growing older and having long flowing white hair! Now that I’m 42, I am starting to see grey hair come in, and I’m wondering how long it will be before I am totally salt and pepper. When you get older, your body starts to change in a lot of ways. I used to hear that as women age, gravity takes over and everything is downhill from there! Then I flip through fashion magazines and there are so many ads for plastic surgery and all the creams and lotions that are meant to preserve youth.
Aging with dignity and grace means accepting yourself for who you are today. And as you get older, strutting your stuff and being the best version of yourself no matter how old you get or how you look! Wrinkles can become a symbol of all that you have been through in life…all that you have been through and overcome. You can get a kind of strength through aging more naturally because as you get older you accept yourself instead of resisting who you are becoming.
I’ve met some fierce women who are in their sixties and beyond, who don’t let age hold them back. They have their own businesses, they live life on their own terms, dye their hair with streaks of blue and don’t give a fig what anyone thinks about them. Then I have seen women totally wilt as they get older, spending all their money on plastic surgery just to feel better about themselves. I can tell you; I don’t want to be in the nursing home worrying about the weight I’m carrying on my hips or thighs!
In my own journey I’m aging gracefully, and it takes a lot of courage and curiosity as my body starts to change. I’m accepting each grey hair and new wrinkle as signs of all I have been and all I am becoming! It is my hope to become more self-confident and own my power more and more as I get older.
Create an Ad for "Miracle Cream"
Flipping through fashion magazines, I see ads all the time for make-up and facial products. The thing is a lot of the ads are misleading and downright not even truthful. I hate to say it, but anti-aging products have not truly been proven to work. But women spend billions on those products every single year. And that is more than a shame, it is nearly criminal.
I decided to make my own ad for “miracle cream”. When I buy products like these it is typically because I’m trying to achieve harmony in my life and trying to feel better about myself. I have eczema so usually the magic potions wind up in the trash, but with my new “miracle cream” everything is right in my world! Just one application and everything is ok.
Create your own ad for miracle cream! What would make your life feel complete? If you looked exactly how you envisioned your best self to be, what would you be able to accomplish in this world? Make your ad reflect the powers you want to call in to live life on your terms.
Dress to Honor Your Body As it is Today!
When I first gained weight, I didn’t want to admit to myself that I could not fit into my old clothes. I waited for a long time to buy things in my new size. I also kept all of my “skinny” clothes, just in case I lost weight and got my figure back. It is disempowering to put yourself through that every time you go to get dressed…sifting through clothes that no longer fit.
Clean out your closet! Donate all the clothes that are too small and make room for stuff that fits you as you are today. When I first became plus size there were fewer fashionable options for curvy women. Fortunately, the fashion industry has come a really long way to create clothes that are fashion forward made to fit larger bodies.
If you want ideas for ways to dress that accentuate your best features, look up ideas online! Also pay attention to what makes you feel your best. I love bright colors, and I used to think that I had to wear wide leg pants to balance out my bigger stomach. But I threw that rule out once I tried skinny jeans. My legs are my best feature, and now I love to show them off.
What colors make you feel divine? Add them to your wardrobe. Also find ways to mix and match what you already have to create totally new looks for yourself. Above all, dress for the size you are today instead of waiting to buy clothes until you lose the weight. You deserve to look fabulous no matter what your size!
Dress to Impress: A Body Positive Journal Page
The thing with appearances, as with art…beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What one person finds attractive will be totally different from someone else’s perception. There are societal “norms” of what is expected of people, and each society has their own description of beauty. Some societies even value plus size women over thinness and have throughout the ages. They say that first impressions are everything, and the first thing a person sees is how you look. But there are so many people out there with depth in their hearts and courage in their souls, who look how they want to look and love who they want to love.
There is a big movement going on today where plus size women are dressing to impress! If you search body positive models or plus size fashion on instagram, you will discover all walks of plus size women donning fashion trends and getting a whole lot of admiration from their fans. I salute these women, the courage it takes for them to share like that is just profound, and it makes me so happy that they get love and accolades for sharing their curves. I am obsessed with fashion! I am totally into sewing clothes, and I love trends and all the new styles coming out. I take a lot of pride in looking beautiful, no matter my weight. When I wear clothes that make me feel good about myself, I have a lot more confidence and feel like I am treating myself with love and care.
I did an art journal spread about appearances, and it was fun just to let the words flow. Here is how I made the page.
Choose a page or two from a fashion magazine, closeups of faces work great for this activity. Glue them into your journal, then get a marker or pen in a contrasting color that will show up really well. Gel pens work great if they are opaque, or paint markers. I used a white Sakura Gelly Roll Pen. Then just write over the magazine pages and get it all out stream of conscious.
Write your thoughts on appearance, or jam about the way you dress and why you love your style. How do people treat you when you look your best? Do you feel jealous of other women and how they look? Is it right for people to judge based on appearances…do you think it is natural or is it totally wrong? Does society create a myth that women should look a certain way, or is appreciation of beauty natural? Is there anything you would like to change about the way you dress? Write all over the magazine pages and get your thoughts out.
Then look back over what you wrote in a few days and see what insights you can get from it. When I did my page, I realized that while it did hurt that people judged me on my appearance, it also seemed somewhat instinctual to care about how you look.
Health at Every Size and Intuitive Eating
Intuitive eating is becoming a booming industry and a lot of women are finding healing for eating disorders by embracing a more carefree attitude around food. I basically eat intuitively, and I just eat what I crave without worrying about carbs, calories or the like. Intuitive eating is about honoring your cravings and eating the foods you like. It is about a healthier approach to eating.
When most people were children, they didn’t worry about whether or not a food was going to make them fat. They just ate what they wanted and then stopped when they were full. In my own childhood I learned that food was a huge part of life. In my family food was used to celebrate and family meals were the only time that everyone was gathered together. My mom, sisters and I would share about our days and that was the time when we were all sharing space together.
Food was also a way to escape boredom and I learned emotional eating from my parents. As an adult I started to cope with my emotions with food. I think a lot of people use food to cope with the stresses of life. Sometimes that is a healthy option when life gets challenging, as opposed to getting drunk or using substances to cope.
I love being an intuitive eater because it gives me freedom to take care of my body in a way that makes sense for my life. I get to call the shots about what foods I eat, I don’t count calories or restrict certain foods. I have total freedom when it comes to food and it feels really amazing!
Health at Every Size is a concept where you can be healthy pretty much no matter what you weigh. If you are looking to be healthier without dieting; the basic idea is to have 5 servings of fruit and veggies a day, drink plenty of water and work out for thirty minutes five days a week. These are goals I strive for, but I don’t adhere to them rigidly. Above all your diet and lifestyle should make you feel really good, and your choices can fit where you are in life today.
A Mindful Eating Exercise
Choose a food you love, like a piece of candy or a chocolate. Take a piece and hold it in your hands. Think about all it took to create this little bit of food…all the ingredients that go into making it, all the people who worked to bring the food to market, all the natural elements that went into creating this little bit of food.
Then slowly unwrap the candy or chocolate and look at it. Notice the colors, smells and textures of this little bit of heaven! Put the food in your mouth and take the time to notice the flavors, textures and tastes of the food. Is it salty, sweet or bitter? What does the taste remind you of? Slowly savor this food and realize that you can eat what you love and still be good to yourself! Realize that it is okay to enjoy food and the best that life has to offer! You know what your body needs to feel its best, and you honor your needs in the right ways! Give thanks for your food and your beautiful body.
Thank You from the bottom of my heart…
I totally appreciate you taking this time to love your body and learn how to accept yourself just as you are in this moment! Thank you for reading this mini book, and for taking the time out of your day to read some of my story. I truly hope that you walk away from this little book with more strut in your step! You are not alone in your journey toward self-acceptance!
If this class makes a difference for you, or if you want some support in self-acceptance and finding ways to nurture your beautiful body…I’m just an email away!
