There is nothing wrong with you exactly the way you are.

It may not be pretty but we’re getting it done.

I recently watched this incredibly compelling presentation. And I wanted to talk about the fact that you have the right to look however you want to look. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked “female”. Pretty isn’t going to get this done, anyway. It’s not going to protect your kids from strangers, it’s not going to make you a fun grandma, and it sure as heck is not the measure of your character.

I don’t have a daughter but I don’t think that matters. My relationship with myself is going to set the bar for how my boys view women. I want them to see us as strong, capable, intelligent human beings. I want them to grow up and respect everyone, regardless of how “pretty” or not they are. I want them to understand that attractiveness and value are not the same, regardless of your gender. I am really not sure exactly how to do that, but I am going to start by working hard at being STRONG. I’m going to break up with my fat pants. I’m going to think in terms of healthful and unhealthful, not slim and heavy.

I pledge not to measure myself by how any celebrity looks in her swimsuit, and also not to value HER by how she looks in her swimsuit. I will not compare my journey to anyone else’s. I will offer a helping hand whenever I can. We are all in this together. Let us leave no one behind.

Please join me. Today, let’s eat our vegetables in the interest of being the oldest lady anyone knows, not of looking “good” in a swimsuit. Let’s lift some weights and do some plyometric exercises so we can jump on the trampoline with our teenagers someday. Let’s celebrate ourselves, our lives, and our families in all their glorious, beautiful, imperfection. You are not a marble sculpture. Your beauty comes from the love that shines out of you. LET IT SHINE.

Day: 64
The scale has moved: -15 lbs (50% of my goal!)
The inches have changed: -16.75 inches (and my waist hip ratio is now a “healthy” 0.8!)
I feel: AMAZING. Loved. Just fine the way I am.
I’ve walked: 80.77 miles and counting!

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