Hello.
So I have finally gotten round to setting up a blog again after many months of being away. I sincerely hope I will manage to be a bit more consistent this time around. I am not entirely certain what this blog will be about. I am simply passionate about everyone living life to the fullest. So I suppose it gives me a pretty broad scope of the things I can add here!
I suppose the best place to start is with a little bit about me and why I do the work I do - hope you won't find it too dull.
I have been many things throughout my life. I have spent 95% ish of my life trying to fit in, get a proper job, have the right qualifications, be the right size and shape etc etc and son and so forth (am massive fan of The King and I!). With every new job and career, every new college course, every new diet and exercise programme I woul always get so excited and be so passionately devoted to this time getting it 'right'. I still have absolutely no idea why O had this feeling that who and what I already was wasn't enough, but I never felt 'normal', never felt that I fitted in anywhere, and never felt I deserved happiness.
I went on my first diet when I was 14. At the time I was at the top end of the healthy weight spectrum (according to my school nurse), but had been bullied from the age of 7 about being fat. Now I was bigger than most of my school chums, but that was because I shot up to my current height by the time I was 11. By 14 I had a woman's figure and had already been menstruating for 5 years. I swam a lot, I played hockey, squash and tennis, I walked everywhere and at a heck of a speed! I was fit and healthy. Yet tye prevailing body image we were supposed to aspire to was that of Kylie Minogue and many other diminutive and slender stars. Kate Moss was the new supermodel on the block and the 'heroin chic' look eas huge. Looking emaciated and going straight up and down didn't fit my body. None of the era's fashions suited me, so I tried to change me. Of course I didn't know then what I know now and that what I thought would be a quick and simple process of just losing 1 stone 7lbs in order to be a bit more of a waif, but still healthy would be the beginning of a disordered relationship with food, my body and my self esteem until I reached 36 And discovered Health at Every Size, got some counselling and started to develop a life for me rather than 'them' whoever 'they' may be. Bit by bit I built my confidence and pride in myself and my achievements. I learned to see myself through the eyes of my friends and loved ones rather than my own 'societal stigma tinted' ones. I began to love me as I was, not as I may be if I just lost weight, got the right job, helped the right person, got the right piece ofnpaper certifying my adequacy. I finally learned that I am more than adequate just the way I am. There is no need for me to change. What I needed was to stop standing in my oen way, and stop listening to the views of people I didn't know or accepting a view I knew science actually said was incorrect, or at least inconclusive!
I now help others to start out on their journey to finding peace with themselves and the body they inhabit now. I am an active Tweeter/Twitterer (whatever the term may be), Facebooker, please come and find me there and get involved. Am a complementary therapist and exercise instructor, and have set up wellbeing groups to help people of all ages to be proud of themselves, their bodies and build the confidence they need to Love You Love Life Live Life! I love my work passionately and the honour I have of seeing people blossom and grow into the person they want to be without the pain and restriction of dieting, the humiliation of accepting jobs and situations beneath their capabilities or any other issues that havr negatively defined their lives and sense of worth is a privilege I never take for granted.
I will probably go into more depth about the stigma and pressures I felt through most of mynlife in future posts, as I explore and offer help (I hope) to those just starting on their journey towards body confidence. I feel that it is easier to use my examples than those of my clients most of the time because I know exactly how I felt. I know exactly what I did to make that change, and I know exactly how that has made me feel now. I will give exampkes from others too when I can, but most of what I say comes from my personal experience. I hope that what I writr inspires just one person out there, if it can be more so much the better.
Hopefully today's post has explained a little bit about why I now do what I do. I am determined that all people should be free to embrace and enjoy the body they have, to build the life that they desire and should not let the opinions or fears of others stand in their way. I will keep fighting until we have acceptance of who we all are, just the way we are. I hope you will join me as I do so.
Thanks, much love and positive thoughts to you all.
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