Guest Blogger: Confidence

“You are not fat. You have fat.   You also have fingernails, but you are not fingernails.” Anonymous

I am certain that most women can agree with me on this but we all have our days.   Days where we think we’re fat.   Days where the rest of the world is so much prettier than we are.  To most people, this is a healthy, normal part of life.  However, for those who suffer from an eating disorder, it becomes a dangerous obsession.

Controlling weight and counting calories are are two of the very few things that can be measured in this life.   Sufferers want to feel in control of their lives when everything else is not within their grasp.    I am not a sufferer nor am I recovering, but I am a woman who does go through occasional bouts of low self-esteem.  Ups and downs define my life and that’s what makes me beautiful.   Here are my tips to help you feel amazing about yourself:

1. First thing’s first:  You are your own person and that’s what makes you beautiful. A mirror is deceiving in the sense that it only tells you what your body looks like.  It fails to tell you how you got the scar on your chin that makes you so unique.   It does not tell you why your eyes are so blue and bright. Even more importantly, it doesn’t define who you are.  You are unique for a reason: you weren’t born a copy.

2.   Do NOT listen to the media:  Women in the media are the way they are because they get paid to do so.   Being a size 2 is practically a requirement in their profession.   Sadly, it’s the only way women in Hollywood get ahead.   But it doesn’t mean that we have to be a size 0.  You are beautiful.   Healthy is a subjective term and it’s definitely not a standard set by Hollywood so forget about the lights and glamour.  Everything about Hollywood is flawed, which means there’s no need for you to be sucked into their flawed world.

3.  Get rid of your mirrors and scales:   Mirrors and scales encourage obsession.  Mirrors only show you one side of the picture.   Scales only give you a number.   Both do not define who you are.  If you feel amazing, that’s all that matters.  Mirrors and scales should not change that.

4.   Talk to someone:   Friends and family are always there to reassure you, but if the problem is more serious than that, there’s an abundance of help out there.   If you can’t cope with a problem on your own, why not share the burden with someone else?

5. Start thinking positively:  The metaphorical glass of life has always been half full in my eyes and that’s how it should be.   The words fat, ugly, and weird should be non-existent in society’s vocabulary. Nobody has the right to give these words definition. Negativity should have no place on the journeys we are on.   Remember the saying:  Always look on the bright side of life? If you do, then continue to live by these words. If not, start doing so!