“I finally realised that being grateful to my body was key to giving more love to myself” ~ Oprah. Self-image has an important role to play in the way we perceive ourselves. Although unfair, outward appearances contribute to a certain extent to a person’s personality and confidence. Does it mean that people who aren’t traditionally good-looking are not beautiful? Do they have to change to feel body positivity? Am I so hollow to attach substance to it? Definitely not.

Quickly enough we’ve come to last post of my ‘The New Me’ series. I’ve discussed my transformation with you in detail over the past few weeks. It has been a long, challenging and lonely journey but, for me, a feather in my cap. I now realise that my discipline isn’t limited to my kids and that I haven’t yet explored my true potential. Your wonderful feedback has been an amazing motivation too. In this post I’m trying to address a point some of you have rightly raised. Is weight loss necessary for body positivity? Shouldn’t we be happy the way we are?

No matter what we want to believe, psychosomatic effect is a fact. To feel good inside out one must concentrate on both. Ideally, happiness is an extremely personal feeling but I would still suggest an introspection. Surprised? Let me explain.

• Slim people face judgement too – While most of us join gyms for weight loss or toning I was surprised when a couple of slim girls joined mine to gain weight. A quick chat with them revealed that they  had been on the receiving end of tremendous body shaming. They had a nutritionist monitoring every morsel they took and seemed overwhelmed by this entire exercise. “How did they feel about it?” I asked. One of them shrugged, confessed that she’s underweight and felt weak. So you see, transformation has many aspects and reasons. As long as one is convinced, why not?
• Make good health the driving force – We don’t have to wait for a sinister health scare to prioritise it, right? I saw my Mom struggling with lifestyle diseases and its side-effects all my life. Bulky frame aside I wasn’t the poster girl for good health either. I was a compulsive gourmand, low in self-esteem and couldn’t run to save my life. Adopting a healthy lifestyle including mindful eating, dedicated exercise time and a happy feeling of body positivity changed my life. If our intent is to get better every step towards it is right. Isn’t all this worth trying for?

• Positive affirmations for you – Positive affirmations have the potential to inspire us even on the most difficult days. Change the narrative from ‘Why me’ to ‘Whoa me’ and observe how your life changes. The wallpaper on my phone has a picture of me running with “My best is yet to come” scribbled across it. This belief in me is my biggest takeaway from my transformation. Start your day with a positive thought and don’t forget to compliment yourself daily. Body positivity can never be independent of your mind’s healthy conditioning. Tell yourself you’re doing great, because you are.
• Transformation is your choice! – I cannot stress this point enough. If you’re healthy, secure and happy in your skin, it is nobody’s job to pick at you. You’re not bound to heed it either. Few people have utilised the lockdown to get back in shape while many others have reduced themselves to a couch potato. Some situations are simply thrust upon us. How we imbibe them and let them influence our lives is in our control though. Stagnation is a silent killer. Keep yourself active, mentally and physically, and you won’t need a significant transformation at all. In any case, you and only you get to decide that.

Our thoughts and lifestyle carry more significance than peoples’ attitude towards us. Learn turning a blind eye and deaf ear to them and you’ll experience the most amazing Zen feeling. Additionally, women are known to suffer from identity and midlife crisis as they age. The mental and physical changes I’ve gone through will hopefully arm me in handling myself better when my kids flow the nest. After all, isn’t this the kind of love and transformation we all deserve? What do you think?

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