Some thoughts that have been "weighing" me down

Bryson got me An Inconvenient Book by Glenn Beck for my birthday. The other day I was reading the chapter on body image and I haven't been able to stop thinking about what I read.

FACTS from the book:

• The average American model is 5'11" and 120 lbs.
• The average American woman is 5'4" and 163 lbs--seven inches shorter and 43 pounds heavier than the cover girls!!!
• A tabloid publisher named Louisa Hatfield told Australia's newspaper The Age in 2006: "Women are obsessed with body image. They think about their body image more than they think about their children. They think about it even more than men think about sex--which is about a million times a day, isn't it?"
• Cosmetic surgery is a $15 billion industry in America.

That last fact is true because the way God designed our bodies isn't "in" anymore. I think the reason this hit me so hard is because I have a DAUGHTER now. All of the sudden I'm worried about how to raise my precious little girl to believe she is a valued, beautiful child of Heavenly Father. How can I make her believe that if she hears me, her mother, constantly making negative comments about my own body? Will she believe me if she sees me spending too much time and money chasing an impossible perfection? I feel like if I'm not very careful I'll turn around one day and find the result of the "celebrity-obsessed, self-indulgent culture" we live in smiling up at me--my very own "prostitot".

The reason this got to me so much is because I am guilty of being a little too obsessed with my appearance. I need to make some changes.

Glenn really sums up what I'm trying to say:

"As parents, we need to start leading by example. Yes, the magazines, the ads, the plastic surgery--it's all part of the problem, but each time you try to squeeze your fat fanny into a pair of size four True Religion jeans, your daughters learn to pray at the same alter."

DISCLAIMER:

I love to play sports and exercise! I feel like I eat pretty healthy, but I do enjoy a few sweets and other "fats" in moderation. I absolutely believe that I owe it to my husband to do what I can to stay healthy and attractive for the benefit of our relationship. I intend on trying to instill all of the above in my children. Everything that I said in the first half of this post is not because I feel like "letting yourself go" is an acceptable option either. I just don't think that if you aren't a certain body type or if you experience physical changes due to pregnancy, or merely the process of aging, that the result should be loss of self-esteem.

A good friend of mine just announced that she is pregnant with her seventh child. (She takes great care of her body--she ran a marathon this past summer--and I think she looks awesome.) I want to share something that she wrote in conjunction with that exciting announcement on her blog.

"In this month for GRATITUDE, I am extremely grateful for another healthy girl. I am also grateful for my big, strong body. There have been many years when my perception of my body has been a trial to me. But this big, strong body has allowed me to carry 7 children, and for that I am eternally grateful."

I guess, in conclusion, I hope Eleyna will be able to feel similarly in the years to come. That I can keep an eternal perspective on this issue, and everything else I face in life, is my hope for myself and my children.