A Waist is a Terrible Thing to Mind

Just an excerpt from the book I'm currently reading, Intuitive Eating by registered dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. I have had a life-long battle with accepting what I see in the mirror, and lately that struggle has been more difficult than it has been in years. I needed this today, and maybe someone else out there reading this needs it too:

"Accept your genetic blueprint. Just as a person with a shoe size of eight would not realistically expect to squeeze into a size six, it is equally futile (and uncomfortable) to have the same expectation about body size. But mostly, respect your body, so you can feel better about who you are... 

Has all the self-loathing because of your body helped? Has dwelling on your imperfect body parts helped you become leaner, or merely make you feel worse? Does chewing yourself out every time you step on the scale make you weigh any less? We have yet to find one client who says that focusing on his or her body in such negative ways is helpful. Studies have shown that the more you focus on your body, the worse you feel about yourself. Yet the body torture game goes on - mirror, mirror, one the wall, who's the slimmest of them all?"