Body Image & A Giveaway

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Crystal Light.

This giveaway is now closed.

Climbing out of the shower each morning is a bit of a challenge. As I clamber out, reaching for my towel, I do everything in my power not to look to the right, towards the end of the bathroom...towards the large sliding mirrored doors that hide our closet. If I do happen to glance in that direction, I am greeted with a full-frontal view of myself. (Cue slasher movie scream.) I quickly look away in frustration and start on a long barrage of reprimands and promises to lock the pantry door and throw away the key.

Despite all of these dramatics, I am a very healthy person. I run four days per week and am training for a half-marathon, I eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and I am doing everything but sticking an IV in my arm to increase my fluid intake. Yet, still, my body is far from the perfect specimen I yearn for. During that brief glance into the mirror, my eyes and brain refuse to see the legs that are becoming stronger or the arms that are getting a little bit slimmer with each run. Rather, they focus on the imperfections. Why are we so hard on ourselves?

While the media's glorification of skinny celebrities is partly to blame, I think we need to look a little deeper than that. While none of us have perfect lives, I will bet that the majority could list several things that are pretty darned good in their lives - kids that are active and happy, a supportive spouse, healthy parents, or a satisfying job. I am lucky enough to be able to check all of these off my list. These are the things that I should be focusing on, not the fact that my skinny jeans have been relegated to the back of the closet.


Right here, right now, I vow to be grateful for friends and my family, to be present in the moment. Do my kids care that my muffin top is popping over the waistband of my shorts while I am kicking the soccer ball with them in the backyard? Of course not. They are just happy that we are spending time together.

Each morning, I will continue to crawl out of bed, strap on my running shoes, and let myself enjoy the exertion as my friend and I run our regular loop. We are getting stronger, we are running faster and - darn it - we look good doing it.



This giveaway is now closed.

For a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card, please answer the following question in the comments section:

What do you do to boost your body image?

Please, no duplicate comments.
You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
This giveaway is open to US Residents aged 18 and older
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail, so please be sure that you leave an email address.
You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

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