Self Love And Body Positivity

Ever since a young boy, I was known for my crazy eating habits. I had an abnormally large sweet tooth and stomach. There would be days I would eat a whole bag of candy and still have a taste for more sweets. I had a fairly thin physique with some muscle tone. Everybody told me that one day, I’ll become obese and regret all these “bad” decisions; I disregarded every comment and lived by the motto, “ As long as I don’t get fat, I’m fine.”

I still remember my young mind being undoubtedly misled by narcissistic societal standards that left me feeling hatred for my physical appearance. It was not until my second year of high school when I realized that self-love should not be shallow, but rather focused on one’s own well-being and happiness. It was through this discovery which I felt a passionate urge to aid others who have, like me, combated years of insecurities conceived by offering

Having dark skin, full lips and long thick hair has always been things that I was proud of, because this was the way that all the women in my family looked. My mother and grandmother always made me feel like being me or looking like me was the greatest gift in the world. However, I learned from the constant teasing and hair pulling from individuals in my 5th grade class, that looking like the rest of my family was not seen as a good thing to others outside of my home. That is when I became truly aware of my differences and I believe those negative experiences changed the way I viewed my own

Recently I have been motivated by my friend Adrian’s life changing decision of putting behind his desire of just letting go and being determined to live a healthy life. I have always had an active life and enjoy playing sports but figured that it wouldn’t be enough and I am currently on a diet which has cut down on my calorie and sugar level intake. Nowadays I take the time to read nutrition labels and measure portion sizes which make a great difference. Every now and then I have a break and consume foods that are not healthy but I now I am doing better now. It is a constant struggle to not get tempted into a delicious looking pizza or some perfectly rounded donuts but I stay motivated to achieve my

Having dark skin and long thick hair has always been things that I was proud of, because this was the way that all the women in my family looked. My mother and grandmother always made me feel like being me or looking like me was the greatest gift in the world, however, I learned from the constant teasing and hair pulling from individuals in my 5th grade class that looking like the rest of my family was not seen as a good thing to others outside of my home. That is when I became truly aware of my differences and I believe those negative experiences changed the way I viewed my own self-worth and beauty. I am no long that confident

I would began to mask my insecurities as best as I could and forced myself to understand that I couldn’t change myself no matter what I did. “You’re pretty for a dark-skinned girl.” was a phrase I heard often growing up,but do to my low self-esteem and the eagerness for acceptance I took this offensive statement as a compliment.Recently I started to learn more and accept my African Heritage,traditions and ancestry which empowered me to take pride in my African and Caribbean Culture.I realized I shouldn’t abide by western ideologies of beauty and just love the richness of my melanated complexion and

I have been worried about my looks my whole life. It was most evident when I began junior high and things were changing. Girls started getting curvier, wearing makeup and getting prettier. We were compared to the models that we would see in our Cosmo magazines. In Junior High, my parents bought me a phone, therefore, I downloaded every social media that ever existed. I would post the pictures that I looked best in because appearances were everything. A girl at any age is afraid of being judged and it seems that for me, as a

This article was written by Sunny Sea Gold on a popular wellness website named Greatist. The beginning of the piece addresses the question , what does someone gain from just being ok with their body? The author states that she intentionally avoids saying “loving” your body because she feels that loving ever aspect of your body all the time is an unrealistic goal. She also points out that research has linked positive mental and physical states are linked with being satisfied with ones body. The issue of weight and its relationship to body acceptance is the main theme of the article, and the author presents arguments such as, disliking your body may increase your risk of obesity, and women of any weight who accept their flaws are able to handle

Food is a substance that humans eat in order to perform basic everyday functions. Accord to the author of Fat is a family affair, Judi Hollis;” America’s “drug” of choice is food” (25). The sugar from a soda pop or the crunches from potato chips drive anyone to drink or eat it. After a while our wants for a soda pop or chips develop into needs on a daily basis. The six needs to recovering from an obsessive eating is appreciation, approaching the new, relaxation, habit, sexuality, competition, and coping. Judi Hollis expresses appreciate as an important need for recovery.

Growing up, I was always criticized about the extra weight I carried around with me. The negative remarks got into my head and one day I had enough; around the age of 12 I decided that I wanted to be “normal”. This led me to extreme diets and exercises and within a few months I was getting compliments. Little did I know, that the methods that I used to get rid of my fat, were not healthy approaches. I soon began to develop the opposite problem -- being too skinny -- and again, I was not happy with myself. When I got to high school, I saw all these physically fit athletes and made the conclusion that I had to imitate them if I wanted to look like them. First, I tried out for the soccer team. Every day, I would spend countless hours practicing

I was always very picky in what I ate and loved unhealthy foods like any other kid. To get me to eat, I was never stopped from the foods I could have. I never worried about what foods I consumed or how unhealthy I was. Eating school lunches packed with chips, sodas, drinks, and candy, I began to put on weight. The years from 3rd grade until 10th I was considered fat. I got beaten again and again with everyone telling me I was unhealthy, what no one ever told me was how to fix it. I tried many times to loose weight, my mind was not strong, I couldn’t do it I told myself and I gave up every

Rae Smith with the Love Yourself Challenge on tumbler.com relays a strong message when she says, “There is nothing wrong with your body, but there is a lot wrong with the messages which try to convince you otherwise.” When it comes to having a positive body image in today’s society it can often be a struggle for anyone. 89% of American women are unhappy with their current weight and body, 84% would like to lose weight. (Schultz, 2015) Speaking for myself, I have struggled with weight and body image since I was about 11. I have done so many harmful things to myself as a teen and into my adulthood trying to achieve the body I thought I could be happy with but it never really occurred to me the damage I was doing until I had a daughter. My

I do not like the vision of myself having diabetes and obesity. I like the most appealing element of life: food. At the same time, I might or might not I like my lack of self control, the weakness that allows me to occasionally have quality yet fatty desserts. As if to make the matter more troublesome, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, my roommate made me a tray of tiramisu, and my slender diet discipline was gone with the wind. I tried my best not to devour the whole tray at once, but instead sneaking a little bit here and there regularly throughout a couple of days.

Some individuals have “delusions of ugliness or misshapenness” (Bradbury, 301). This is called body dysmorphic disorder. They hold the belief that something is wrong with them despite them not being ugly at all. The patients` lives gets taken over by the need to find the “cure,” to rid them of their self-thought strange looks. Most patients with this disorder find themselves dejected and felt great shame in how they looked. Patients saw how they looked to be “socially unacceptable and as arousing strong adverse reactions in others, which led to social avoidance.” (Bradbury,

When my family moved away from the place I grew up I began to have a major problem with my weight; I turned to food to comfort me. I somehow felt secure while eating and because of that psychological reassurance I got from the food, I was soon over weight. I knew I had to do something but that urgency would die when I would be introduced to a new flavor of Brewster’s ice cream or a limited time only supreme large fries that I saw advertised on the television or in a magazine. My self esteem and body-image suffered a great amount during those years of constant struggle. As I looked at pictures of celebrities, athletes, average people, friends, my sister and then myself, I noticed something, all of them were thin except me. After this and