The other day, I turned on my TV and started watching "Toddlers and Tiaras." Which was probably my first mistake, but it's a guilty pleasure. So sue me.

And as I watched hundreds of adorable little girls running around in pink tutus, covered in sparkles and fake eyelashes, one of their mothers started talking about what an appetite her daughter has, and how she loves the worst foods. And she was just going on and on about how she was so worried her daughter would grow up fat.

Not unhealthy, just fat.

She expressed concern that her daughter wouldn't be able to continue competing in pageants as her body matured, and that her appetite would never shrink, so she would never "eat like a lady."

And at that point, I started to really think about the dialogue that occurs in America about females and their bodies. I started to think about that fact that there are a lot of people like that mother out there. She wasn't worried that her daughter's love of fried food and baked treats would lead to binge eating, purging or problems like high blood pressure. She wasn't concerned about making sure her daughter understood moderation or variation of foods. Because for her, the important thing was that her daughter look skinny, not that her daughter lead a long, healthy life with wholesome eating habits.

And like I said, that woman isn't alone.

For as long as I can remember, I've felt pressure from every direction to look a certain way, and I was never on "Toddlers and Tiaras." The sad thing is that our society looks at those shows and points to them as being the source of this problem with women's body image. But the problem isn't the shows. It's our society's perception of female worth as a whole.

We focus so heavily on women being skinny, and eating less in order to maintain some "ideal" figure. We put pressure on those who look different than what is considered the "norm" because we have this bizarre inhuman desire to fit people into one mold. And nobody suffers from this more than women.

From the time I was small, the only females I saw on TV, in movies, or in the news had bodies that were completely out of my reach. And for them, that's great. They were beautiful, accomplished, capable women. The problem was not that they were prettier than me or skinnier than me. The problem was that society was constantly pointing at them, seemingly screaming at me to eat less just so I could be skinny like them. And it's not like I was ever an overweight kid. I was tall and athletic, constantly running from one practice to another, so skinny was never an option for me. And neither was skipping meals.

But I was lucky. I had a mother who was built like me, and she constantly reminded (and reminds) me that beautiful does not always mean skinny. Beautiful means whoever I decided to be that day, and however I wanted to look. Beautiful means however I was made, and however I feel most comfortable.

What so many little girls are missing more and more of these days is someone to tell them that whether they're skinny or athletic or have a little extra weight here and there, they're beautiful just the way they are, for no other reason than because they're themselves. Someone to tell them that their beauty is not defined by how they look on the outside.

And those little girls who aren't raised to believe in themselves and how beautiful they are inside and out naturally grow up to be women who hate their bodies. Women who hate themselves when they eat something they love because they think they're fat.

And I just think that's crazy.

Me, I love my body because my body can do some pretty amazing things. And that's how everyone should feel, whether they're skinny or not.

I love my body because I'm curvy. I love my body because I'm strong, and because it helps me excel in the gym. I love my body because one day, it will allow me to be a mom, something that I've wanted to do my whole life. I love my body because I feel good and confident and beautiful in my own skin. I love my body because I was taught to see that everyone is gorgeous, and that differences should be celebrated and learned from as things that make us unique. I love my body because it is part of who I am, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.

And I believe that everyone has different and equally amazing reasons to love their bodies, and you're no exception. So tell me. Why do you love your body?