I’ve struggled with a distorted view of my self image for a looooong time. I’ve struggled with low self-esteem and confidence my entire life. Not to place blame but I definitely believe it comes from the things I endured as a child. I was constantly told how pretty I was but I needed to be skinnier. I was picked on in school because I wasn’t a skinny little Barbie doll type. I was picked on by some family members because I wasn’t skinny like them.

When you grow up with things like that it’s automatically ingrained into your head that you aren’t beautiful unless you are skinny. And heck take a look around you today, it’s no wonder so many girls & women struggle with self image issues. Everywhere we look Hollywood is portraying beautiful as stick thin. Even at my lowest weight I still wasn’t skinny. I’m broad through the shoulders, I’m large chested. I was cursed blessed with the Lee side genes - short and stocky.

I’ve done every diet in the book. Seriously. You name it, I’ve tried it. I’ve even stooped so low as to try very unhealthy forms of weight loss including binging and purging when I was in college. Diet pills have landed me in the ER for racing heart, chest pains and dizziness. Not eating for days on end has left me weak and craving even more food.

I’m glad that once I hit my mid 20’s I realized that fad dieting just didn’t cut it. It wasn’t until I hit 30 that I realized it wasn’t about dieting at all but about lifestyle changes. It wasn’t until now, at 33, that I realized I don’t have to be a skinny little Barbie doll to be a beautiful person.

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching over the last couple days, since my counseling appointment last Thursday. I’m telling you I don’t know what happened to me that day but my outlook on everything changed dramatically.

One of the things my counselor and I talked about is the fact that this is all about me and working on me, no one else. It’s a time to be selfish and focus entirely on me and fixing the things that need to be changed including the distorted self image I’ve carried all these years. Along with that comes getting back in the habit of daily exercise and healthy eating. Do I want to lose more weight? Yes. Is that my main focus? NOOOOO! For once I can honestly say I’m not doing it because I feel like I HAVE to lose a gazillion pounds to be lovable, to be beautiful. For once I’m doing it because I miss exercising, I miss eating healthy. I miss the energy I used to have when I was doing the right things.

Do you struggle with self-esteem issues? Do you lack confidence? Do you have a distorted view of your self-image? Don’t you think it’s time to give yourself a break and learn to love yourself for who you are?

I think it’s time! Join me as I embark on my journey of learning to love myself for who I am. It’s a journey of building my self-confidence, self-esteem and loving me for who God created me to be. In other words, I’m learning to LOVE myself for who I am. I’m gonna work on being the Hot Mama I know I am If you would like help on becoming a Hot Mama check out Hot Mama Makeover! It’s free to you.

If you are looking for some inspiration and motivation to get on the healthy eating wagon I’d like to direct you to a site and blog that I enjoy. It’s called Losing it and Loving it. My friend Angie owns them and she’s a true inspiration when it comes to lifestyle changes to become healthy. She’s lost a ton of weight and kept it off for quite awhile now. You can check out her site here and her blog here.

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