Growing up, I was naturally slim. This led me to overlook the importance of incorporating health and fitness into my lifestyle. Despite my slender frame, I wasn’t immune to body shaming and often felt self-conscious. As life became busier with marriage, motherhood, and a demanding career, my attention drifted even further from maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Unbeknownst to me, I began to gain weight. It wasn’t until my children left home that I finally confronted the changes in my appearance in the mirror.
Discovering the tire belly, back rolls, and double chin that had appeared over the years was disheartening. I had believed I was still the same 125 pounds I had been in my young adult years (before becoming a mother). However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I reached a weight of 160 pounds, and it was a wake-up call.
Being a couch potato had become a lifelong habit. As I looked at myself in disgust, my biggest challenge was evolving from a couch potato to someone who took health and fitness seriously. Riddled with guilt and shame about how I let my body go, I was my own worst critic. I was disgusted with what I saw in the mirror. I learned that what people thought about me was much less important than what I thought of myself.
After enough self-criticism, I embarked on a life-changing fitness journey. Two years later, I am still a work in progress, working towards my ideal body. But I love what I’ve accomplished, including a loss of nearly 20lbs and stronger and more muscular arms and legs. More importantly, I feel more youthful and healthy. When I compare photos of myself from just two years ago, the difference is staggering.
This experience taught me that body shaming affects women of all sizes, including those who are naturally skinny. It’s important to dispel the misconception that skinny girls don’t feel the pressure to conform to societal beauty standards. We all have our own struggles and insecurities, regardless of our body type.
In conclusion, body shaming is not exclusive to any particular body shape or size. Skinny girls, just like anyone else, can experience body shame and feel the need to meet unrealistic beauty standards. Let’s embrace body positivity and support one another in our journeys towards self-acceptance and self-love, regardless of our appearance.
In my upcoming memoir, Running to Catch Up: Winning in Spite of Myself, scheduled for release in March 2024, I delve into my personal fitness journey that began at the age of 52. I share how I confronted my own struggles with body shame and took control of my health and well-being, leading to a path of self-acceptance and transformation.
