Recently I've become fixated on my stomach. I know it's because I had a week in an all inclusive resort recently where I ate an enormous amount of food and my body is now returning to normal. It got me thinking about all the women that hate their bodies every single day.
I realise I am not alone in this fixation with my stomach as most women, particularly after they've had children, will also become fixated on this one small area of their bodies. We stand in front of the mirror day after day staring at what we think our stomachs are. "It's so ugly". "Why can't it be flat?". "My stomach is horrible, I hate it". "If I could just change that one little thing there".....and so on and so on.
Why do we do this? When did our bodies become something to be perfect at all costs? Of course, in my job I see plenty of people who want to make some changes for the better. Good healthy changes that will impact your life in many more ways than body shape. Healthy changes that make you feel good. That make you feel happy and allow you to be well. They are good changes and are to be applauded. What isn't so clever is the obsession that can come with these healthy changes. I see it all the time. Women punishing their bodies with no food, too little food, bad food,, too much or too little exercise. It's a fairly recent phenomenon I believe. In our quests for the perfect body we've forgotten the other stuff that should actually come first. Such as what motivates you to exercise. My motivation is to feel physically and mentally well. I think this is why I've had my recent fixation on the stomach area because my gut was really not happy with the cake and ice cream twice a day in Turkey. So I am back training a little harder this week and am starting to feel better today.
It really bothers me that women stare at themselves in the mirror and hate what they see. It bothers me that their children will see their mothers do this. They'll see the dieting and the bingeing and the exercising frantically before holiday and then after holiday. I really hate the magazines that plaster women's bodies over the covers with flashy headlines such as "she wants to lose 2 stone and she'll be happy!"...."best beach bodies"...."worst beach bodies" (God, really?)....all hate and all directed at women. It's horrible and hateful and feeds the cycle that affects us all.
How wonderful would it be for everyone to be training and eating well for the sake of their mental and physical health, for everyone to feel the benefits of real health? Clear skin, sparkling eyes, happy smiles? At the risk of sounding 'new age', I really wish this for everyone. Lots of education for our children is a start, healthy meals and healthy role model for our growing children, girls and boys.
What do you think about this self hate cycle that we find ourselves in? Tweet me! @samwilsonfitnes or comment on facebook.com/samwilsonfitness
Yours in health,
Sam Wilson
