I have struggled to have a positive view about the way I look for many years now. I ended up loosing nearly 15 kilos a few years back and was still striving to loose more because I thought it would make me happier. I counted calories, went to the gym for 6-7 hours a week, and weighed myself constantly. While I did end up loosing three more kilos, the process only made me feel worse and like I wasn’t doing enough – I’ve been told I tend to have “all or nothing” thinking…surprise surprise.
I’ve started to take a new approach to being healthy and active – it started when I read an article in Mind Body magazine – a really great publication that had informative stories on positive body image and being healthy without having to look like you live off rabbit food. It had images of women that I identified with – not stick thin, who enjoy food and have curves, cool tattoos and visible patches of cellulite – I never realised that every woman has this because it is not something you see on models in Vogue.
So instead of beating myself up for not going to the gym every day of the week, I commend myself for going when I want to. I play roller derby, do yoga, try and have a balanced diet and have started to realise that just because I drink cider and eat pizza every now and then doesn’t mean that I’m a bad person – it means that I’m human. I don’t know how long this positive outlook will last for, but I’m just grateful that I’ve managed to turn my thinking around for the better.
I'm Lisa - UnrelentingSpark in the blogosphere, Basement Staxx on the flat track, and @CapricaStar on Twitter. Things I love, and write about, include Adelaide, roller derby, yoga, all kinds of music, my dogs, technology, writing, social media and good coffee.
