Call of the Uterus

I am lying in bed while my uterus protests its existence. It is that time of the month, and no babies are being made; my ovaries are not pleased.

Anyway, tolerating my organs' inner turmoil got me thinking, our bodies are pretty bomb diggity. While we go about our days, tackling dirty diapers, footballs, office files, whatever it is we do, our bodies operate without asking for direction or even a thank you. At any given moment if you were to stop what you were doing and think, "What is physically going on inside of me right now?" I'm sure you could come up with an inexhaustible list.

There's a plethora of articles on body image, so I won't go there, but I implore everyone to stop waging war against the beautiful vessel that holds your powerful, intangible spirit. Everything your body does, it does to protect you. Excessive weight gain/loss, exhaustion, maladies are simply by-products of your body trying to save you from stress. When we focus on our unwanted condition - "I need to lose weight!!!!!" - what do we tell our bodies? "This is stressing me out!" and your body dutifully responds by tinkering with your metabolism, expending unnecessary energy, taxing your systems - all to prepare you for battle against your imaginary demons.

I used to be overweight. Not by a lot, but enough to take a hit to my self-esteem. I deprived myself of "bad" foods, I exercised diligently, I fought and fought against the fat, the fatigue, the absence of vitality. And nothing happened. I didn't lose weight, I was tired all the time, and the disappointment hacked away at my feelings of inadequacy even more. So I gave up. I ate healthy when I felt like it. Other times, I ate junk to the point of sickness because I felt like it. I irregularly got off my butt to do yoga and dance, because they were the only activities I enjoyed.
Guess what happened? I lost all the weight. I got my energy back. My acne subsided.

As soon as I LISTENED to my body and ACCEPTED the extra lumps, my body heaved a sigh of relief and worked at its optimum.

I'm not saying I have the figure of a supermodel or that my complexion is porcelain doll-esque. I just don't care anymore, because I love my body for whatever it is right now. It keeps me alive, for God's sake.

So throw your scale out the window, your "cheat day" schedule out of your mind, and your diet books into a raging bonfire. Bless every morsel of food that enters your mouth, even those chili cheese fries. Your body lets you do what you love, connect with the people you love, and it also unconditionally takes care of you. Let it be. And go live your life.

P.S. If you do enjoy fitness, body-building, specialized nutrition, etc., that is great!! You do yo thang. I'm not preaching otherwise. As long as it brings you JOY. You could be living off earthworms for all I care.