Part Two Monthly Challenge: Love Yourself!

NEDA week

Hello all, I decided to have a “Part Two” Monthly Challenge; your heart (from Part 1) is indeed important, allowing you to perform essential functions of living. However, there is one function we often tend to forget — love. However, I am not just talking about the love we have for a boyfriend or a girlfriend, a pet or a sibling; I am talking about the love we have for ourselves. Every day, we glance through glossy images of bodies where the clothing fits perfectly, admire the physique of someone working out next to us, or maybe secretly envy a friend’s “naturally” lean frame. Although many associate this mindset with mostly females, both genders truthfully hold this outlook. In fact, according to the National Eating Disorders Association, about 43 percent of men report being unhappy with their bodies (NEDA, 2012). And sadly, more are affected by eating disorders at the collegiate than we think.

Therefore, for this portion of the month (and preferably working up to making it a lifetime habit), I want you to focus on a more positive body image – that is, loving yourself. National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is February 24^th– March 5^th, and I want you to take on the challenge of loving your body for what it is and all its capabilities or even helping a friend open his or her eyes a little. The consequences — brittle hair and skin, muscle loss and heart failure represent a few of the many problems that can occur, hindering fitness goals (and healthy living!) in the long run. If you or a close friend seem to struggle with your image, make sure to seek help. Finding that support system can change the way not only how you see yourself now, but possibly save your (or someone else’s) life. For more information on how to get help or for more statistics, click here.

This is not simply a “change” I want you to “make,” but a process that will require nourishment, care and maybe even a little goal-setting. Think of it as a new fitness plan, designed to provide you with self-satisfaction, strength and overall happiness. Be willing to seek the help to realize that there is a life beyond our careers at Butler worth living; all of the worry put into appearances, diet plans and strict regimens will not matter years down the road, but I guarantee you will notice you will be thankful for your health. A beating heart, glowing skin and a peaceful mind remain priceless.

As I always tell my clients (or anyone else I know who is starting a new workout regimen), “You must always love your body from the very beginning; if you do not, the results will not mean nearly as much in the end.” Eating, breathing, exercising, loving; all remain essential for our development as fitness enthusiasts. But remember, we are all human. So, please: do not suffer (or let a friend suffer) in silence. We are a community here to help you be the best person you can be; fitness is indeed an important journey, but our goal, that healthy lifestyle, can only be lived if we respect ourselves from the inside out the entire way.

As a part of this post, I also wanted to include some input from other college students regarding the perceptions of their own bodies – what they dislike or wish they could change, what they love about themselves, and what mantra or phrase they use to find their own form of self-satisfaction. Therefore, I selected a few individuals also on Exchange over here in Leeds United Kingdom, seeking to get some international perspectives. Read what these lovely ladies have to say and you might find yourself in a similar boat!

Mary Jo, from Mexico

My body… since I can remember, I’ve had issues with my body. I remember as a child I used to think I wasn’t born with the luck of being a thin and athletic girl. As I grew, my teenager years were the worst, I didn’t become thinner, on the contrary, those were the years when I hated the most my body, because it was not like the slim bodies stereotypes shown on TV and movies.

Thankfully, those years are gone and with the help of nutritionists and personal trainers, I learned how to be healthy in my own body, and how to be in a healthy weight according to my height, activities and lifestyle.

Now I’m in love with my body, though my arms will always be my least favorite part; I love my 5’7” tall and curvy body, and yes, I totally love how my Levi’s look with my Latin bottom! The most important thing is that I decided to love and embrace my body as it is, and that any women have the potential (and the obligation) to do so! To not listen to the stereotypes or spend a fortune in gyms, but because we are beautiful just the way we are!

Madeline Whitaker, from Terre Haute Indiana (small world :P)

1. Sometimes I think my thighs are too big.
2. I love my butt! It’s the curvy part of my body.
3. On the days that I don’t like my body, I realize that I am so lucky to be a healthy woman. Bodies are incredible things, and when I do not like how mine looks, I realize how much I am taking advantage of it! I should love my body every day, no matter how I think it looks in the mirror. The fact that I can walk and run whenever I want to is such a blessing!

Lauren Scudder, Akron, Ohio

I by no means have a “perfect” body, but that does not define my happiness with my self-image. Perfection is an almost impossible word to define, as an English major I should know. However a common agreed on definition is: to have reached the optimum level, in which there is no room for further improvement. What makes this definition fallible is that the “optimum level” is determined on an individual basis, you may see one body as perfect and another may not agree. I think the important thing to finding happiness with yourself is NOT to hold your body up against others. For example, I am a curvy woman and I am happy with that. If I were to try to slim myself down to a size two, I feel I would look lopsided, simply because my body was not meant to be a size two. This is not to say I’m 100% content with my image. I have issues just like everyone else, particularly my abs, or rather lack thereof, but the important part is that I don’t let these aspects define my entire outlook of myself. The sexiest bodiesbelong to the women who feel confident in themselves. So, to all the “skinny, curvy, athletic, pear-shaped, box-shaped, or any-other-shaped” people out there, strut your stuff! If you own the body you have, you own the happiness you can achieve with it!

Quote: “Perfection is unattainable. Happiness can be reached.”

Brooke Buckner, Greencastle, Indiana

Even though I consider myself a “health-conscious” individual who aims to focus on my body from the inside out, I too sometimes become trapped in the mindset of “perfecting” my body. Although I have set (and reached) some of my fitness goals, I catch myself seeking to accomplish more, look a certain way or occasionally pick at my performance or a particular body part. One part I have always been pretty self-conscious of is my thighs. As a former high school athlete, I lifted and did circuit training quite frequently, only to eventually find myself unhappy with the size of my quads. After leaving high school, the summer before my Sophomore year at Butler, I took up running; I loved the feeling of “setting a pace” and how strong I felt afterwards. Although sometimes I complain about how my legs are too muscular, I remind myself how far they have carried me. They are no one else’s legs but my own, and by taking care of them (nourishing my body properly, getting enough rest, praising my efforts, etc.) I will find out what I’m truly capable of on this fitness journey. When I am feeling low, I remind myself one part I have worked for, that I love: my back. I consider it as my powerhouse or my wall, and do my best to flaunt it with good posture.

Most importantly, I must remember to take the time to realize all I have accomplished; one year ago, I would have never thought myself as a runner, let alone a half-marathon finisher. Although I seek to finish longer races in the future, I must realize the past things have made me who I am today.

So, bottom line, be proud! Take the time to see your beauty and, in the words of Will Ferrel, remind yourself:

Please, feel free to share what part you take pride in and celebrate yourself on this week!

Sources:

National Eating Disorders Association. (2012, ). A silent epidemic: Eating disorders among males. Retrieved from nedawareness.org website: http://nedawareness.org/sites/default/files/LearnMalesED.png

National Eating Disorders Association. (2011, ). Get the facts on eating disorders. Retrieved from nedawareness.org website: http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/get-facts-eating-disorders

University Of Northern Iowa. (2010, ). Eating disorder statistics. Retrieved from uni.edu website: https://www.uni.edu/wellrec/wellness/healthy_eating/docs/EDstats.pdf