5/6/13

Suck It Up


Do you ever catch yourself sucking your stomach? Even just lying in bed I’ll realize I’m restricting my gut backwards.

On my very best days I’ll catch myself doing it!

It doesn’t feel good, but after years of self-esteem issues (especially surrounding the stomach area) it’s become automatic.

Flat bellies are in now, right? That’s what the magazines say, the TV shows say, and the gym-babes walking down the street say.

And according to this notion, the rest of us should join a gym, start a new diet, and double up on crunches so we don’t have to suck it in anymore.

With summer and bikini season approaching I say I’m done with that idea. If you have a flat belly, then you rock that flat belly, because that is your belly. But if you, like me, are softer and stick out a little (heck, maybe you stick out a lot! Love it up!) then we’ll rock ours, too.

I’m so much more comfortable and relaxed when I just let my soft belly go where it goes. When it’s not held back it feels good, and I’ve finally been able to look in the mirror with loving eyes and realize it looks good, too.

When I see a girl on the street and wonder what it’s like to rock that tank top without a thought, I remind myself that I can do it too. I just have to stop sucking in, because when I suck my belly in, I suck myself in and restrict me in that moment. It sucks… literally!

Just recently I’ve begun picking out shirts that feel and look great: the ones that my belly can remain free of restrictions and that don’t cause me to second-guess my wardrobe choice on the way out the door. If your closet doesn’t hold items like this, then you deserve to change that.

We deserve to have clothes that make us feel great; that make us feel gorgeous as we walk down the sidewalk. We deserve to love where our body hangs and shifts and feels a little softer than the rest of us… that is your body; that is you.

Summer is coming, and this is the perfect time to say, “Hey. I love that swimsuit, and I love this body, so I will wear both proudly, and fully enjoy myself.”

You’ll feel and look more beautiful, I promise. 

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