Skinny Thoughts

I'm a small person. I can be described as small, I buy small sized clothes, I climb on the counters to put pots away on the top shelf. I don't think of myself as someone overly self-conscious, and I feel pretty, and happy, and content. Yet sometimes, especially over the summer where the bikini pictures are at an all-time high, I wish I was skinnier. ME. I am a totally normal, if not fairly skinny person. I KNOW it's silly for me to think those thoughts, so why do I? Especially when I am sad when others don't see beauty in themselves that is obvious to me because they are self-conscious of their size... how could I think such hypocritical thoughts?

When I had a "wish I was skinnier" thought recently, I stopped myself and asked myself a question - is that really what I wanted? To be skinny? Or did I really want something else? Aha, now there was something.

I realized I REALLY just wanted to feel 1) healthy and 2) attractive. Being healthy comes from physical decisions, while feeling attractive comes from more mental decisions, and sometimes an investment in clothes that are flattering to you (which I believe is well worth the modest investment).

I eat pretty well, I exercise pretty well, and I live a fairly active lifestyle that I am happy with. I feel attractive, and have a husband who makes me feel even more so. So, I have concluded, "skinny thoughts" don't need to have a place in my mind.

I think the majority of people are like me - still sometimes comparing themselves when they shouldn't, even if they wouldn't admit it. Not all bodies are created the same, and there are MANY people who could be considered "bigger" than me that I find gorgeous and look up to both as people AND in looks a lot. Be it natural body shape, motherhood, anti-depressants that cause weight gain, or any number of things that affect both men and women in life, maybe we should all be a little more generous to ourselves.

It's important to be happy. It's important to be healthy and to feel attractive, and investments in time, energy, and money to be healthy and feel attractive are good things. This is absolutely not to take away from those with the metabolisms and body types or workout regimens and healthy lifestyles that give them the perfectly flat stomachs the rest of us sometimes feel we should have, because they should feel healthy and attractive and be proud of themselves just like we should be. But I think there's something for the rest of us to remember. We have seen the media influence, we have heard the 'beautiful the way you are' messages enough. So, at least me, and hopefully you, should just stop thinking the skinny thoughts, and think more of the healthy and attractive ones, remembering how much we love the body we have.