Operation Beautiful

Operation Beautiful has hit Charleston. On Monday and Tuesday this week, the ladies' locker room at my gym was decorated with colorful post-it notes with messages such as "You are beautiful just as you are!" There was one on the scale that said something to the effect of, "You are good enough, no matter what I say." It was nice to see this, in a gym especially.

Too often women, myself included, become obsessed with their weight and overlook the good, beautiful things about themselves. I've been trying to lose some weight before our wedding, and the scale isn't moving as quickly as I would like. I've been really, really upset about this. Upset to the point that yesterday, as Brad and I were on a 2+ hour hike at the Kanawha State Forest, my weight was all I could think about. Rather than enjoying the hike, I was telling Brad, I don't know what I'm doing wrong! I'm working out every day! I've cut my calories back to 1200-1400 a day! I ruined a wonderful afternoon, complete with amazing views, 75 degree temperatures, my cute husband-to-be, and a happy, happy dog companion because I couldn't stop thinking about the number on my scale.

That is some bullshit.

I used to be very heavy. But I'm not anymore. And I'm not saying I won't continue to have issues with my body, continue to try to lose weight, continue to track what I eat and what I weigh. But I'm going to try to stop the negative self-talk and appreciate my body for what it is. I'm in the best physical shape of my life right now. I can run, ride a bike, do a full pigeon pose, hike up mountains. I have functioning legs, arms, lungs, a brain and a heart. My body was built to birth a child, for christ's sake. That's pretty damn amazing.

The post-its in the locker room were not there today. I was sad to see them go.