Welcome to all the new readers stopping by from the Grow Your Blog Hop today! For the last hop I shared a few things about me. That was lighter reading. Today, in honor of the hop and so my readers – new and old – can get to know me on a more personal level, I’m getting a little deep with something that has been on my mind and a topic on which I think many women can likely relate – Body Image.
You may or may not know that I’m a Certified Integrative Health and Nutrition Coach who teaches women how to trust themselves to make nutritious, slimming and energizing choices without resorting to fad diets. I love this job with all my heart and soul and I do my best to practice what I preach when it comes to food, fitness and self-love.
But it’s not always easy and even as I coach, I still struggle. Lately, I’ve had body image on my mind.
Having been interested in fitness in high school and becoming a healthy eater in my mid-twenties, I always felt pretty good about how I looked and felt. I was naturally petite. I exercised because I enjoyed it and ate healthy because I wanted to.
Then I went to college and it was there I found myself wishing I could be 5 pounds thinner. Even when I became 5 pounds thinner, I still wanted to be 5 pounds thinner. I never had an eating disorder, but I would say I developed some disordered eating habits and I’ve blogged before about my struggle with Orthorexia Nervosa and exercise addiction that started in college and continued well into my 20’s.
After college, I took up running, then started with triathlons and eventually half and full marathons. I was strong and fit – and though I had put on some muscle, I was still slim. Though I ate healthy most of the time, binge drinking became a pastime and I struggled with emotional eating. I talk more about this difficult and dark time in my life in my forthcoming book.
Coming out of this time in my life, brought me into my career as a health coach.
2008 Nautica NYC Triathlon
Then came my 30’s and it was then that I settled into a long-term relationship with my now-husband. Though my eating habits and exercise hadn’t changed much (I eased up on the racing a little), I began to notice changes in my body that I didn’t expect like wider hips, thicker legs and taking longer to recover from a workout. As my 30’s have progressed, it’s been hard to accept that my favorite pair of jeans — that were once loose — are no longer. I look back at pictures of myself in shorter-than-short dresses that I wouldn’t dare to wear now (and secretly wish I could). I compare myself to the twenty-somethings on the Bachelor and remember a time when I had legs that looked like theirs. And then I panic because I haven’t even had kids yet!!
2015 Oakley Women’s Mini 10K
To counteract the changes, I’ve noticed myself going through periods of becoming super-strict about what I eat and pushing myself with my workouts more trying to get back to where I used to be. But I’ve realized again what I’ve always known — it doesn’t work that way.
This time in my life has been a chance for me to get to know my body better in ways I never have, an opportunity to learn to accept my body for what it is in this moment (something I never learned to do in my 20’s) and how it wants to be, a lesson in trusting the process and reminder that if I take care of my body the best way I know how, it will take care of me.
If you’re brave enough, tell me if you can relate or what your journey with body image has been like.
Oh body image! It seems to be a common theme lately to blog about…which I think is good in a way. It is always easier to walk the road with someone else than to feel all alone in the struggles. I have had sever body image issues since I was 4 years old. That is 30 years of my life!! For 20 of those years I also had a pretty sever eating disorder. Now that I am in solid recovery and eating well + taking MUCH better care of myself, I would like to think my body image is better…but most days it is such a struggle. I guess that is one area of life I need to focus more energy on and continue to learn to love who I am, no matter what my body decides to look like!
Thanks for sharing your story!
Runwybridlplanr Thank you and I totally hear you! Before anyone posts a picture on social media, I usually need to vet it first to make sure the angles are ok 😉 You will get there! Take it one day at a time.
MelissaLeavitt Completely! I’m glad bloggers are starting to address this topic more!
Kim Hatting That is so inspirational and good for you for keeping it REAL!
DeborahSchreiberBrooks I hear that in your 40s you really start to embrace your body more. I’m almost there!! Appreciating your body is truly is all about what it has accomplished and how it takes care of you.
joesahfeen Yep. Social media does. not. help.!! It sounds like you have a healthy outlook and positive approach. Keep it up!
dblred0728 Thank you and your words are so true! We are all unique and need to accept who and how we are!
rachelmcmichael Good for you for getting through those times in your life, Rachel. THAT is true strength!
TutusandTennies Sigh … that’s pretty much what I experienced. I woke up one day and realized, things just don’t look the same 😉 And yes, it helps to remind myself I am healthier and happier now than I’ve ever been!
LAWRTW Good for you!!
Dancing2Running So so true!
satorke Yep! I find my clients appreciate that I’m not perfect and still struggle with certain things or have been through what they’re going through. Makes for a more “real” coach 🙂
Chaita_1 So true! I think we’re getting better, but I agree. Society still sends the wrong messages to women about how we “should” look
fairyburger Yes, I think we always have to assess what balance means for us based on where we are in our lives. It’s always changing!
wholistic_woman Thank you! We aren’t alone! A lot of women have said the same thing!
I can totally relate! Looking forward to your book
Thank you for sharing your story! I love your honesty! <3 I can definitely relate to you at least on a couple levels. I used to somehow have more time to exercise regularly, but medical school definitely put a huge dent in that, and I’ve tried to balance it out with healthier eating, but it’s a lot easier for me to want to exercise more than to eat healthy almost-24/7. It’s an ongoing battle for balance!
Thanks for sharing! I can definitely relate in some ways. I was never slim and always felt wider than other girls my age. But I’m working on loving my body for what it can do for me and treating it with love. I’ve ben learning that loving my body results in health behaviors in a way that hating my body never did. Seems obvious but sadly it’s not the message our society sends.
Thanks for sharing your story, Marissa! I think it’s wonderful you’re able to use your experiences now as a health coach. I’m sure your experience is so beneficial to your clients!
I remember going through periods of restricted eating in college because I wanted to shrink myself into a pair of jeans or a tight dress. I remember going to the grocery store with a friend once and taking like 10 minutes in the pasta aisle trying to decide if I would buy a box of spaghetti or not. Like that one box of carbs would make or break my diet for the year!
Fortunately as I’ve grown older I’ve naturally become more balanced with my diet and I might weigh a bit more but have a lot more confidence. I credit exercise and working out – being strong and healthy is the way to go 🙂
Thank you for sharing your story. I know a lot of women can relate to your story, but not everybody is as brave about coming forward like you have. I hope you’re able to use your own experiences to help others as their coach. I always find that when somebody has experienced something themselves that its much easier to take follow their guidance.
Last year my PD focus was learning to love my new body after losing 110 lbs, loose skin and all. Apparently that helped since when I took the Self Love quiz that’s the area in which I scored the highest! #ChooseSelfLove
Nice post! I have a big birthday this year and it does cause a girl to look at oneself and wonder why things don’t look they way they used to. I just remind myself that I am healthy and happy and that is most important 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your story!!! I love how genuine and authentic you are with your battle, and I think we’ve all been there and can all relate. For me it was an eating disorder in college that left me grossly underweight, followed by a complete lack of control with food once I finally DID start eating again. Truly – you are such an inspiration, and this is such a beautiful post!
It is refreshing to see that we all struggle with body image in some form or fashion even if your are on the coaching side or the student side. I think you said it best, Marissa If you take care of your body it will take care of you. I have always had wider hips and junk in the trunk, even at my lightest weight. This is just me and how I’m supposed to look. No matter how much healthy weight I loose it always seems to come off the hip area dead last. I’m just recently pushed my body to carry me across a 26.2 finish line and I’m getting stronger every day mentally and physically. We are all unique in our own way and appearance! Keep up the good work you are doing, inspiring and motivating us. I am enjoying connecting with you through the Hop!
Props to you for being brave and honest. I can’t say I totally relate but currently I go between trying not to be hard on myself and being hard on my self about losing some post baby weight. I think social media makes it much easier to compare ourselves to others and that can be harmful
Nice to see you in the hop. I recently wrote a similar post about ditching the scale. We have lots of similarities in our past. After many years of body image issues, now in my 40’s I finally more comfortable in my own body and happy with what my body can do if I take care of it.
This is so insightful! I wrote a blog post last month about how what we see on social media is usually what others WANT us to see (and it usually isn’t the whole truth). Even pics that get posted most days are made to look more “perfect” with filters. I try to keep it real and be transparent, I want my followers to see my flaws and watch me move forward despite any setbacks. Thanks for sharing! I appreciate reading about people like yourself who have the same mindset 😉 Onward!!
Thank you so much for sharing this! Often times social media and even blogs are just a highlight reel and I find it encouraging when people can share their struggles and reality. I’ll be sharing a little about this on my blog spotlight tomorrow.
Loved your honesty in this post!
I’ll be brave, While I can’t relate entirely, I’ve had my own body images struggles. I hate to say it, but I’ve gained way too much weight these past few years that I have been trying to get over a work injury. A friend and I were talking a few weeks back, because she was trying to take a picture and I was like, no I don’t want my picture taken. Truth was, I didn’t want her to post it on FB and others see how much weight I had gained. So yeah, that is my body image struggle right now. I wish I could say I love me the way I am, and I do for the most part, but I want the lose the weight for me, so next time someone grabs a camera instead of pushing it away, I just smile.
Beautiful post, I think your honesty inthis will help others, even I am walking away with a new perspective on my own image now. Thanks!