My Brief Outlook on Body Positivity

This is a blog written by me, Bailey, with opinions straight from my brain. Read or don’t. Just here to try and hype my ladies up and remind them their body is a working machine. It’s not a just a shiny object to look at.

We all have opinions on body image, but I feel 'image' is almost the wrong word. If you’re around my age, 26, then you grew up with celebrity women being praised for their beautiful, perfect sized bodies. This held us to a standard. A standard that, in my opinion, is bullshit. (Yeah I said it) 

My weight has fluctuated up and down SO much since I was in middle school. Yeah, middle school. I gained weight, but it wasn’t even to the point of being unhealthy. Like, I was probably just going through puberty... I believe it was my junior year in high school when I started eating less. I’m not here to say I had an eating disorder or anything, but it turned to the point of being unhealthy. I was skipping breakfast and most of the time, lunch. I would only eat supper. Doing this I lost a lot of weight. All I remember was how praised I was by my friends, my sports coach and even family members. Now, I’m not saying they shouldn’t have given me compliments or that I blame them for anything, but why was I only getting praise and called beautiful when I was “skinny” and not before. An Unhealthy skinny I might add. I was NOT getting the nutrition my body needed, being a 5’9’’, highly active 17 year old. 

What I’m trying to say is, most of us have a similar story like this and that’s why we hate ourselves when our body weight or shape changes. We’re being compared to these “ideal” bodies on the internet or in magazines, when the “ideal” body weight and shape is different for every body. Do you feel good in your body? When I ask this, I don’t mean when you look in the mirror. What I’m asking is, do you feel good when you're at work, running around with your kids or doing your favorite hobbies? If you feel good, then you are good. The way you feel is more important than the way you look.

I really could go on and on but I think I’ll end here for now. I’ll be back. Here’s some advice before I go….
Stop taking before and after images. Your body is way more than that. Remind your daughters and friends that they’re more than a body. YOU are more than a body. 


P.S. Read the book More Than a Body, you won’t regret it.

<3 Bailey