BlogHer - body image - Comments

Can You Be Tall and Thin at 5'4"?

rebellious thinker — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 07:12:50 -0600

Since there is no diet in the world that would make my 5'4" body any taller, the whole tall and thin look was never an option for me. And the fake-it with high heels didn't work since I find them incredibly uncomfortable. Life circumstances make me consider the thin as just another social group that I will not be able to join.

Yesterday I was watching Rosie O'Donnell and thinking, "gee, she looks good, except why doesn't she sit further back in the seat?" Which I guess shows that I have reached acceptance of all body types as the norm. Could people now stop putting pictures of Nicole Kidman everywhere!

Laura, www.RebelliousThoughtsofaWoman.com

From the too thin camp

SkinnyCleanFreak — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:59:36 -0600

I used to be a size 8 or 10. I was very happy then. I thought I was pretty hot, and I never had any trouble attracting men.

Over the years, I've concentrated on eating healthier. Gave up most packaged food, fast food, and pop. Gave up is not really the right way to put it. I fully enjoy the way we eat. But now it would take truck loads of food to consume the same amount of calories that I used to. And I eat A LOT.

I'm a size 2. Very skinny. Plus, I'm really active. But I can't stomach going back to the garbage foods to put on weight.

Being rail thin is not all it's cracked up to be.

Carole

I don't know how this has

sugarbritches26 — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:24:29 -0600

I don't know how this has gotten 100+ views and nary a comment, it's a great post! We all need to learn to either be comfortable in our own skin or do something about it until we are. I am a mother, of 3, and that has caused a bit of pudge that wasn't there before. But you know what? I am OK with that. My youngest is only 6 months old and I know the weight will come off eventually. I will never be rail thin, I'm not built like that. But I will be happy with a size 9. I promise.

A.A.

I am already fulfilled with my existing "children"

spiralmama — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:10:26 -0600

I have two rescued dogs of my own and a revolving stream of foster dogs and cats who bring me endless joy and fulfillment. I also have a maternal protective feeling toward all the wildlife and plants and ecosystems on the planet, and have no desire to bring an additional human into a world that already has so many. One more human means less space more danger of extinction for my existing family, and a good mother would not expose her family to these risks.

Sing It Sistah!

sugarbritches26 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:37:52 -0600

I think this is true for so many women. I can remember my mother telling me when I was about 13 that I could stand to lose a few pounds. I might have been pudgy through puberty but as a teenager I was not, but that comment made years ago kept me convinced that I was fat. I still battle my weight today, and yes today, I could stand to lose a few, but three babies will do that too ya.

I like your philosphy and outlook on it and I think I will join you. Forget about it, think healthy, live healthy, weight is just a number, not a state of mind.

A.A.

Embrace it!

tisha85 — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:15:04 -0600

Your post could have been autobiographical. I always felt heavier than my friends when in actuality I wasn't....not really. In high school I weighed probably 20-25 pounds more than my friends, but they were stick thin underdeveloped teenagers. I was much more physically mature. Anyway, Congrats to you for taking care of this now. I wish I had done more when my weight started creeping higher. I wish you good luck!!! I'll visit again.

Tisha
A Blob Blog
www.tallensweightloss.blogspot.com

It is amazing what getting

Kian Yamaguchi — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:03:14 -0600

It *is* amazing what getting a full night's sleep will do for you. My baby (the youngest of my 7) is 18 months. I stopped nursing him at 16 months. I got a full nights sleep shortly thereafter and lo-and-behold, I'm nearly human again.

I still can't get anything done with him and his 3 year old brother hanging on me, but at least I'm sleeping.

Good luck!

http://mamafasha.blogspot.com

http://MKSkinCare.myarbonne.com

Move It

kauihart — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:21:00 -0500

Dancing with your child is a great way to love your body without having to say anything about it. When you're moving and shaking it's implied that you're lovin' your bod, and they're using it to move and have a good time.

http://www.partywithaninfant.blogspot.com

http://www.kauiharthemmings.com

Move It

kauihart — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:19:10 -0500

Dancing is a great way to love your body without having to say anything about it. When you're moving and shaking it's implied that you're lovin' your bod.

http://www.partywithaninfant.blogspot.com

http://www.kauiharthemmings.com

Love it

sweetmummy — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:00:31 -0500

I saw the title of this post and said "Yah, you're so right!" That's one of my biggest motivations for being active and working to eat well and lose some weight - so that my kiddos can see that it really is a process and a lifestyle, that our bodies are worth taking care of, and while we don't obssess over them that we love them. Awesome post!

Who decides what's normal, anyway? It's OK to be WEIRD!

Intentional Role Models

parentcoachConnie — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:06:04 -0500

Amen! If we want our daughters, and sons – let’s not forget them – to develop a “love my body attitude” then we have to role model it. How many times have we been told we have to be good role models? Too many? We all know that we are the most important person in our children’s lives and they draw in everything we say and do. I am talking about a role modeling that goes much deeper – role modeling that is authentic, genuine and real. I always strive to role model intentionally, not by default. As parents, we act as barometers to our children – one they regulate themselves by, set their moods to and dream from. If we are not authentic, they sense it, and if we are not honest, they know it. They are very sensitive to the nuances in the verbal and non-verbal messages we deliver to them. So let’s make sure we examine our true feelings about our bodies first and strive to be authentic about them. The example this will set and the ongoing dialogue it opens will be so much more powerful and effective.

PCI Certified Parent Coach ®

www.theprogressiveparent.com

Walking the next generation out into the light

hedra — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:12:49 -0500

That's how my mom describes this process - that each generation gets a chance to walk the next one further into the light.

My mom was taught her body was vile and never to be trusted. She discovered that to be a lie, and taught instead that our bodies were wonders to always be admired and loved and honored.

And me? For me, the next step out into the light is not worshipful love, but compassion, kindness, affection, and acceptance. My body is not the temple my mother's was - I do not rise to each physical challenge with radiance and endless energy, I don't glow through pregnancies and my breasts sure as hell didn't look like hers after she breastfed seven kids ... and still didn't need to wear a bra. After one kid, I looked far worse, and after four, well, she's 73, and now we're closer to comparable. I didn't just stand where she left me, body-image-wise, though. My job wasn't to rejoice in my body and call it holy, it was to welcome it as it was, lumps and sags and bad knees included, and to call it a friend.

Teaching that compassion isn't an event, but a conversation with my kids--one that won't ever end. It isn't a lesson imparted once and always at risk of shattering in the light of a bad day or a self-critical look in the mirror. It's today, and tomorrow, and the day after that, and next year, and a decade from now. It is letting them teach me, as much as I teach them. It is petting my daughter's fuzzy back and rejoicing in the softness, and letting them pat my belly and rejoice in its fluffiness. Kind, silly, playful, sometimes energetic, sometimes tired (okay, often tired!), good days, bad days, they're all part of the deal. That's my one more step out into the light for them.

Hands Full of Rocks: http://hedra.typepad.com

Celebrating your body

Vered — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:31:22 -0500

This is not ENTIRELY to the point maybe, because I don't plan to post about this on MomGrind and this is not about children... but I HAVE to share something amazing that one of my readers, Elizabeth of Urban Panther's Lair, wrote in a comment on my blog yesterday.

Elizabeth said:

"I have a belly piercing. I got it because my stomach was starting to
get a little rounded (hey, I am 45) and I wanted to celebrate my body
and say ‘belly, you are beautiful!’. I LOVE my belly piercing."

That is one of the most beautiful, positive, EMPOWERING things that I ever heard a woman say about her imperfect body.

---

I blog at MomGrind

I manage my kids' activities at UpToUs

And Her Husband Still Has Most of His Hair

Michellesamom — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:03:01 -0500

Would have been my reply... while staring at his head.

But I'm evil... ;)

causes

laurie toby edison — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:17:57 -0500

Izzy,

What I've read suggests that endocrine-disrupting chemicals and hormones are a possible cause but there isn't anything at all definitive that I know about