It's Your Body, No One Else's

Body image is such a sensitive topic, sure it's covered in school and we are told to embrace our bodies and love ourselves for who we are, but then we are bombarded with all this social media. Tabloids are telling us what the ideal body is and what is considered fit, healthy, and attractive… and if you do not have those traits or qualities then we are not beautiful. The past few years I have been struggling with body image. I would consider myself average sized, I fit into a size 4 -6 depending on the store and I’m 5’2, I have that extra chub around my mid-section and no thigh gap (which I am now proud of). Over the past few years I did fad diets, and was sucked into buying weightless programs and supplements, which were a complete waste of money and made me very ill. I also considered getting breast implants, a tummy tuck etc. more recently I have fallen for the waist trainers and some unhealthy cleanses. But what I have realized is I was made a certain way, we are all made differently and I should love myself for who I am and how I look. No one can tell me I am not beautiful because of the way I look, and that has been a struggle for me to realize. I now embrace my thick thighs and cellulite, I embrace my stomach rolls, and there should be no one else in this world I should try and please other than myself. Someone will love me for who I am without changing and that is important to remember.

A couple thoughts that have crossed my mind lately are why would I want to alter my body and become ‘fake’? Why would I want to look like everyone else? ...there is only one me. Nowadays I find that everyone looks like somebody else, the sense of uniqueness has been lost because so many of us are caught up in society’s standards. Don’t get me wrong I love going to the gym and eating healthy for the most part, but what’s the point of dieting? Knock on wood, but if I were to die tomorrow I would definitely want to eat that slice of pizza or have that chocolate bar. I should not deprive myself of things that make me happy to try and fit the status quo. At the end of the day we are the ones that make these ‘trends’ or normalize looks that are definitely not normal and in my opinion pretty unachievable. What has worked well for me is to enjoy everything in moderation. I am a girl who loves her carbs, pizza, bread, and pasta… I can’t get enough! Mix that with healthy choices and regular exercise… not vigorous but regular, then I am ok and that is what I have learned to accept.

If there is one message you take away from this and one I wish I had realized sooner is that I am beautiful in my own way, I don’t need to follow unhealthy trends.  Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, it is important that we do not conform to society’s standards- we need to make our own. We were all born to be realnot perfect so embrace what your mama gave ya, and always remember that there is beauty in simplicity.

Lexus is 23 years old and soon to be graduate from the University of Guelph Humber who loves to cook and try new cultural foods. She has struggled with body image issues in the past, but has recently learned to love her body again by embracing it through modeling.