A couple of weeks ago, an old colleague sent me a photo of myself in my 20-something glory. It was a photo I had never seen before, and my first thought was how thin I looked. So thin! Then, I felt sad for that me, as well as a bit cross. How could she not see how good she looked? How could she not understand that she was probably a total bore with all the thinking about diets and calories? How did she not realise that a life without cheese is not a life well lived?
And now I know that my body is awesome, I am kinder to myself. I enjoy food so much more, and am not always starting a diet. I don’t exercise to be thin; I exercise to be strong, to clear my mind, to get out of the house.
But then – I felt grateful. Grateful that although I am much bigger now, I have discovered a body confidence that I never had before. Who cares if I am bigger? My body is awesome. It grew two people, after all. My wide hips are testament to that. And now I know that my body is awesome, I am kinder to myself. I enjoy food so much more, and am not always starting a diet. I don’t exercise to be thin; I exercise to be strong, to clear my mind, to get out of the house.
I still don’t much like photos, but that’s OK. I may never like photos taken of me, but many people don’t. What does matter is that I am so much happier now with the body that I have. And that’s pretty cool.
Lauren is a Wellington mother of two. She blogs at Modern Mothercraft, where she applies a 1945 handbook on motherhood to parenting in the modern day, as well as writing about other topical issues.
