Sister Love & Body Image

Sister Love and Body Image

Sister love and body imageThere’s something to be said about getting dolled up and treated like royalty. My sister, Joy, recently entered and won a contest for a sister’s photography session. The photographer was feeling lacking in sisterhood and wanted to honor sisters of all ages.

I loved the quality one-on-one time spent with my sister (and the photos are amazing!). But what I got out of the session most was the need for us to love ourselves and step out from behind the camera more often.

As moms, most of us are the ones with the smartphone or camera, taking pictures of our families. And if you look back at your camera roll, you’ll probably notice that you are missing. Either because you’re the only one who thinks to take the pictures, or because you’re hiding from the camera. From conversations I’ve had, the latter is usually the case.

Here’s the thing: You have to love your body, as it is. No matter what you’re trying to do (lose weight, tighten up, feel healthier, feel younger), your body won’t respond to the changes you’re making if you don’t love it the way it is.

If you’ve ever been around someone who has a negative attitude, you might know what it feels like to be talked down to or ridiculed. Someone calling you ugly or selfish or stupid or fat or out of shape isn’t going to make you feel the opposite of those things.

Except women tell themselves these things every single day. And because of that, we don’t feel beautiful and strong. We want to change how we look and feel, but until we can truly love ourselves we aren’t going to change.

sister love and body imageI’m so grateful every day that I get to do what I do. And in order to encourage others to meet their own health and fitness goals, I feel like I need to get out of my own way and get in front of the camera. The older I get, the more I see the importance of staying active. The more active I am now, the more active I’ll be able to be later.

Getting in front of the camera used to be really hard, but the more I do it the easier it gets. It also gets easier to stick to my workouts and meal plan because I know I’m going to be taking pictures. It’s my built-in accountability.

These were all the messages that we talked about during our photo shoot, and they’re messages every woman needs to hear. If you’ve been avoiding the camera, I encourage you to love on yourself and treat yourself a little more kindly. Even if it’s just a selfie with your kids or a snapshot someone else takes of you on vacation, you’ll be thankful later that you took that photo.

xoxo - Lee

About Lee

I am a 44-year old married mom of 4. I love my family. If you’re a mom, then you know kids and a spouse keep you busy. It’s easy to forget yourself in the process of taking care of your family. My mission is to help other moms take care of themselves so they can be more available to their loved ones and lead more fulfilling lives.