Yesterday, I was watching one of the final episodes of the Tyra Show *tear* (I TiVo it every day)….One of her guest’s was a young lady who was brutally raped while attempting to go to a modeling gig. The so-called modeling recruiter beat her so badly that she had severe bruises and soon began to hate her body and her reflection in the mirror. To help her, Tyra stood her in front of a mirror and told her to find one thing that she liked. The very pretty girl had a hard time, but ultimately said that she liked her hair. Tyra told her to do it at home (naked) and find a new physical thing every month, and embrace that body part and love it. I think I have okay self-esteem, I love dressing cute and looking good and y’all know I’m not camera shy. But, it made me think about how I really feel on the inside about myself when I look in the mirror. Sometimes I’m so mean to myself. I say cruel things to myself that I would never say to anybody else. “Your face has acne like a 12 year old, your stomach is disgusting, your teeth look terrible because you forget to wear your retainer, you have gross sagging skin from losing so much weight.” When I really listened to the things I told myself on a regular basis, it was pretty bad, actually kind of sad. When I was on a really good path and losing weight at a steady rate, I stopped saying negative things like that to myself. I want to get back to that place. That happy place of losing weight, and feeling good about myself. So this morning, when I got up, I picked something I liked. I picked my eyes. They have a nice almond shape and they’re proportionate with my face. All day long, when I looked in the bathroom mirror at work or saw my reflection as I walked past a window, I looked at myself and said I love my eyes. It made me feel good, instead of immediately attacking myself for my flaws. I can’t believe I’m really sharing all of this, because I’ve never talked about it with anyone. But I hope that my story will help someone else feel like they’re not in the struggle alone. So, will you take the mirror challenge? I did. Find just one thing that you like, and go from there!
I’m just starting my journey but I just got done having a talk with a friend about how badly I beat myself up on a constant basis. I’m hoping that I can work through this funk and get started on my C25K! Thanks for your podcasts! I can’t wait to try the first one tonight! I’ll be doing W1 for two weeks because I broke/sprain my foot a few weeks ago and I want to take it easy but I’m excited to get started! Thanks so much 🙂
I think I’m Beautiful which means I think you are too because we look JUST alike. 🙂 You have nothing to beat yourself up about. Thanx for sharing your story.
Awwwwwww! Thanks Sister that means a lot.
I Just wanted to say YES I am up to the challange. I pick on myself ALL the time. I LOVE my eyes too…
I am not sure where to post this but I wanted to ask you how do I remotivate myself. See I started C25K (thanks for the Podcast) and completed W1 and started W2….I never finished W2 ( because my hubby was out of town so there was no one to distract the kids and i can think of a lot more excuses…) I was so motivated and enjoying myself and I was actually upset that I could not/did not continue on my runs as scheduled (this was about 2 almost 3 weeks ago). I am totally demotivated I put on 2 lbs and I just can’t find the motivation to get back up….What can I do….What keeps you going? Thank you for sharing
Hey LovinRunning! That’s great that you decided to accept the challenge. I feel so much better about myself already. It’s so nice to tell myself something good everytime I see my reflection….. I can’t believe somebody is asking me for fitness advice…. But, I really think the answer is not where to find the motivation. It’s more so about making a commitment to yourself and your health. First of all don’t worry about 2 lbs. Its only 2 lbs. Nobody noticed it but you. And only you can do something about it. I don’t have kids, so I can’t imagine how mom’s do it, but you guys do it everyday. You have to make a commitment to yourself in the same way you make a commitment to take care of your family. If it means getting up an hour earlier or walking on your lunch break. You have to make a conscience decision to make it a priority. There are many times I hate to go workout or jog, but I do it. If I waited for “motivation” I would never workout. I ignore excuses and “Just do it” I hope this helps.
Thank you for giving me something to really think about… I am definitely not my own best friend right now.
What a fantastic uplifting post. Great insight and JUST wanted I needed to hear about now. Keep doing what you do and THANK YOU!