Healthy Monday | Acceptance

The most important part of eating good and exercising is being healthy, right? Then why is our focus always on how much weight we have lost? Or how many inches? Or how skinny we want to be? Is it just me who feels this way?

In this world it is so easy to see someone with a skinnier body, whether it is in magazines or in person, and feel those pangs of jealousy. Why can't my body look like their body? I am no exception to this. You would cringe if you knew how many times I have told my husband I looked fat, I feel fat, I need to lose weight, or just flat out changed my outfit because I didn't like the way my arms looked.

I can look back on periods of time when my body was at its prime. I was fit, I was lean, I was healthy. But every time I look back all I can remember was thinking, "I need to be skinner." If only I lost 5 more pounds, 10 more pounds, I would look the way I wanted to. I never got to a place where I felt like I just needed to maintain. And that is probably why I have never met any of my exercise goals. I would get to a place where I felt better, healthier, happier, and I would fall off the wagon. I would lose site of what I truly wanted to accomplish.

For the past 5 years I have been saying I want to run a marathon or, at the very least, a half marathon. That is a goal I have yet to accomplish. 

Over time I have learned that the healthiest thing I can do for my body is accept it the way it is. Love my body. Appreciate how intricate and amazing God has made it. And for goodness sakes, stop focusing on making it skinnier and start focusing and making it healthier!

My personal challenge this summer is to appreciate the body I have and stop focusing on the body I want! I think it will make my life a lot more enjoyable.