When I started my “body love” journey 4 years ago I never could have a guessed how many layers there would be to it.

Last year, I remember feeling stuck. Like, okay. I’ve learned how to be okay with my body but it just felt like I was missing something. It wasn’t until I discovered intuitive eating, a process used by professionals to aid individuals in recovery for eating disorders, where it truly all started to click.

It’s never been about the food. It’s never been about the size of my body. It’s never been about health.

It’s about WORTH.

Once you can finally grasp the concept that your worth has nothing to do with your external image, the world is YOURS.

I still have a lot of work to do. The process is long, and you’ll discover unhealed trauma in your life you never even knew existed.

But this photo is from a year ago, and I remember putting on this suit and feeling uncomfortable. I looked at my husband and said “but I’m not supposed to be uncomfortable. I’m supposed to be able to rock this and feel good no matter what.”

It was in that moment I remembered that body positivity is just the beginning. Body acceptance, self respect, and coming to peace with food and exercise are the end goal. And finally knowing that you are NOT your body... you are so much more than that. Your body wasn’t made to be glorified by others.

I started my intuitive eating journey with the help from @stephdodier - I highly recommend her, for several reasons including that she lives in a larger body. Having someone coach you through the IE process has been a game changer for me.

There are also workbooks and other free sources online I have linked on my website.

Lastly, diet culture is the patriarchy in action and the desire to be thin is strongly rooted in racism dated back to the 1800s. All of these issues we as women face within ourselves typically intersect, and I urge you to take a look at the resources I put together on the intersectionality tab.

I love you guys. It kills me when I see women continuing to fall into the trap of thinking that doing a diet will finally make them happy or set them free.

What are your biggest “issues” with body image lately? 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼