Do you think it's ok to 'love your body' whatever shape?

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  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
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    It's fine to love your body no whatever it looks like but at the same time you need to understand how attractive your body is generally perceived to be; not everyone is beautiful.

    That's the harsh truth, regardless of whatever social construct of beauty is in place at the moment. Not everyone is beautiful, and it also shouldn't be the end of the world. No matter who you are, you will experience this one day. Even if you were drop-dead gorgeous at 20, you won't be at 40.

    I think you should respect your body, appreciate your body, treat your body well, with the understanding that you have to figure out how to stand up to an often critical world.

    Do the best with what you've got and move on. Disabling your body with excessive fat can never be construed as doing your best.
  • aprilgal412
    aprilgal412 Posts: 17
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    I've reached a point in my life where to me, beauty is not described by what you look like, it is how you feel inside. So, I believe a person needs to love themselves before they can take care of that body God gave them to live in here on earth. I look forward to the day when my body shell doesn't matter. I try to look deep within myself - and yes, I have let my shell of a body get out of control. It is all about the choices we make and how we feel. I was always "big boned" as my grandfather would say - I have had a weight problem all my life. I don't know when I learned to love myself - I sometimes have a love / hate relationship with my inner being. It is at that time when I realize that I haven't let God in - I've been trying to do it myself. I can't do anything by myself, and when I try, I fail. When I talk to God, he uses other means to motivate me (like the my topics on MFP). So, can a morbidly obese person (and I truly hate that term) love their body? Yes, they can, only if they love their inner self. Is a person who says they love their body and abuse it need help? yes they do - and I hope they find the inner peace to do that. With God all things are possible. Everyone has a happy weight. My happy weight most likely still would be considered in medical terms obese. When I went in for my physical this year, my bad cholesterol was high. Overall, I was told I was very healthy - but needed to lose weight - the examination detail sheet had that word obese typed on it. The doctor never used that term. He just told me that in today's society, it is so easy to make the wrong food choices. I need to find what works for me and throw in some exercise. He didn't judge my weight, just encouraged me to do what works for me. Do I love my body right now? no - not really, but I love how I am starting to feel and in the long run, it will change my shell into a healthy dwelling place for me.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
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    Yes
    but if u are obese or overweight u need to do something abou t it
    i lov e my fat self
    but am working on a less fat self
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    If you are obese (and I mean really obese, not obese according to the BMI chart, which is crap), I think it is pretty freaking clear that you DON'T love your body. You can talk all you want about self-acceptance and loving yourself as you are, but CHOOSING to be severely overweight is not loving your body. It is systematic TORTURE to your body. And focusing your frustration on how mean other people can be is classic psychological projection.
  • RobynLB83
    RobynLB83 Posts: 626 Member
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    Different people have different priorities. If 'love your body' means idealize something that is obviously not ideal in order to mask a feeling of inadequacy, then no, I don't think people should delude themselves. However, if someone's body or health just isn't a priority for him or her, I don't think that's a sufficient basis for evaluating him or her as a person. Really, I'd rather see emotionally and spiritually healthy people walking around in the world than perfect physical specimens.
  • Annerk1
    Annerk1 Posts: 372 Member
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    The way I see it is that if you don't love yourself a bit then you won't do anything to change it. People usually have such a low self esteem that they don't want to change so there's got to be a bit of respect for yourself and your body otherwise you'll never change. That's how I got to 265 pounds. There's obviously an argument for loving your body but I think you've got to love yourself otherwise you'll just never bother.

    Very nicely said. It's not just about loving your body, but also respecting it.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    Yes, it's more than "ok" to love your body. Your body is more than a shape. It's more than a vessel for your vanity. It's part of who you are. You wouldn't be alive without it, and you'll have a lot more incentive to take care of it if you make eating properly and exercising part of loving it.
  • autniccole
    autniccole Posts: 36
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    The more I think about this, the more I think I can say that I *do* love my body? Wanna know why? Because my morbidly obese legs can take me hiking up hills. They can take me down by the lake to watch the sun set over the marina. My big fat arms can lift weights, and then they can keep on lifting - and keep on working - even when they ache. My big fat stomach doesn't crave junk food anymore - and do you know why? Because my big fat heart loves my big fat body too much to let it keep on going downhill.

    ETA: Just because you see someone with your eyes and they appear obese to you does NOT mean you know their story. That 250 pound girl might have been 450 pounds a few years ago. Any time you judge people based solely on what you see outside or you are doing a disservice to yourself. Everyone has their own journey and their own story. You can not make the assumption that just because someone is obese, they do not love themselves or take care of themselves or eat healthy & exercise.
  • chanstriste13
    chanstriste13 Posts: 3,277 Member
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    I think if people loved their own bodies from the get-go, they wouldn't develop food problems at either end of the spectrum. yes, societal pressure is a mind screw.
  • chanstriste13
    chanstriste13 Posts: 3,277 Member
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    i think if people loved their own bodies from the get-go, they wouldn't develop food problems at either end of the spectrum. yes, societal pressure is a mind screw.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    The more I think about this, the more I think I can say that I *do* love my body? Wanna know why? Because my morbidly obese legs can take me hiking up hills. They can take me down by the lake to watch the sun set over the marina. My big fat arms can lift weights, and then they can keep on lifting - and keep on working - even when they ache. My big fat stomach doesn't crave junk food anymore - and do you know why? Because my big fat heart loves my big fat body too much to let it keep on going downhill.

    Best wishes to you! Great post.
  • mikeyboy
    mikeyboy Posts: 1,057 Member
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    The most important thing is to love yourself. Improving yourself has very little to do with self love. Love who you are, not what you are. If you do not "like" your body, work hard to change it.
  • cad39too
    cad39too Posts: 874 Member
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    I think being conscious of your health and loving your body regardless of the shape are two distinctly different things.
  • LoveDreamSmile
    LoveDreamSmile Posts: 93
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    When I made the decision to start this journey some time ago, I had really hit rock bottom and couldn't stand killing myself slowly anymore..I couldn't stand being unhappy and disgusted with myself on a daily basis. I was suffering with mental illness, a cigarette and food addiction and the worst of it was I wasn't spending enough time with my little girl and I didn't shower for weeks at a time.

    Anyway that very day that I lost it..I cried for a very long time and I told myself that deep inside I was a good person..I just wasn't giving myself a chance. I also told myself because of being a good person with a lot to offer in life, I deserved to be happy.. so I had to start eating right and exercising to lose the weight. So do I love the way my body looks? Not yet.. but I do love myself and my body enough to treat it right and become healthy.
  • Kushy8
    Kushy8 Posts: 103 Member
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    I think it is very possible to love your body AND want to change it to be healthier.
  • thepezzle
    thepezzle Posts: 40 Member
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    I'm obese. I don't love my body image, but I accept it. Accepting what I have before me in the present was very important for the start of this journey, otherwise I simply tormented myself further.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    I think people should love their body...whatever the shape. Because that is what will lead to good self-care and good health. A person's weight does not change how I feel about them. We all carry enough burdens. I see no need to add to another person's burdens by judging them and how they should or shouldn't feel.
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
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    Bodies are so very much more than our outward shell. My body has given birth to two children and kept me alive and healthy so far to raise them. Why would I hate it?

    Should a veteran who lost a limb in combat hate their body because it is no longer perfect? Hell no!

    I think loving your body as it is is an important part of taking ownership and starting to make changes to show more love to your body by caring for it.

    NO ONE should be encouraged to hate their body, for whatever reason.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    Um, yes. Nobody should hate themselves because of their shape. Nobody.
  • terlyn20
    terlyn20 Posts: 142 Member
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    i'm a Leo we always love ourselves!

    but, YES i love myself and my body and even though i am
    overweight now according to my husband of 32 years- " sexy " is my first name.
    I love myself enough to care, which is why i quit smoking 24 years ago, only drink
    occasionally and never to stupor. However, good southern cooking has always whooped
    my *kitten*. So here i am, counting calories, doing portion control and moving more
    ( i used to move alot ) but life happened and i got too busy for myself, but now that
    the nest is empty, its me time again.

    Love yourself first, if you dont' how can you expect anybody else too.

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