Embracing my Big,
I just finished reading Embrace your Bigness by Jen Sinker, of Thrive as the Fittest. You can read the article here: http://ow.ly/Tbbqb.
It made me think about my bigness, and how I couldn’t stand being the biggest, the tallest, etc, when I was growing up. I’ve never really been a small person and it’s taken me years to love me as I am! Even when I tried to lose weight and get in shape back in the day, I was still bigger than the average girl. As long as I can remember I was the tallest and biggest girl in the class. I can remember just wanting to shrink and fit in more. Whelp, that never really happened. I got teased about it a lot. Kids are so mean, aren’t they!? Overtime I have grown to love the skin I am in and love me as I am!
Just the other day, I caught myself ridiculing my big feet for a split second. My husband and I were shoe shopping. I actually hate shoe shopping, but at the same time I love shoes. Every store I go in, they never have my size in the store. Most stores only carry up to a size 11, and I wear a size 12. The sales associate always say they are so sorry, but let me show you what we have in mens. I used to get so pissed and down on myself about my feet – something I have no control over. Anyways, so now I am used to the store not carrying my size, and now I move on because I can’t change my feet or make them smaller. Doing so could harm them and we need our feet to take and carry us everywhere. These big beautiful feet got places to go, these big feet were made for walking and spreading the floor for my love of heavy deadlifts! Deadlifting at 8th day gym!
So what do you do? You embrace your big feet, big arms, big legs, broad shoulders, etc… I actually have all of those things. I used to try and shrink, get into smaller jeans, and shop only in the junior section of stores. Humph, who was I fooling? It was just not happening. Over the years I have hushed the voice, owned, and embraced everything about me. Of course I practice patience and self compassion every single time I try something on at a store. If I can’t find a shoe in my size in the store, I turn to online shopping, or find the cutest man tennis shoe that I can find. That usually works for kicks, or I get them custom made. For other body wear, just get another size – or I find a brand that works with my body, not the other way around. Don’t try to fit into someone else’s clothing if they don’t have your body type in mind. You know what? That’s ok because you are not the size of your jeans or your feet. If the pants don’t fit quite right because of your quads, get another size for crying out loud. You are more than the size on your tag. Like Jen says, “Bigness is not just about body size- it’s a way of being.” #embraceyourbigness.
I love this as well; “If the clothes don’t fit you, that’s their problem rather than yours!” #lovethisrighthere.
Like I said above, find clothes that work for you, not the other way around.
I want to leave you with this. Start to focus on what your body can Do, rather than what it looks like all the time. Love yourself unconditionally right here, right now!
Yours In Health and Happiness,
xoxo
Candace
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