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How To Love Your Body

July 24, 2014   120 Comments

Have you taken a good luck at your body lately? How do you feel about it?

Bikini Reveal

There are a bunch of women out there who love their bodies and are sharing their feelings with the world. Brooke (see: Why This Woman is A Hero) stood up to Shape magazine when they told her to put a shirt on. I found her very inspiring.

Taryn Brumfitt, a mother from Australia, has started her own Body Image Movement with a photo of her naked body with the private parts covered.

Here is one that I love:

I admire these women SO MUCH that I decided to join them and share a photo of my body on a media outlet (Snack Girl). It is time for me to come out as someone who loves her body with all its imperfections. I even love my imperfections because I earned them!

The first problem was how to do it. I am too conservative a person to have a photo taken of myself in underwear so I decided on a bikini.

I went to the my local JC Penney to purchase one and found I couldn’t fit in any of them. You see my upper story (ahem) is quite large and the bikinis I found were a bit like wearing ½ a Kleenex over my boob – not gonna work.

Enter Lands’ End which sold a bikini top with a D cup – thank you!!

When it arrived, I ran to try it on. My son immediately reacted, “Mom, take THAT off. You cannot wear that.”

“Why, honey?” (I was watching my husband’s approving smile.)

“Because only teenagers can wear those.”

My daughter (surprisingly) came to my rescue, “That’s not true! Remember that beach in Connecticut? All sorts of people were wearing bikinis.”

What my son had noticed is that at our town beach the mothers are all wearing a “burka style” swimsuit and the teenagers are in bikinis.

I am 44 and I have two kids. Take THIS town beach:

I love my body. I have tree-trunks for legs and soft curves. I have birthed two children, walked many miles, and hugged many a friend with this body. My body has been evaluated by my doctor and deemed healthy – year after year – since I began to eat better food and exercise more.

What else could you ask for?

Wait! I know –ROCK HARD ABS.

Maybe some people aren’t meant to have rock hard abdominal muscles. Like me or Taryn or Brooke.

Forty-five percent of women and 23% of men in healthy weight range think they are overweight. Why? - Because we have become focused as a nation on one type of body (rock hard abs, thin legs, thin arms, etc.) being the ideal.

Many different body types are healthy and beautiful.

Get over yourself and love your bumps and your lumps. If you are loving your body and honoring it by taking care of it, you are going to feel like a million bucks.

On a side note, this bikini has become my favorite bathing suit, though I am still feeling a bit shy because my skin is SO white. It fits me better than any one piece because I can get two different sizes (one for the top and one for the bottom).

After all the lovely comments - I am putting up the link to the bikini here (and it is discounted!): Women's Paisley Bikini. Seems I have become a swimsuit model! (new career?). I am not affiliated with Lands' End - simply a happy customer.

Do you love your body? Please share.

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120 Comments:

Lisa you are gorgeous! I am so buying a bikini.

Oh Lisa you are BEAUTIFUL! ! Your skin is perfect and your bikini is just great. I wish I was proud enough to photograph my body but I'm not there. My husband wants me to look the same as the day we met 20 years ago and that's just too hard. Loving your body takes a great support system and a lot of courage. Kudos to all of you who have made it!

You go, Girl! Take that, Miracle Suit!! Remember the notion that curves and especially real breasts were yummy or are you too young?? Voluptuous comes to mind. And that is NOT a euphemism. Isn't it easier to swim and less confining in a bikini???? I am inspired.

Beautiful body and beautifully stated. What a wonderful post!

You go, girl! Love, love, love this post!

Lisa- congrats for showing "them".You look great !

It truly is what inside that matters. I had a blind man once tell me, "Karen, I can't see you with my eyes but the person I know is beautiful." We should all see people as the blind man.

You are beautiful in that bikini! I am also inspired! I love the fact that you can get two different sizes. That is a huge plus.

Lisa - you look terrific. Yes - many of us have lumps and bumps from life - I have some sags from my weight loss but I

Love being thin and I will take the sags over the fat any day of the week. Focusing on being healthy not perfect is what we have to teach our kids - there are all body types.

You look fabulous, and I love the bikini.

Hey! U look amazing. Go girl you are such a beautiful lady. Thanks for sharing with us☺I to just decided last week to purchase a bikini top.lol

franna

Lisa you look great and healthy! I like your tan lines, shows you get out alot for your Vitamin D. I always felt right at home in southern Maine beaches, like Ogunquit, my favorite, because there are lots of Canadians of all sizes in thongs! I always felt the least self-conscious there. At our town beach in Madison, Ct I cover up til I'm in my beach chair! I think you have an amazing shape and a personality to match!

Terrific post, great bod & love that 'kini!

You look good! Here is my take on body image. For the last 30 years, my husband has been telling me I look beautiful, either by words or looks or actions. Only in the last few years did I decide to really believe him. I thought that since I trust and value his opinion on just about everything else, why not that?

Lookin' good sista!

I do love my body and (coincidently) I wrote this post a few days ago:

http://www.runningwithracheal.com/2014/07/how-i-accepted-my…

I am so proud of you! My favorite part was "...and hugged many a friend with this body" Beautiful!

Where are the imperfections?

You look amazing and this post was inspiring!

You look great!

I'm not there yet, I wish I was. Someday.

That takes guts- good for you! Wonderful post and so true.

You are inspiring. Go YOU & Lands In for knowing we are all built differently. YOU keep us thinking about what goes inside and working toward health. Great post.

Thank you for all that you do to help us keep healthy! I wish the media would embrace women with all their "perfect imperfections"!

You look great and wish I could but nope.

I love this post Lisa. I have been critical of my body for my whole life and I'm 60 years old. Even I tell myself, enough already! I eat healthy and try to take care of myself as best I can. I am going to start accepting myself more after seeing how beautiful you are! Thank you:)

you are beautiful!!!!! but it's not just because of how you look in that bikini...it radiates from the inside out!

love you blog and your support and your help AND your new book!!!!!!!!!!

You look great in a bikini! Wear it with pride!!

You look absolutely lovely in your bikini!

Kudos to you! I can relate, larger top (but still not small enough bottom) :)

You look terrific !

You look amazing & healthy! Thank you for being brave and posting your picture. I really like the bathing suit! Thank you for your daily inspirations.

You look great!!: ) You're absolutely right....we all need to love our bodies & focus on being healthy!!: ) After having my fourth baby I worked REALLY hard to lose 30 lbs & get in shape. I'm now in the process of going through in vitro to carry a baby for my best friend who can't, & unfortunately the hormone shots caused me to immediately gain 12 lbs back, & I'm not even pregnant yet!! A little discouraging, but I'm focusing on what my body is preparing to do (again) & realizing that healthy eating & exercise should help me bounce back after birth. Thank you for all of your wonderful, realistic recipes & ideas for those of us with families!! I love getting your posts!!: )

i love you, snack girl!!

You look terrific!! I am inspired by u! I have the same bikini in pink. Love Lands End for people who need support! Keep it up ;)

Love your blog, your advice, your bikini. Def will check out Lands End. Now that I'm middle aged and having 'gone soft,' I try to love my body as it enables me to live out my wonderful days. I try to treat it right with exercise and good food. It's an old friend, so I don't criticize!

Lisa you look awesome! Lands end suits are the only ones I will wear, they are so flattering and i love the fact that they come in bra cup sizes. You are an inspiration to all of us!

lisa, good for you. the more we show our bodies with pride the less shameful those who make the rules can have us feel. i have been porting a bikini for years, with veins on my legs that are the road maps of my life. after all, our body is the shrine in which we live... keeping it clean, healthy, nourished and loved, is it's right

You are beautiful and your skin color is too. Now if you were green or purple then that might be a whole different story.

Inspiring post. You're gorgeous!

You are rocking that bikini! Be fearless!

Lisa, you look wonderful and you are wonderful. I'm 69 and just learning to wear a bathing suit comfortably. Love your site, recipes AND your book.

You'll always been a role model, now you are a bikini model!

Well done, Snack Girl.

That is a great suit and it looks wonderful on you. Also, I would like to make an edit in something you said. You said the ideal body image the fashion/advertising industry has promoted is "rock hard abs, thin legs, thin arms, etc." I am not overweight (126 lbs, 5'3") but I workout regularly to protect my bones and keep my heart and the rest of me healthy. I do not have thin legs or arms. I have defined muscles (and I am 62 so it is noticeable since many women my age have loose skin on their arms due to muscle atrophy.) A healthy woman - even of normal weight - should have strong arms and legs. I have had three children and I still have a little pouch, too, but it never bothered me before and I don't plan to start letting it bother me now. :-) Great job with your website.

This year, at 53, I bought a bikini from Target. I've not worn one since college and have wanted to for a long time. I finally said, "Enough!" I look damn good, and I don't care what people think. " it has made me feel so free and young.

Lisa, you look maaaaaaahvelous, daaaaling! Thank for this post -- it was awesome!

Good for you! Since magazines only publish air-brushed photos of models or actresses, I don't think any of us women realize what a real body looks like.

Great post Lisa! I realized that I am often writing posts about losing weight, Helen's Health Tips, and often skip the part about being healthy. Having rock hard abs does not mean you are healthy it means you have rock hard abs. The health of your body is so much more important than the shape. Thanks for bringing that to light here and being the brave one to show us your awesome shape!

You rock! As a *former* dancer, and someone who is now in a profession where bodies are * always* judged, I say the worst things to myself. You have inspired me.

You are beautiful and strong!

LISAAAAAAA! that took some MAJOR guts and it's worth it b/c you look AWESOME!! :) :) :) truly, you go girl!! I'm so happy women are embracing their bodies more and hating them less!! check out these two recent music videos about just that. they both brought me to tears!

john legend - You & I (nobody in the world)

http://youtu.be/Pi3bc91S3rg

Colbie Caillat - Try

http://youtu.be/GXoZLPSw8U8

You are beautiful, inside and out...So inspiring Lisa!

Excellent!

You look fabulous! Thanks for sharing.

Way to go, Lisa. Not everyone is meant to look like a six-year-old girl who doesn't get enough to eat, no matter what the clothing companies say. Fashion says you have to be thin? Fashion can sit on it.

You look great! You are so brave and SO RIGHT, loved this post!

You look fabulous. Wish I had your courage to do this in public.

Love your picture. Wish I could be as proud of my body as you are of yours. I am proud that my grandchildren think I'm cool.

You go girl! You are beautiful!

You look great!!

I love this article in every way shape and form! You look fantastic.

As for the "too white" part... You have found something to criticize! Remember, having pale skin is not a bad thing. It is the color of your skin and you didn't expose it to harmful rays.

That is one thing I hear a lot of people complain about - but "I'm so white! I need to tan before X!"

Then I think, "This is who I am." I may have issues with body size that I still need to work on. But I'll keep my pale skin even if it's not what's deemed beautiful in today's society. :-)

Thanks for this post. Truly inspirational.

@Carrie - You are right. Get over it. My problem stems from having never worn a bikini so my skin hasn't seen the sun. But it is who I am. Thanks for the support!

I have that same bikini top from Lands End! I love it. didn't buy the bottoms though. I'm a big-boobed girl too, and have a belly.... but my butt is non-existent. so much so, that when I wear a one-piece bathing suit, or a bikini bottom, it always ends up very saggy... believe me, I have NO butt. I've been the 'butt' of many jokes because of it -- pun intended :) . so, I just deal with it, and wear board shorts for my swim suit bottoms. I'm not to the point of totally loving my body, but I'm getting there. I do accept it, though. and while it's great to do things to be healthier, we have to remember skinny does not equal healthy.

Yaaay for you Lisa, it is just great. Thank you.

I have to say, you look pretty darn good! We are definitely too obsessed with looking "perfect".

Snack Girl, way to go! You look good and you feel good, that is what mattters the most!

Start a new trend on the local beaches.

So inspiring. Really. Go Lisa!

Now, THAT'S what a real woman looks like! You look great and you are a true inspiration.

AWESOME!! You're lovely and I totally admire the sentiment. All bodies are worthy, and yours is rockin' that bikini!

Lisa, thank you for a great post. You look fabulous! You are fabulous and a wonderful role model in so many ways. thanks!

You rock, Lisa! Not only do you look great, but you are brave and inspiring! This post makes me so incredibly happy. Thank you for that.

Lisa, you are beautiful, inside and out, especially in that suit! Not to mention brave! I am not to the point where I would wear such a low-cut bottom, probably never will be cuz of my humongous vertical scar....anyhow, you continue to be an inspiration to all of us! God bless you!!

I just returned from a trip to the Greek Islands and Cyprus, where all the women, no matter their size or age, wore bikinis. It was inspiring. What is it about American culture that makes us so intimidated? No longer? We are all beautiful as long as we are healthy and happy!

Love the picture! Love the bikini! (Love Lands' End for the same reasons you do!). But I'm most impressed with what a great role model you are for both your daughter and your son.

I think you look great! Bravo for you!

Good for you Lisa. Brave move....we need more women to do the same.

You are so brave and so beautiful. Thanks for sharing this idea.

You look fantastic Lisa.

Young girls should be admiring you in magazines, not the size zeros that the majority of magazines portray as "beautiful"!!! Way to go!!!

You are my new hero! Your attitude is as lovely as you are in your bikini! Way to go.

You look fabulous!

Wow. You are my heroine. I've never been comfortable in my body and now that I'm middle aged, even less so, though I'm trying...

You are beautiful, thanks for reminding all of your faithful followers that we need to love our bodies for what they have gone through as well!!!

You look amazing! It takes courage to step out of the "norm". Thank you - Just love Snack Girl!

Lisa, you are looking great! Go Lisa!!!

I love your curves. I think you look great!

Reading all your well-deserved compliments is so heart-warming, it feels like you have reached out from the computer screen and struck such a chord of unity among every reader, I am actually welling up. Thank you for being so in-touch with reality and sharing today's message of real beauty! Plus YOU ARE beautiful.

I also LOVED Tiffany G's video "Try".

Love!

U look fantastic and I love the suit too! I am 5' 3" and terrified to wear a two piece but you have shown me that there a two piece suits that we can rock!

I celebrate the confidence that you & others have to unapologetically, unabashedly wear revealing swim attire at the beach. After losing 80lbs on Weight Watchers (and continuing to work that program, with 20-30lbs to go), I still don't love my body. Body image is a complex thing, and it's hard to kick a negatively ingrained self-image dating back 40+ years to childhood. I nonetheless can appreciate all you've said on this subject. You look great and are an inspiration for others! =)

I haven't posted a comment in quite awhile. I cannot ignore this wonderful posting! I have lost a total of 76 lbs. and discovered that at 62 my weight loss produced "wrinkly sags" on my upper arms. BUT...my arms are a great size and so is the rest of me. You've inspired me all over again to wear those sleeveless shirts and hold my head up high...NEXT...a bikini! You looked simply fantastic in that really COOL bikini! Thanks so much!

You're my hero. Thank you for the inspiration to get over myself and love the gift of the body I have.

Lisa you are wonderful....This came in at a time when I needed that extra little shot in the arm.

I have been pregnant 4 times (once with twins)The twins is when I gained my extra weight that I have been struggling to lose for so long... and my youngest was born emergency c section. I have wounds, scars and marks from that and then was diagnosed with breast cancer last year which left more scars. Before I got sick, I walked 8 miles a day and went to the gym daily. I felt good and my Dr. had said I was very healthy. I want to get back to the walking & gym routine just so I know I stay healthy, but now I am not going to be focused on my scars. Thank you for your encouragement and your wonderful blogging. Love reading it every morning with my tea!

Lisa, thank you. I've been a mess these past few weeks. I'm 35 weeks pregnant and while I know weight gain can and should happen, old habits die hard and the voice of E.D. (which i battled in the past) is still pretty loud and I just feel like a whale. I cried getting nude in front of my husband yesterday, the man who feasibly enjoys seeing me naked in this state! I need to remember the confidence that allowed me to don my first bikini last year, stretch marks and all and remember that this is temporary and beautiful, no matter how big and awkward I feel.

Lisa, thank you, thank you for this post! I definitely do not love my body, but after your post I'm sure going to try to start. You look beautiful, by the way!

Good on you!
You look great!!
:-)

I think you look amazing!!!! I need to work on loving my body....I have lost 97 pounds but still have lots of loose skin (it's been 5 years now & it is not going away!!!).....I have muscular thighs, big boobs, and a huge droopy tummy.....YUCK!!!

You look awesome & I would give anything to look so good!!! I guess it is all in ones perspective!!!

Honestly, you look fantastic! Good on ya!!!

What an uplifting post! Im 26..and i have had two 10 pound babies..i swear im half zebra from all the stretch marks but i dont care any more. You have showed me nothing is more beautiful than showing off all that hard earned work! Thank you truely

I wish I was as brave and felt good about my body but I do not. I work at trying to make it better but I have great difficulty. My thyroid problems do not help.

Awesome Lisa, simply awesome!

I lost 80 lbs and everything sags now but I feel much healthier. I wore a bikini on the beach last summer and felt great. (At age 55.) Mary @ Happyhealthygramma on FB.

Good for you! You look amazing and normal!

Yeah Lisa and you look absolutely beautiful! Thanks for reminding me to be proud of my body just the way it is with all the lumps and bumps, etc.

Great picture - you are my inspiration - and I love your recipes.

I love my body and I always try to keep healthy body.

You are beautiful

Land's End has the best bathing suits! I'm very fond of their surf shorts.

Go you Lisa for finding a bathing suit that fits properly AND for showing it off!

Honey you look amazing!!!!

I must not like my body because every time I lose weight and finally say.."man you look great" I gain it all back :-( Sometimes I just think I'm not worthy of looking skinny...LOL!

http://living.msn.com/family-parenting/me-through-my-childr…

I just saw this above article and it so reminds me of this article. And by the way, Lisa, this was a great article and you look great!

love THIS POST - THANKS!

I hope you are as healthy as you look beatiful

Taryn Brumfitt's face double is on page 16 of sept/oct 2014 Weight Watchers magazine. Exact same face, exact same expression.

Thanks for this very inspiring article, Lisa. I needed this. Keep up the great wor! You look fantastic!!

You look awfully good to me Lisa! But what appeals to me most about you is that smile you're wearing. It tells me that here is a lady who feels good about herself! And rightfully so!

You've defiantly given us "ordinary" women something to think about! I feel better already!

Love it! Rock that bikini!

Thanks for the post!

Lisa you do look beautiful and happy. Keep smiling.

I LOVE it; however, right below your confident bathing suit photo is an ad for Totokaelo with a woman who looks like a Holocaust victim. Women are surrounded by ads of skeletons.

You look great in your bikini Lisa. And I think it's wonderful that women are becoming more comfortable and proud of their bodies no matter the body type. I'm almost 59 and I feel I have earned every wrinkle, sagging skin, tummy roll and etc. I agree not everyone is meant to have rock-hard abs. I'm to busy in my life to worry about that. I have beautiful grandkids and they're my motivation to take care of myself. I find for me I'm not comfortable in a bikini, not that I couldn't wear one it's just not my thing. We may be comfortable in our skin, but doesn't always mean we're comfortable in a bikini and that's okay. You need to wear what makes you feel good. Thank you for all you do to help people feel good about their selves.

I came here via today's fat-shaming post. And I had to stop and comment, before going back to that great piece- you look amazing! You have a lovely body and look perfectly healthy. Thanks for posting this. (PS- The suit IS really cute!)

I am so proud of you and you are an inspiration to all the "juicy"women our there...Let's keeping on loving ourselves!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I look back on photos of me when I thought my body was so awful and it wasn't. We all need to accept our bodies and appreciate all they do for us.

Good for you!
You look wonderful!
(be sure to use sunscreen)
Go girl, go!

There is nothing wrong with your body, you look great,enjoy your summer! :)

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