Strong is the New Skinny!

I come from a Middle Eastern family, in the Middle East, the ideal beautiful figure is skinny. And here I am-not skinny. Some of my friends kept telling me I’m overweight, I’m fat and that my body jiggles. I use to beat myself up about it thinking that I am not beautiful enough. Today however, I felt inspired. I was butt naked in front of the mirror and checked myself out. I looked at my rolls, my arms, my bum and my ridiculously big boobs. I looked at everything. First, I examined my boobs – my boobs are big and one of the things I hate about my body. But guess what? Guys like big boobs. Now I’m not saying to like a certain thing because someone else likes it or to like something in order to fit in. Rather, I’m saying we don’t necessarily appreciate everything we have and we take our body for granted. Some people will look at you with envy over the one thing that you hate so much. A lot of people will look at you and wish they had what you have. People will look at you and realize that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you because in reality, your body matches and levels with who you are.

I then examined my rolls and love handles, this is my biggest insecurity. I was trying to find something beautiful about them, but I couldn’t. The only thing I could think of is to work hard and get rid of  it- but I am going to have fun along the way. As I stared at my rolls I thought, maybe its okay to have these rolls. It’s ok to have curves and not be the skinny model on the cover of a magazine. It’s okay to look different. I am who I am and images in magazines and television won’t change the way I think or feel about myself.

We  are always given this image on television and in magazines that skinny is fit, skinny is ideal and skinny is sexy. Here is something some of you didn’t know, I have a document that states that I am a fitness professional, and here I am as I stand before you, a fitness professional who works in the fitness industry who is not skinny. I have rolls, a big bum,enormous boobs and a full body of jiggles. I can guarantee you that with all that my body has, I am more fit and healthier than any skinny girl you see walking down the street. I have come to mutual terms and agreement with myself that I’m beautiful and so is my body. My body is my treasure, in order for it to take care of me later; I must take care of it now.

The point of this blog is for people fighting insecurities to know that you are so beautiful in so many different ways. There are three things in my opinion that you must do to keep living a healthy, beautiful life. 1. Eat right, 2. Be active and 3. Love your body. When I say love your body, I mean go in front of a mirror and really look at yourself. Check yourself out and embrace your flaws. This is your body, your treasure, and it’s absolutely fascinating. You are not a super model, you are a REAL model. So, get real with yourself and love and respect yourself.

Have confidence because there's a reason why you were given this body. Embrace it, love it and take care of it. “Accept everything about yourself, and I mean everything. You are you and that is the beginning and the end.” Take a deep look at yourself, you are human and you are beautiful. You are so beautiful. You can be anything. You can be everything.

Once you realize that feeling good is more important than looking good, and that there are more important things in life than what pant size you wear, “when you are truly comfortable in your own skin, not everyone will like you but you won’t care one bit.”

This is your body and this is your life, you are doing this for you and you don’t have to prove anything to anyone!