Making Peace With Your Body Image
Does God speak to you through your car radio? Strange question, but it’s amazing how often some random program can get me thinking. Like the program I heard on Moody radio (listen here), about the book Making Peace With Your Thighs: Get Off the Scales and Get On with Your Life
A couple of thoughts:
- Dressing your body as a shape, rather than a collection of parts, is a practical way of thinking holistically about your body.
- Men aren’t attracted to stick women, but rather by confidence.
- The biggest “mood disrupter” among women? Gaining weight!
I will add to that last one, though, for me, the biggest mood disrupter, or the thing that most often puts me in a bad mood, is being left out. How about you?
Regarding #2:
What’s with today’s size-acceptance movement? Hate on the skinnies to make the not-so-skinnies feel good about themselves? I’m new to your blog (discovered it yesterday, actually) and was so excited to find that I was not the only one into modesty, but I now find myself disappointed.
I’m not going to say you’re totally anti-slender, out-to-get-the-size-0’s, as that would be entirely unfair, but #2 just reminds me of the general acceptance movement, and it’s “Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and with acceptance - everyone but the Christians.” mentality, and leaves me fairly uneasy.
Daisy, 15
size 0, and proud Christ-follower
I quite agree. Feeling ignored/not wanted always makes me feel horrible.
I’m with you. If I find out that my sisters -in-law and mil had a girls’ day out in the city and I wasn’t included, I’m sad. But to be fair, I still have younger children at home and am more tied down. But still. They could ask!
Not wanting to be controversial but in my own life I have noticed that when I examine situations where I am left out of fun it is because I have been presenting myself as too one-sided and intense.
I think men are actually the most attracted by friendliness. I’ve heard they misinterpret this as availability but either way.
I guess it’s the flip side of the left out equatiion, huh.
I used to feel very resentful that in the community work that I did people always seemed to be coming to me with problems - even stopping me on the street for advice - but when it came time to go off and have fun, no. If there were some kind of community event people would cluster around others but not me, except for one elderly gentleman who was an actual friend. Finally, I decided to present a fuller picture of myself and emphasize the personal/personable more over the pragmatic.
For both me and my dh, the biggest mood disrupter is being misunderstood. Not surprisingly, we are both “explainers” (and, truth be told, probably egghead/know-it-alls!). I think I am sometimes actually relieved to be left out . . .
Ah, Daisy, just stick around.
You bring up a good point, perhaps a future post?
There you go again, Vildy, making me think! I can see how, in acquaintance-type situations, it could be true that people just got the impression that one wasn’t interested in fun. Unfortunately, my “being left out” situations are more of the variety described by Polly.
I would agree with your assessment of what men find attractive. #2 was more or less a quote of what I heard the author say on the radio. But friendliness more accurately describes what I see happening with my daughters’ friends.
Personally I don’t care so much about being included by men, and being left out by ladies is probably a vicious circle. I’m sure hurt feelings don’t translate to an open and friendly visage. I’ll have to find the post where we were talking about dressing fun for family gatherings!