Photos of Interest

You know that goal photo you keep around?  That one of some blonde beach babe or ski bunny or otherwise "encouraging" physique?  I know some of you keep it on the fridge.  I know others of you keep it somewhere else (if you're like me, you never actually downloaded the image.)  Unless it's a relatively recent photo of yourself (less than 5 years and no major life changes old), get rid of it. 
I know, it's supposed to encourage you to eat healthy, workout, whathaveyou, but it's discouraging to eat right and exercise and know you'll never get that Playboy bunny's figure.  You know why you won't get her figure? Because you aren't her.  You don't have her genetics, her bone structure, or her personal trainer. (You do?  That explains that missing model.)  You are you, uniquely you.
Don't get me wrong.  Goals are great.  Goals are awesome.  Goals get us from slob on the couch to where we want to go.  Basing your goal on a young woman that's never had a kid, has a personal chef and trainer, has a hair wrangler, or has never been heavy makes no sense.  She won't have your stretch marks, scars, or bones.  Don't go thinking you can swap it out for a more "realistic" photo either.  Unless it's a recent photo of you, it's not a goal photo.
I hate goal pics.  I truly do.  They make you aim for something that isn't there.
What should you have instead of a goal photo?  Well, there's two ways to go about it.
One is an old "before" photo of yourself, to remind you have far you've come.  This comes with a razor's edge, though, if you have made inaccurate associations with those days or that form.  If it'll only cause you to stare in the mirror and call yourself names, it's not a good idea.  If it'll only cause you to avoid the fridge because you don't want to see yourself like that, bad idea.
The other idea is a simple phrase to remind yourself of the goal.  "Will this get me there?"  "Does this help me?"  Stuff like that.  Spell it out on the fridge.  Write it on the mirror in dry erase. Get those cardboard letters and spell it out in your garage (or wherever you workout.)  Make it positive and make it resonate for you.  I've heard of people framing fortune cookie messages because they resonated so well

What You Love, Part 1

If you woke up tomorrow with only the parts of your body you truly loved, you be missing some pieces.  I know I'd be missing my stomach and my heels.  Be honest with yourself.  If you suddenly lost the pieces of your body you don't love, what would you have left?  We're assuming internal organs go away if the outer covering goes away.  I know for some of you out there, all that'd be left is a pair of floating eyes and maybe  some toenails.  For others, you'd be a ghost with nothing left.
I want you to focus on what would be missing and figure out something positive about it.  I don't mean false positive, like "well, my thighs aren't as thick as tree trunks."  I mean real positive, like "my belly may be big, but the skin is smooth" or "my calves may be toothpicks, but they still work and get me from point A to point B." 
I want you to do this for every single thing that would be missing.  Write it down, tuck it away.  On days you don't feel so great about yourself, pull it out and read it.  You'll be amazed at how much reminding yourself that your body doesn't completely suck does for your self confidence.

Bodylove and a New Turn

This one's geared to you. Yes, you.  The person sitting in front of the computer screen reading these words. You.  You see, I've been watching you. (No, not that way, I'm not a damned world stalker.) Whenever I crawl up on my high and mighty horse about loving yourself and your body, you mentally sigh and click away, because it's obviously not a true fashion post and you love your body just fine, thankyouverymuch. No, don't you click away now.  Stay with me.
I originally started this blog as a true fashion blog on how to be cheap and look good.  That's still the main focus, even if I can never give you exact links to what I'm wearing because it's not of this season (or decade, for that matter, sometimes.)  Listening to a few friends rant got me thinking.  You see fashion blogs all over the damn place about fixing things and making Trend o' the Moment work on your body. (Or, to be fair to the ones that royally piss me off, how to make your body work for the clothes.)  There are more bodylove blogs cropping up, but most are tumblrs.  I had yet to see anyone write about loving your body and showing it off each season without looking like a skankyho.
That's where this blog is headed.  I intend for it to be a meld of bodylove, selflove, and fashion, eventually.  Don't fret, you'll still get your (mostly) daily updates of me posing in front of the camera ("aren't you DONE yet, timer?")  You'll still get your seasonal updates on what hot, fresh, and new.  But there will also be injection of loving yourself first and not trying to mold yourself to whatever the latest schtick for clothes hangers or pregnant women or heavy armed or wasp waisted women is. 
There is a way to love yourself and love fashion at the same time, much the same as a good relationship requires at least a bit of self love.  Everyone has a way of doing it differently.  Everyone has that one fallback piece that makes 'em look awesome on a day they don't particularly love their body.  It takes baby steps. Very few women can look in the mirror bucknaked on day 1 and go "Hot DAMN, I'm looking fucking awesome!"  (If you can, congratulations!)
Each day, there will likely be two posts (or more) from here on out.  One of me clowning for the camera, one of me proselytizing about loving yourself or showing you how to do it or some other bodylove post.  I want you to love YOU, not you 20 lb from now, not you 40 lb ago, not you 6 months from now.  You and your body TODAY.  If you're having a bad day and just not feeling the body love, don't fret, everyone gets 'em.  Just let those be the minority, and let you loving you and your body for its awesomeness be the standard position.