Happy Valentine’s Day, lovelies! I know that today can be a bummer sometimes, so I hope you’re all taking this day as an opportunity to treat yourself and the people around you with love. After all, you don’t have to be in a relationship in order to love, right?
I have to admit I’m kind of excited that this week’s Embrace:Me post falls on Valentine’s Day. I mean, it is a day about love, and the whole point of Embrace:Me is to love yourself…it’s like the stars are in alignment. Today’s post comes from Elizabeth, who applies her RD-in-training talents to not one, but two blogs (one of which she shares with the also-awesome Stephanie)! Be sure to check them both out, and show this talented and hard-working girl some love.
Here’s Elizabeth’s story:
Can I embrace me?
I was fortunate enough to be raised in a family where good self-esteem was fostered. My parents never placed an emphasis on physical beauty; instead we were always praised for our kindness, brains, and attitude about life. We were taught that we could do anything, and we didn’t have to have the perfect butt, hair or abs to get far in life. Well, I also didn’t live in a bubble my entire life, somewhere down the line, as I left the protective nest of my home I started to see all the negative body images that abound in the “real world.” The siren song of “Perfection” calls out to us from every magazine, tv show, billboard ad and website. It is very easy to start second-guessing yourself, and comparing yourself to this bombardment of images. Stomachs can always be flatter, waists smaller, and thighs slimmer. Positive body image is seen as egotistical, and arrogant. You are much more likely to hear “Does this dress make me look fat?” than “I look great tonight!” We are bombarded with messages that our bodies are not good enough, that we should be ashamed of them, that they need to hidden until we emerge from a 60 day “miracle cleanse” with Jennifer Aniston’s rockin bod. There are few among us who have never looked into a mirror and been upset at the image staring back at us. As a future RD, whose life revolves around health, fitness and food, even I feel insecure about my body much of the time. Yes I can run for miles and miles, and I feel great, but I still fear trying on swimsuits. But I have recently decided it’s time for this to change.
I was on my Sunday long run, and in the heat of summer Boston, my cotton tee-shirt was starting to weigh me down. So I decided to do something I had never done before, for fear of glances, of judgment by strangers. I took off my shirt and ran in my sports bra (full coverage people!!) It felt fine, good even. It was much cooler, and no one jeered at my imperfect 6 pack, quite frankly I don’t know if anyone even noticed. I was just another runner on the esplanade. But inside I felt different, I had stepped outside my comfort zone and it had worked out. I had unveiled myself, and it was empowering. I let the world see my strength and my pride.
I have decided to block all fat, negative talk from my life. I refuse to tell myself I am inferior. I am a runner. I am a yogi, I am active, I am a student, I am a friend, daughter, sister, and niece. I treat my body well almost all of the time, and it shows. I may not have the perfect 6 pack, but I can run long and strong, I have high energy levels, and feel full of life. Now I am no Gisele, but I my body has it’s own stories to tell. My feet have beat enough miles in the pavement to probably travel the world at least once around. My arms can embrace old friends, carry loads of groceries, and lift weights with the boys at the gym. My legs are the foundation of my body and push through squats, long runs, warrior 1, and miles of walking.
If there’s one thing I have learned, it’s that we must love ourselves and our bodies before we can create positive change. Love is the foundation of healthy weight maintenance, weight loss or achieving new fitness goals. If you hate yourself or your body you will not want to treat it right, with the respect and love it deserves. We’re all in this together, so let’s to feel Guiltless about our bodies and Embrace it!!
8 comments
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Elizabeth Jarrard says:
February 15, 2011 at 8:47 am (UTC -5)
i’m so happy to share my embrace me project! i love love love your mission!
Jill Will Run says:
February 15, 2011 at 12:06 pm (UTC -5)
Beautiful… I love this one!
tricia says:
February 15, 2011 at 1:13 pm (UTC -5)
lovely
lindsay says:
February 15, 2011 at 2:00 pm (UTC -5)
loved it. and i also thought about how E:M was falling on v-day! been hearing about a few different “rd” people lately – need to go google what that job is all about
emlit81 says:
February 15, 2011 at 2:03 pm (UTC -5)
I’ve wanted to go back to school and study nutrition for the longest time! I’m not sure, at this point, that I’d be particularly good at it, since I’m not wild about food in general, but it would be nice to do something health-related…every time I meet someone who is a future RD or a current RD, I feel a twinge of jealousy!
lindsay says:
February 15, 2011 at 5:19 pm (UTC -5)
umm yes! i’ve thought about it on-and-off myself… i’ll start to look up what you have to do and then get disappointed by the schooling/frustration of trying to figure out what i’d have to do. (i get overwhelmed easily – really i just need to figure out if my bs in business is a good enough base or do i need to get another degree). but yeah, rd/nutrition is a career change i’ve thought of… (i don’t really like my job right now). i have no idea really what i want to do and i’m not ballsy enough to jump back to school/switch careers (yet anyway).
just learned of this college chick with an ED – http://justlearningtolovemyself.blogspot.com/ my friend ashley has a friend turner who is roommates with this chick. just thought i’d share with you, maybe when the time is right you will be able to give her some insight!
zoe (and the beatles) says:
February 15, 2011 at 3:18 pm (UTC -5)
major, major props to you for taking your shirt off while running! i cannot tell you the number of times i’ve longed to take off my stupid cotton, sweat soaked cage but have held back because of my insecurities. you might of just inspired me to push past all that
! thanks, elizabeth!
Charlotte says:
February 17, 2011 at 12:41 pm (UTC -5)
Thanks for sharing! This is great!