Skinny or Healthy?

By Stacey Schultz

Why is it that we are more concerned with being the right size or shape than with being healthy and fit?  Our society has conditioned us to believe that our physical appearance is more important than if we are internally healthy.  But guess what?  It is our choice each and every day if we want to buy into that…as strong women, mothers, sisters, daughters, friends, and wives we can make a difference now for future generations.  What a gift it would be to pass onto our daughters and sons that just because the cover of Vogue has a too thin model on the cover doesn't mean that that is what is either healthy, fit, or what true beauty is…what is your true beauty?  My true beauty and what I want my children to believe is that it is inside of us not outside of us...True beauty is our health, our fitness, our heart, our relationship with God and our soul…that is what counts in the end.  Will we be on our deathbeds thinking, wow if only I spent more time looking good..or trying to be skinny, or I wish I had been that size 2 so I looked better dying?  I think I would prefer to feel on my deathbed that I did what I could to be healthy, fit, and to pass onto my children a good, healthy, self image..I am pretty sure that our regrets may consist of why in the world did I obsess soo much on being that size 2 and why was I so hard on myself to get there…

God is good..He is soo good that he gave us each our own unique bodies, built like no one else on this huge earth..Wow, crazy but true.  What a blessing that we are able to ride a bike with our legs, see the sky with our eyes, swim in the lake with our arms, breath the air with our lungs, and most importantly give birth with our bodies to a human being..That is what our bodies do for us among many other things.  I believe that in honoring God by loving and appreciating our bodies is what he would want for his children.  I think it makes him sad to watch us beat ourselves up, put ourselves down, and be so unsatisfied with what he gave us.  Instead of seeing our bodies as gifts from God we see them as wishing they were different, smaller, or better, what an insult to Him.  We have a choice to love our bodies, thank Him for them, and do what we can daily to keep them healthy and fit..

What is healthy and fit to you?  To me it is keeping up with my children with activities and sports, it's getting to the gym 4 to 5 days a week, choosing healthy options most of the times when eating, getting enough sleep, not smoking, listening to my body, being proactive with my health and fitness, not believing everything I hear but researching it instead, being able to, at 40, make the choice to appreciate the gift of my capable body that God gave me.  Being healthy and fit make look and be something different for you..No two of us are the same with our life style and or routine.  There is no right way or wrong way to be.  In our hearts we know if we need to add something to our lifestyle or take something away.  There are also seasons to our lives that can and do affect our routines, that's life for ya..We can adjust when need be to help maintain a sense of balance.  Does all of this mean that looking good is not important, that we should roll out of bed, never put on makeup, not brush our hair, wear sloppy clothes, etc…as long as we are eating right and exercising?  I hope you know that is not what I am meaning here.  I hope the message that you are hearing from me is more about appreciating our unique custom bodies that God has blessed us with and doing our part to keep them healthy and fit..

Ladies, let us take a stand today to do better because we know better.  I know that we can make a difference.  I know that we aren't forced to buy into society's beliefs and attitudes towards what beauty is.  It is a choice that we make.  Let's make the choice to appreciate our bodies, ourselves, our God, to pass onto our children and future generations that true beauty is being healthy and fit on the inside, not just on the outside.  So tell me, are we going to be SKINNY or HEALTHY?  FIT or THIN?  Maybe you are both, fabulous, God Bless You.  But maybe you are those things and still have a low self image..Maybe that's the change you need to make today.  Whatever your issue is decide today to change your attitude about it and appreciate all that God has blessed you with…