Lets Talk About: "Self-Love"...

No, I'm not talking about THAT KIND of "self-love" (you dirty, DIRTY readers of mine...). I'm talking about accepting and loving your body for what it is. What do I mean? Well, take a look at the picture above. Do you see those words? " My BUTT is BIG". Now lets face the facts: Kim Kardashian is GORGEOUS and photo-editing can do wonders for ANYONE.....however, the message behind this Nike ad is one I agree with. This ad was made to target women like myself, and Nike? Bravo. You targeted this gal, spot on!


So what IS the message, as I see it, behind this ad? Its just what I said above, its about self-love. Loving yourself. Accepting your body and embracing it. Its no secret that I'm on my own journey to lose weight, become healthy and fit, and at the same time tweak my body image. BUT here's my main point: I (and others in this community) need to embrace the way our bodies are built and learn to love the way we are put together. In my opinion, God makes no mistakes when he creates us. Our bodies are (originally) just the way he intended them to be. Its what WE DO TO OUR BODIES that puts them in a poor state or an optimum state of health.


I don't always like what I see when I look in the mirror. My shoulders are broad, my belly is a bit too flabby for my liking. My BUTT is BIG, my thighs are pretty sizable assets as well, and my upper arms are nothing to be desired. I could go on and on like this for days. But instead of going on and on about the things I don't particularly like, I always try to step back and appreciate the little things. First of all, there are many women out there who would love to have a plump booty and curvy hips, with a soft mid-section. Not everyone wants to be a skinny bean pole.


There's this certain person that comments on my YT videos every so often. He/She always comments (rather negatively) that I'm "obsessed" with my body image and that I've got it all wrong, "Men prefer women a bit on the heavier side, and thats the cold, hard, truth". Although this person has me pegged all wrong (they would know this if they took the time to pay attention to the things I say and talk about in my daily vlogs), they DO actually have a great point. They are totally right, its NOT all about body image. And guess what? Many men DO prefer women to be a bit fuller in their figure. My husband is one of those men. Not to get too graphic here, but he LOVES my sizeable thighs and plump BIG BUTT! (LOL) In fact, he says thats specifically what attracted him in the first place! SCORE!!!! hahahahaha


What I'm trying to say is this: Sometimes on this journey to get fit and healthy, and lets face it, to look better....we often lose touch with the love we have for ourselves. Its almost inevitable that somewhere along the lines of the journey we become hyper-critical of our appearance. For example, when I first started my journey (almost 2 years ago now) I remember saying, "When I can fit back into my size 12's I'll be done and happy." Well guess what? As it is right now, I'm in a size 10, and oh yes, I'm VERY happy....but I want to keep going. I want to keep challenging myself. I want to keep achieving new health and fitness goals. And yes, I want to still lose a bit more weight. See? Hyper-critical. So its days like this, and advertisements like the one above that stop me in my tracks and speak to me. They say: "Julie. Stop for a second and love yourself for who you are. Stop and give yourself some love and appreciation today." You got it. I'm doing that. I'm loving myself today. What about you?


LADIES & GENTLEMEN: LOOK BACK AT IT AND BE PROUD!!!!