We all suffer from the lack of positive body image. We all have something we wish we could change about ourselves (and if you don't, then let me be you...). We all look in the mirror and shake our heads in disappointment. We all look through the Vogue magazines and ask ourselves,"Why can't I have her body?" "Why can't my thighs be smaller?" "Why can't my stomach be flatter?" "Why can't my arms be more muscular?" We as a society have looked at ourselves negatively and these images of supermodels have been shoved in our faces and down our throats — so we begin to think that the key to positive body image is to look like these "perfect" models. Well, that is so false.
1. They don't have a perfect body, so why should you?
If a significant other is constantly on you about the way you look and pushing you to go to the gym while he or she sits on the couch binge watching "The Office" while sticking his or her hand in a bag of chips... Then yes, you do need to walk out of that door but not to go to the gym, if you know what I mean. There is a fine line between pushing someone you care about to make them live a healthier lifestyle and just not taking into consideration what they desire to improve about themselves or if they want to change themselves at all for that matter. If your significant other is constantly on you about going to the gym and steering clear of those much-desired cheese fries, then make it something you both could do together. Work out together, eat healthy together and then binge watch "The Office" together. This is the equation for a perfect relationship, #goals.
2. You don't have to diet to be happy.
Diets? What are those again? Dieting is a very tough thing to do, so if you are someone who is a diet pro, props to you. Eating healthily and steering clear of salt and high fructose corn syrup is very beneficial to your body, but sometimes you just need to sink your teeth into a big, juicy bacon cheeseburger and not ask about the amount of calories you just consumed. I've personally witnessed people eat salads three times a day for a whole week, and they were the unhappiest creatures I've ever come into contact with. So, yes, I am a firm believer that cheeseburgers release endorphins in our bodies that make us happy people. Boys, If you're on a first date with a girl and she orders a salad, go ahead and order a cheeseburger for her also. You'll definitely be getting that text back for a second date.
3. Not all women are Victoria's Secret models, and not all men are Calvin Klein models.
We watch it every year in December, and then we hate our lives. Yes, I am talking about the most watched fashion show in the world. The Victoria's Secret fashion show has one of two responses. Response one — "OMG, why can't I look like that? She is so perfect, like how do you even get that body?" Response two — "Why don't I know any girls that look like that?" I am more guilty of response one, and it usually is cured with going to the gym for two days. Then I completely forget about the perfect human beings, and I go back to eating ice cream and Doritos because I know I am not a supermodel so should I feel the pressure from society and the media to try and look like one? Why should I try to be something I'm not? I shouldn't; we shouldn't. We shouldn't have to conform to the idealistic images that our society thinks we should eat, dress like, look like. We should be who we want to be and if that's not a supermodel, then all will still be right in the universe.
Positive body image starts and ends with you. Don't change the way you look or what you eat because of what other people tell you. Change because you and only you want to.
