I Listened to a Podcast About Using Butt Masks to Fight Body Inclusivity and It Did Not Disappoint
I’ve had an interesting few days since being laid off, full of highs and lows, and this morning was a low. I cried a very ugly cry and wiped my runny nose on my husbands shirt. I’m thankful he gave me the space to cry and once I was done, I shot up like a crazy person, looked at him and said, “I’m going for a walk. Be back soon.”
So, right before I left I quickly checked LinkedIn and noticed my girl, Marie Forleo, posted a new podcast interviewing Katie Sturino, founder of Megababe, and the podcast was about how Katie is using butt masks to fight for body inclusivity.
Sounded inspiring, creative and right on brand for me. I put my headphones in and I was off.
And boy was I right!
Here are the important takeaways I gathered and want to remind you all too.
Your Life Doesn’t Being When You {Insert Your Holy Grail Here]
Your life doesn’t begin when you lose weight.
Your life doesn’t begin when you can fit into a certain size.
Your life doesn’t begin when you get the certain job/promotion.
Your life doesn’t begin when you meet the right person.
Basically people, your life doesn’t begin when you hit your holy grail goal.
Marie called this your ‘arrival fallacy’ or the belief when you finally get to [insert holy grail] your whole life will take off, all this magical change occurs and all your problems will be solved.
Reality is you have already arrived. Your life is happening. Your life is happening now. Don’t let it pass by.
The same goes with your weight, your body and your views about your body. If you have been following me for awhile then you know I am all about boosting your confidence, style and worth. And part of that boost conversation is body positivity and embracing your body as it is today.
You have been lead to believe you need to be a certain weight, size, and shape in order to be happy, stylish and worthy. You believe you need to achieve a certain beauty and body standard to fit in. You spend so much of your time wishing, hoping, praying to be the ideal and waste you time living, loving and honoring yourself.
The truth is, your body is changing every single day. The size you are today may not be the size you are next week, next month or next year. Your body reacts to your environment, what you put in your body and what you put on you body.
You are always dealing with a new version of your body so instead of thinking how can you change your body flip your thinking to how can you embrace your body.
When you start to release the need to be a certain way is when you start to embrace the amazing body you have.
Katie shared how her body went from a size 12 to a size 18 due to the stress of her divorce, but now she is coming out of the divorce a different person and acknowledges she will have to embrace a new body in time.
Which leads me to…
The Fear of the Quarantine Weight Gain
Katie and Marie talked about how during this super scary and hard time that our whole world is going through, one of the number fears people have is the quarantine weight gain. How people are so scared to gain weight, fear of people commenting on their potential weight gain, and the possibility to be placed in societies ‘fat category’.
So during a time when people are dying, getting sick, losing jobs and majorly suffering, there are people terrified of the quarantine weight gain.
It’s heart wrenching to type and heart wrenching to read because I do understand this fear. I understand that during a situations when you have no control you seek what you can control so people look at restriction and dieting as something they can control and focus on.
However, you need to be gentle with your body - physically, emotionally, mentally - and show your body compassion, provide it nourishment and truly listen to your body need rather than think restriction and deprivation is the answer.
So you need to…
Be Grateful for Your Body
Your body is beautiful. It does beautiful and magical things. It truly is your temple.
Marie and Katie talk about hiding in your clothes because you are shamed of your body, your size and who you are.
They talked about how style reflects how we feel and who we are.
They talked about self-talk and how impactful the way you speak to your body is.
They talked about movement and how your body moving should be celebrated. How movement should bring you joy and be therapeutic vs. punishment and a trade off or makeup for something bad.
What if you looked in the mirror and didn’t critique your body but gave your body a loving compliment?
What if you dressed in a way that celebrated you and did not hide you from the world?
How would you feel?
How would you see your body?
How would you see yourself?
And lastly, remember…