will you ever be happy with your body?

245

Replies

  • boatsie77
    boatsie77 Posts: 480 Member
    My body is amazing! I don't know what I would do without it...I love it, and am grateful every day that it has got me to this point, after decades of use and abuse. I'm now trying to return the favor by giving it the nutrition and exercise it deserves.

    It's a good thing you didn't ask 'our bodies' if they are happy with us.
  • silvergurl518
    silvergurl518 Posts: 4,123 Member
    My body is amazing! I don't know what I would do without it...I love it, and am grateful every day that it has got me to this point, after decades of use and abuse. I'm now trying to return the favor by giving it the nutrition and exercise it deserves.

    It's a good thing you didn't ask 'our bodies' if they are happy with us.

    beautifully said. or as the internetz folk say, QFT.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    I like to think that it will always be a work in progress.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
    I'll be happy when I don't have to lift my fat to wash under it.
  • jessannprice
    jessannprice Posts: 183 Member
    No I don't think I ever will be... but I'm TRYING to be.

    I'm trying to be healthy. I want a good quality of life. I want the perfect body--but I don't think I'll ever get there. If I do, I probably won't realize it..

    But I'm working on self-acceptance.
  • gailmelanie
    gailmelanie Posts: 210 Member
    That is a very good question, thank you for asking. I wonder the same thing. I was slim and had a very nice body 30 years ago, but I thought I was fat, even then when I was over 40 lbs lighter at that time than I am now. I have saved some of the clothes I wore then as a reminder and measurement tool. My body image is intertwined with several things; how many carbs I've eaten, how much exercise I get, who I'm with, what I'm doing and whether I've had good sex recently. That last one makes me feel good enough, usually, that it doesn't matter how I look, at least temporarily. I'm grateful my husband still loves me and makes love to me. He never complains about my body and he's known me for a long time, so he knows how I used to look. That's not what he cares about even though I do. I'm pretty sure if I were to lose 40 lbs now, the body I think I remember at that weight would not reappear. I've had two kids since then and taken up weight training. Plus I'm 30 years older. Time and gravity take their toll on everyone, regardelss of their weight. I have gone to therapy over body image and eating and really not learned anything I didn't already know or helped me view my body differently. Eating a low carb diet was the only thing that helped at all in that regard. Not sure what the connection is, exactly, but it's still true.
    I do try to remember that the body I have has given me over 50 years of very good service and life, even if it doesn't match the image we are usually shown as "attractive, sexy and beautiful." I've had two uncomplicated pregnancies, two natural births and two healthy babies from this body, many great orgasms, many satisfying exercise sessions, enough situations where I've had the necessary strength to accomplish tasks that other women wouldn't have been able to that I can say I have a good body, even if it doesn't look like that "ideal" body. If it looked like a model, too, I don't know if I would be any happier. Do you think the models think they have great bodies and are satisfied with them? I wonder.
  • heatherloveslifting
    heatherloveslifting Posts: 1,428 Member
    My body is amazing! I don't know what I would do without it...I love it, and am grateful every day that it has got me to this point, after decades of use and abuse. I'm now trying to return the favor by giving it the nutrition and exercise it deserves.

    It's a good thing you didn't ask 'our bodies' if they are happy with us.

    beautifully said. or as the internetz folk say, QFT.

    Agree. My body is not perfect but it I love and adore it anyway.
  • brillmer
    brillmer Posts: 1,268 Member
    It will be a long and arduous process.. But I assume eventually I will be.

    I lost 70+ pounds so far.. Proud of my progression, happy with my progression.. But nah.. Not happy with my body. Not yet.
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
    Probably not! But that's what pushes me to continually set new goals for myself. I would hate to get to a point in my life where I've become complacent. Onward and upward, always!
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    I'm not unhappy with my body now. I think I'm sexy as is. However some strong arms would be nice; I'm sick of taking five trips to the car for groceries, I wanna carry all that junk at once.

    Also fit into a smaller wedding dress.
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    Happy? Maybe.

    Satisfied and finished or ready to maintain? Nope.

    ^ Exactly what Dan said.

    I'll never be finished. Ever.
  • berriboobear
    berriboobear Posts: 524 Member
    Hmm, I'm not sure.
    I feel like it's a human flaw not to be completely satisfied.

    When I reach my goal weight, there are undoubtably still aspects of myself that I "wish" were different, but are natural and I wouldn't be able to change.
  • emilygray7165
    emilygray7165 Posts: 69 Member
    I think you need to love your body in order to make it better. Otherwise, you're almost trying to punish it. Love yourself, it's really important! Look in the mirror every day and find things you like about yourself.
    Personally, i'm growing to love my body. I see it improve every day and I know that loving myself is the reason for these improvements!
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    Once I finally get to the point where I'm happy with my weight. I will want to gain more strength, and a more developed muscular body.

    so many people have this wrong. you should be already strength training!!!
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Happiness is a choice we make. There are days I am quite happy with the changes in my body and other days I fixate on the few things that just won't be "perfect" and then I am unhappy. I generally focus on choosing happy and realizing that no matter WHAT I do, I will never be a 19 year old centerfold.....ever. So, for a 41 year old mom of two who can comfortably wear a bikini to the beach, wears a size6 and runs half marathons, I'm quite pleased with my body and what it can and does allow me to do!

    edit:typo

    This attitude WINS!
  • tessaeve
    tessaeve Posts: 75 Member
    My body will never be perfect and that's not my expectation. I'm happy with my body now, I was happy with it before. That doesn't mean I don't want to strive to have it be the best it can be. But I'm happy with it. I'm happy it's here, and that it carries me through all the tasks I ask it to do, and that it's starting to look pretty good in clothes. I look at it like my salary. I'm happy with my salary now, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't want a raise. And at what point would my salary be high enough that I'd never want more? I'm perfectly content with my body as is. But I'd also be content with some improvements. But I don't strive for perfection.

    ^^This^^

    It's my body and it does amazing things
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
    In my clothes I'm very happy with the way I look and I still have 20-30 pounds to go to be at the body fat I'd like to achieve to be healthy (currently 27.2%, would like to be around 22%). Bare naked in front of the mirror I still see stretch marks, fat, cellulite and loose skin. Do I wish that could change - yes - but my husband and I are the only ones seeing that side of me and he's happy with it so why shouldn't I be?

    Happiness is a state of mind and a choice. I choose to control what I can control and let go of the things I can't. I can control what I eat and how much I exercise. I can't control the damage I've already done (cellulite, stretch marks and loose skin) so why worry about it?
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    If you're not happy with yourself now, you won't be happy at your goal weight. Happiness isn't measured in pounds (or the lack of them). It's measured in achievements and what you've been able to give.

    Even when I hated the way my body looked, I couldn't hate it because it has given me my children. And when I ran a 10k on Saturday, I didn't really care how much I weighed as I passed the 5 mile marker.
  • HealthyBodySickMind
    HealthyBodySickMind Posts: 1,207 Member
    I have always been happy with my body.
  • Allonsee
    Allonsee Posts: 4
    What I think is interesting is how many people confidently say that they won't be. I will admit that I don't understand disliking yourself as a point of pride.

    Generally, I am pretty happy with the way I look and as I get older I'm grateful because I'm holding my ground well.

    Eat well because it fuels you, move because it feels good, dress in a way that makes you feel good. Laugh your goofy laugh and cry ugly cries because it is just YOU.
  • JusticeGirl25
    JusticeGirl25 Posts: 703 Member
    I love my body right now, but as a single gal who wants to find a guy and start a family, I'm wondering how I'd look after I have a baby or two.
  • I'll never reach a goal of being "happy" with my body, but along the way I'm happy when I feel like I'm improving myself. I get upset with myself if I feel like I'm letting myself go.

    Like many others have said, there will always be something else to improve on no matter what you achieve. And I think that's a good thing.

    When we stop trying, we start dying!
  • cashcash12
    cashcash12 Posts: 400 Member
    I love it and my aim is to have a six pack @ 60 yrs too :-)
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
    Flip the coin.

    Do you look at other people, body wise, facially, or reading about actors/actresses, millionaires and so on?

    Of course you do :tongue: :tongue: Are any of those people totally happy 100% most likely not.

    Try your best to be the best you can be in every way, not just physically but in every aspect of your life.
  • MaryRegs
    MaryRegs Posts: 272 Member
    nope...and it's funny-I've lost 50, but am more dissatisfied now than I was then...don't get me wrong-am happy and feel much better, but am now much more critical of myself..yeah, I know it's stupid
  • spectralmoon
    spectralmoon Posts: 1,179 Member
    I'm a lot closer to happy than I was before.
  • Debbjones
    Debbjones Posts: 278 Member
    For many of us who experienced extreme weight loss, the definition for "happy with our body" becomes a little skewed. All said, yes I am happier with my "new" body after losing (in total) a little over 85 pounds (the weight fluctuates a couple of pounds daily)... but I traded fat and a size 18 for sagging skin and a size 0. Let's face it, as we age our skin is not as elastic as in our youth... stretch that skin by years of overeating; no matter how much exercise and weight loss, you are left with that deflated balloon appearance. Yes, I am happier with the increased energy and health benefits, not to mention my improved appearance in a size 0, however, you put that size 0 in skimpy clothes and the picture is not so pretty! I think we need to move beyond the thought of being happy with our new body and learn to accept (and be happy with) the improvements that come with the changes.
  • kimmie185
    kimmie185 Posts: 550 Member
    I'm ok with my body, but not terribly happy with it.

    I mean, I lost a lot of weight, but because I was so big my body is just not tight in the tummy, thighs, or arms and I do get sad that no matter how much weight I lose, I still would never wear a bikini in public.
  • carriespence1
    carriespence1 Posts: 70 Member
    I am. Don't get me wrong I'm wonderfully flawed. I too have stretch marks (4 kids) scars galore, I am clumsy and have always been athletic. However thanks to this body I have been able to do anything I wanted enough to work for. It has hung in there through yrs. Of my abuse and I love it!
  • ummlovelovesyou
    ummlovelovesyou Posts: 1,024 Member
    I don't think I will ever be 100% happy with it.