Fleur rants

I think I can. I think I can. We all know the story of the little train, hauling a heavy load up a big mountain. He made it, even though there were some who doubted him. And why was he successful? Because he thought positive.
Our society tends toward negativity. We even go so far as to make fun of people trying to be positive. ("I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and dog-gone-it, people like me") It's not cool to think nice things about yourself. If you're cool enough, others will think nice things about you, and you can coolly acknowledge them. Do you see what's wrong with this picture?
So, here's my soapbox: You can't take good care of yourself if you don't like yourself. You can't like yourself if you're not nice to yourself. Do you like other people who are mean to you? I thought not.
How does a person learn to like themselves? Start by being grateful. Even if you hate your body, even if looking in the mirror makes you cringe, you can still find something to be grateful for. This is a good time of year to practice, but keep it up all year long. Can you walk? See? Hear? Taste? Smell? Do you have pretty skin? Do you have nice hair? Everyday tell yourself at least one thing about your body that you are grateful for. If it feels too prideful to tell yourself, tell your Heavenly Father. He gave you this body after all. It was a tremendous gift. Ever heard the saying about looking a gift horse in the mouth? Even if you don't believe in God, believe that your body is a gift. You didn't make it, you don't get to slander it.

Once you find that gratitude, it will make it easier to quit saying mean things about yourself. I very much believe in the need to laugh at ourselves. But, don't say ANYTHING about your body that you wouldn't say about your best friend's body. You might laugh about your best friend accidentally dyeing her hair orange, but you would never bad mouth her skin problems. Would you?

Get out of the habit of putting yourself down. When people give you compliments, learn to say "thank you" instead of arguing with them. It may feel totally insincere, and prideful, at first. But, you will get used to it, and then you may just start to believe their compliments. I know that if I build up my courage enough to say something nice to someone, I would much rather hear "thank you" than "oh, you're wrong and here's why".

Losing weight is not going to make you suddenly like your body. Well, maybe for a little while. :) But, then life goes on, and you will start noticing flaws again. It goes back to Forrest Gump- losing weight is just "one less thing". Conversely, if you like your body, it actually makes it easier to lose weight. Go figure.