Did you know that, according to statistics from the National Eating Disorders Association (www.nationaleatingdisorders.org),
In the United States, as many as 10 million females and 1 million males are fighting a life and death battle with an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia.
Over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives.
42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner.
While these statistics no longer surprise me, I am still saddened when I think about how the need to match society's definition of beauty destroys so many people's lives. That's why I'm so excited to have discovered a wonderful new movement called Love My Shape that was created to help women celebrate themselves exactly as they are.
Love My Shape was started by Megan Woolever who, after years of dieting and hating her curves, finally learned to Love Her Shape (you can read more about Megan’s story at www.lovemyshape.org). Her goal in creating Love My Shape is "that every woman will love her body for its unique beauty, and that young women will grow up in a society that celebrates their own unique shape." Megan is inviting other women to log on and share their stories because, as she writes on the site, "When we hear ourselves in each other's story, we realize that the power to change is inside of each of us as we connect together in love and purpose."
Drew Barrymore once said, "I used to look in the mirror and feel shame. I look in the mirror now and I absolutely love myself." Are YOU ready to love your shape and love yourself?